Eau Claire Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Eau Claire, Wisconsin
United States
Eau Claire Triathlon
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 32m
Overall Rank = 70/203
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 7/26
Pre-race routine:

Got up and had coffee. Packed myself a pb&j sandwich to eat on the drive into town (but forgot it!) Packed my laid out gear, loaded my bike and drove to town. Got a killer parking spot, racked my bike (tons of room!) and set up my transition, got all situated and debated on wether or not to wear my wetsuit. About 15 min before the start, I decided to wear it - but not many people did - the water was pretty warm. I was in the minority for sure.
Event warmup:

I ate a gu about 20 min before the start and got in the water and swam 25 yards or so just get wet.
Swim
  • 6h 35m
  • 370 yards
  • 1h 46m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started in the front row, all the way to the left. Had NO contact at all. Felt like I was swimming pretty straight - I never had to make a major correction. Sighted every 6ish strokes. Rounded the bouys and was totally tired! I was breathing every other stroke (instead of every 3 like while in the pool), but that was ok. I felt like I worked really hard and wouldn't have been able to sustain that pace for much longer. Then, ran up the BIG HILL to transition, taking off the top half of my suit on the way there.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, it felt pretty darn good. And to see that I got first in my age group?!?! Crazy!! I'm super proud of that!!
Transition 1
  • 01m 34s
Comments:

I got out of my suit pretty fast, I'd say no more than 15 seconds. the longest thing for me is putting on socks... I wear socks now for all my rides as I'm training long, and didn't feel like going sockless for the first time in a race...in addition, i'd need them for the run (same reasoning) so I just put them on.
What would you do differently?:

get suit off a bit faster...maybe bodyglide around the ankles...
Bike
  • 54m 30s
  • 17 miles
  • 18.72 mile/hr
Comments:

Never having done a sprint, my plan was to go hard for as long as I could, then see what happens next. Went out fast, but it was really windy. I don't know what my average HR was, but every time I looked, it was above 160 - way above where I usually train at (145ish). I was working hard, doing my best up the hills, trying to attack down them, using my front big gear as much as I could. For as windy as it was, I felt like my time/pace was good. With no wind, I'm sure it would have been a bit faster, but a good effort for the day. My legs were definitely feeling it by the end of the ride. Oh, and I think I drank too much, I was super thirsty - or at least my mouth was dry, so i drank about 1/3rd of a water bottle, and about 1/2 of a orange gatorade bottle (what I normally train with - so nothing new there) - nore on why I thought it was too much later
What would you do differently?:

try to attack the hills more...
Transition 2
  • 01m 10s
Comments:

I have to tie my shoes by looping the ends through the loops...to make sure my heel doesn't slip - because if this, it takes me a bit longer to tie my shoes. other than that, helmet off, visor on, and off I ran.
What would you do differently?:

maybe use those qhick lace things? If I do more sprints, I'll for sure look into it as tying my shoes took up most of my time
Run
  • 28m 20s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

I had a sip of water just after leaving transition, at 1 mile and at 2 miels. Very small sips. I was thirsty, but i was breathing too hard to drink alot and i figured I'd be done soon, so I didn't really worry about it. I have no idea what my HR was, but my RPE was higher than what I normally train at. I actually passed some people and only got passed by about 4-5 women, most of whom were relay runners - so they were fresh. I definitely pussed myself and was at an uncomfy pace for me the whole way. At first, my legs felt weak and I was thinking alot about them, but then it got to the point where I was working so hard, i stopped thinking about my legs and was thinking about my lungs... I never walked though and pushed through the hills...I felt pretty steady the whole time. It really helped that it was mostly shaded.
What would you do differently?:

Pushed it a but harder, especially at the end for the last 1/4 mile or so. but over all, still a good run for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Ran through the finish and stopped running and IMMEDIATELY felt nauseous. Someone asked if they could take my chip. I just held up a finger and walked away seriously fearing I'd lose it right there in the finish area. Made it to the trash can about 20 feet away and thought I was going to lose it in front of all those people. But, I took a few deep breaths, and was able to walk another 20 feet away, a little out of the way of all the people and puked my guts out. All the orange gatorade I had on the bike... yuck. Puked for a couple minutes, but then I felt like a million bucks! I was even able to drink a post race beer 15 min later!
Because Josh had to go directly to work from the race but not for an hr or so, we hung around and ate and were there for the awards ceremony. They divided the age divisions down even further (ie: 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, etc) and gave awards to the top 3 M and F in each. Low and behold, All of the sudden I hear my name!! I got 3rd in my age group!! (but 7th in the 30-39 digision) How fun was that?! I never stay for awards, and I've never even been close to placing. What a shock on my first sprint to do so well! I was totally blown away and happy that I happened to be there for the awards :)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I would like to get faster on the run.

Event comments:

Great job EC tri - good volunteers, adequate water on the run, good transition area. Way to grow the scene in Eau Claire! I'll definitely be back!
:)




Last updated: 2012-06-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
06:35:00 | 370 yards | 1h 46m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/26
Overall: 0/203
Performance: Good
Suit: full
Course: It was supposed to be a 500 meter swim, but because of the NASTY weeds in the lake, they shortened it to an out and back - I heard someone say it was 370 yards...sounds about right.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:34
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:54:30 | 17 miles | 18.72 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/26
Overall: 0/203
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Out and back. Had to climb a fairly large hill right out of transition. 3 other fairly large hills whle out in the country.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:10
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:28:20 | 03.11 miles | 09m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/26
Overall: 0/203
Performance: Good
Course: along a bike path and through a shaded park. One big hill at about 0.75 miles, and 2 other short but steep hills. Lots of shade (thank goodness because it was HOT!)
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5