Kerr Lake Triathlon - Triathlon


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Henderson, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 50m 43s
Overall Rank = 46/74
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/12
Pre-race routine:

stayed in local hotel night before. After a terrible night sleep due to noisey neighbors awoke at 530am, eating breakfast at 600am - bagel, PB, Banana, OJ, Coffee, water.
Drove 15 mins to race site, setup TA, kept drinking water/gatorade mix and took a gel 15mins before start.
Decided to put calf sleeves on under wetsuit.
Event warmup:

as this was my first big/1500m OWS and knowing the anxiety from last years 500m OWS I wanted to get in water early and acclimatize. I splashed about first, gradually letting in colder water to chest to minimze heart/lung/shock; once felt comfortable and relaxed I swan a few strokes and gradually built to about 50 yds - felt really good so kept on swimming to warm up arms and minimze the lactate burn later in the swim. Water was choppy but felt good due to bilateral breathing.
Swim
  • 31m 15s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 55s / 100 yards
Comments:

started out left of group got into a rhythm immediately and felt awesone. stayed away from pack. even though I was breathing away from waves a wave crashed over my head and surpised me a little ... then it all fell apart. I had to stop and refocus, then it took every ounce of focus to swim a few ayrds then stop before trying again. Lake Royal came flooding back and I thought that 1500m was too much. I tried breast stroke a little then tried freestyle again, gradually I built up the yards before I had to stop and made the first bouy.
So I broke it down into little legs - goal was to reach each bouy in turn the stop and chill, this is how I made it to the end with a big smile on my face.Good job I did this as someone in the wave behind turned around the wrong bouy - fortunately my scream made him stop and change direction.
In hindsight the anxiety I think this was due to the waves once clear of the headland, which became noticably bigger and jostled me around.
I was hoping for under 30 mins so 31 with a 100 yd walk to TA wasnt too bad with all the stops!
What would you do differently?:

practice practice practice in OW and not just on calm days.
Transition 1
  • 01m 36s
Comments:

I purposefully took this slow after a bad swim. I didnt want to make silly mistakes - I decided to wear socks. As it was 1:36 wasnt too bad. Normally I clip in first time but I fumbled about for a few seconds.
What would you do differently?:

nothing.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 3s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.04 mile/hr
Comments:

ok, put bike recoevery plan into action and forget the swim - success - high cadence for first few miles, only drinking water. Once course elveled out into big gear and push - change gear once hit 90+ RPM. 15 mins in gel and water then start on Heed. Without realising I was seeing speeds of 20+ and grinning ear to ear. The thought crossed my mind that I was going to hard but I trusted my training and continued to grin. Downhill consciously stopped pedalling and tucked in tight until speed dropped below 25 - more grinning.
Knowing where the big hills were I dropped into small ring and spun up them, into headwind was tough but wasnt for long.
one hour in took another gel and more water. last few miles increased cadence to wake up legs and started to think of TA preparation. Took feet out and pedalled in to TA.
Remembered to encourage anyone I passed or who passed me.
What would you do differently?:

nothing - I remembered everything I planned to do and executed it all perfectly!

One area to work on is climbing hills.
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

again focused on being deliberate with every action. Stopped to double check everything ready to go.
What would you do differently?:

nothing.
Run
  • 59m
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 40s  min/mile
Comments:

felt great coming off the bike so this was going to be easy just like training - but it was now very hot. first few minutes focused on watch to ensure my pace was around 10:00m/m until legs woke up then tried to stay at 9:00m/m. at each aid station I decided to walk, take two water, one to sip then throw on head, the other to poor down front/back of shirt. Any shade was a welcome site even for a few strides.
Realized very soon this was going to be tough so focused on stride, form, and reaching each aid station one by one. By the last mile only really ache was my hip flexors, and felt comfortable in picking up the pace - not by much but I felt strong and confident doing so. Last few hundred yards I picked up pace but couldnt sprint, so ran across line with strong form and a big grin, feeling confident in well executed race and amazed at getting a PR sub 3hours. Also realized got a PR in a 10K.
What would you do differently?:

more consistent run training with speed work. Add in some strength work and always stretch!
Post race
Warm down:

right after the finish chute was a shower tent - second to what I just achieved this was the best feeling ever. I realized I was HOT, maybe too hot as my wife pointed out I hadnt appeared to be sweating during the run - by now I couldn't remember as I was soaking wet and each aid station I took a two cup shower. I felt great with no signs of heat stroke, so proceeded to eat and drink everything put in front of me - I was famished! for the remainder of the day I ate anything available. When I got home took a cold bath, noting how good my muscles felt.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

experience of OWS; consistent running quality/miles.

Event comments:

not my first experience of setup events but first oly and this was an awesome race. ALL the volunteers were awesome, especialy the run - you couldnt help but smile at each water station regardless of pain. I would definitley come back to Kerr Lake.




Last updated: 2013-05-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:15 | 1640 yards | 01m 55s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/12
Overall: 38/74
Performance: Below average
Suit: sleveless
Course: three leg loop in Kerr Lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:36
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:18:03 | 24.85 miles | 19.04 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/12
Overall: 43/74
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: loop with two out/back on rural roads. Classed as rolling hills but there were some sneaky big climbs [IMHO]. Most part was good road, there were a few sections that needed attention but no big potholes.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 89
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:59:00 | 06.21 miles | 09m 40s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/12
Overall: 49/74
Performance: Good
Course: two 3.1mile out/back/loops
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5