Leadman Tri Marquee Epic 125 - Triathlon


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Life Time Fitness
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 41m 45s
Overall Rank = 8/217
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 4/34
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 4:50am, hit up McD's for a coffee and oatmeal, got to the race, set up camp and ready to go.
Event warmup:

Some light limbering up.
Swim
  • 40m 30s
  • 2500 meters
  • 01m 37s / 100 meters
Comments:

I swam almost 7 minutes faster than last year's disaster and maintained pace for the first 1400 to 1500 meters or so, but form and pace fell apart for about 500m, then somehow found some form again and picked up the pace.

I thought that I swam pretty well and fast considering that I got no swim training in since last Aug.

I was on average 6 to 7 minutes slower than the top 6 swimmers. I can't place myself on the podium by being that much behind from the start.
What would you do differently?:

I would move to a different town so I can have a year round pool.
Transition 1
  • 02m 23s
Comments:

I came out of the water at about 39 minutes and 40 seconds, it took a while to get up the stairs and then to the wetsuit strippers, we had trouble getting the suit off my wrists, probably sucked up an extra 25 seconds. After this, I jogged to the bike and put on my stuff and got off pretty fast.
What would you do differently?:

Get up stairs and suit off quicker
Bike
  • 2h 54m 43s
  • 69.2 miles
  • 23.76 mile/hr
Comments:

The Leadman Group has this listed at 109.5km or 68 miles... my Garmin says 68.95, and my power meter says 69.48... so let's say 69.2 miles.

A good bike leg... I was trying to avg. above 24 miles per hour and get the bike split Preme. I avg. 24.15 for the first 57 miles, but I was hurting at the HIM point, if I would have continued at that pace, I would have blown up my running ability.

I backed off at this point around mile 57 (I clocked a 2:18 for the 56 miles), and only avg. about 23 for the remaining, it was mostly on the hills that I backed up, thus the avg. speed dropped.

This course is flat with some hills, but it's the turns that slow you down... with 12 stop and start U turns on the whole course and countless 90 degree right and left handers. It kills avg. speed about .3 mph. as opposed to a full open length course.

During the 3rd lap when the traffic was heaviest... I came up on a rider who was in the left lane, I always yell "on your left" when approaching from behind, and said it 3 times to the rider and he didn't budge... I was forced into the gutter almost hitting the curb at 25 mph and when I rolled out of the gutter, my tires scraped hard against a lip of road tar... I thought that was it for my tires and wheels. The tires lasted, thanks to the toughness of the GP4000s, but after the race upon inspection... there were gouges through to the metal carcasss. I will have to toss these tires out now... and they were brand new. Luckily nothing happed to my FLO 60/Disc wheelset. But that jerk should have been called for blocking.

Then on the last lap as I was rounding the curve around the Papago loop of Mill ave. a GM Duelly pick up truck with a Life Time Tri logos pulled out in front of me and I had to hit the brakes... he stayed and slowed me down for a while since he was wedged in the race bike lane between slower cyclists in from and me behind. I thought, this aint cool and a stupid move by the race folks.

As for PM data:

Weather: perfect 80 degrees except for some windy conditions around 5 to 10mph, but the net effect of wind is probably ZERO b/c of the loops.

Total weight 177lbs (149 rider / 28 bike) - my bike setup is about 18.5% of total weight - YIKES!!
Avg. moving speed - 24.25 mph
Avg. power - 265 watts
NP power - 280 watts
IF - 85% - roughly a 330 watt FTP
VI - 1.06
Cadence - 88

Helmet - LG Vortice w/o visor on
Suit - Pearl Izumi Octane

On the suit, I used the PI Octane for the first time... I was aware that any wrinkles could cause some drag... the suit fits well, but bunches slightly around the inside of the shoulders... other than that it's a good fit... I don't know if this slowed me down VS. my previous suit sleeveless DeSoto suit.... and I don't kow if the helmet did anything VS. my Cobb aero helmet.
What would you do differently?:

69 miles is a tough distance, but just continue to train on the bike in order to hit my goal of a 25 mph avg HIM bike split at this course in Tempe.
Transition 2
  • 02m 30s
Comments:

A little bit too long, but I had difficulty with straighten up after racking up 69 miles in a TT position.
Run
  • 1h 02m 46s
  • 8.2 miles
  • 07m 39s  min/mile
Comments:

A good run... it took about 500 meters for my back to loosen up and my stride to lengthen... if finally did and I crusied. I'm happy of this run... my goal was a sub 60 minute split, but came in off pace, but the hills are a speed killer... so all in all a good run. I improved my runtime by over 6 minutes from last year.

On the flats, I maintained around a 7:10 pace, which is solid for me at the moment in my tri career.
What would you do differently?:

I stopped at the aid stations to splash water, get some drink and get a slight rest... maybe those extra 10 seconds added up to about 30 to 40 seconds in total, but it wouldn't have changed the end results... I would have had the 2nd fastest run time though.

I maintained a strong pace on the flats, but made sure to take it a bit easier over the mountain pass... I didn't walk, but trudged lightly, so to not blowout the legs or lungs.
Post race
Warm down:

Not much, just walking around

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of swim training

Event comments:

A great and organized race by Lifetime... lots of fun. Thanks to the volunteers and congrats to all competitors. It's a tough distance and race.

Overall, I improved my time by just over 23 minutes from 5:05 last year and 15th place to 4:41 and 4th place, and 8th place overall. I was really hoping for a podium spot, but some damn fine athletes showed up, especially swimming. The WTF moment is that the 45-49 AG was the fastest overall of all age groups!!




Last updated: 2013-12-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:30 | 2500 meters | 01m 37s / 100meters
Age Group: 9/34
Overall: 39/217
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vector Pro
Course: A rectangular out and back in Tempe Town Lake
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:23
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:54:43 | 69.2 miles | 23.76 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/34
Overall: 4/217
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: 4 - 17-plus mile loops around downtown Tempe Town Lake
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:30
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:02:46 | 08.2 miles | 07m 39s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/34
Overall: 14/217
Performance: Good
Course: A course of mixed concrete and dirt trail, about 70% flat and 30% through the Papago mountains.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %3
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5