USAT Age Group National Championship - Sprint Distance - Triathlon


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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States
USA Triathlon
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 10m 13s
Overall Rank = 366/1734
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 50/114
Pre-race routine:

Woke up... sunburn from the Olympic was burning and my legs were very stiff already. Basically felt like a train had hit me. Up, Breakfast, back to transition for a last check over the bike and ready for a warmup.
Event warmup:

Took a longer run (found some open ground) than Saturday, and did a good amount of stretching to try to loosen the legs a bit. Finally started feeling a bit better. Then it was time to hop in the water and get a good swim warmup in as, being in wave 1, it was a bit cooler than it was on Saturday (when I was in wave 13)
Swim
  • 12m 56s
  • 750 meters
  • 01m 43s / 100 meters
Comments:

Better swim than Saturday, but still not a good swim. Shoulders were tired and found it hard to find a good pair of feet. No near arm breaks or anything else epic though, so uneventful really. Contact of course, but nothing serious.
What would you do differently?:

Signed up for some lessons to improve my swim already.
Transition 1
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

About the same speed as the Olympic T1, I had a bit better position. Long run into transition and a very long run out but overall I think I did fair. At the line was of course a disaster waiting to happen so I took it nice and easy. Lost a few seconds but not as many as if I had gotten tangled in the mass of people trying to mount.
What would you do differently?:

Practice makes perfect.
Bike
  • 31m 46s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 23.48 mile/hr
Comments:

Didn't know what I'd have after Saturday, so I decided not to look at my Powertap and just give it what I had. Since we were the first wave and there were multiple turnarounds I got to see the competition a few times. Sad to say there were two fairly large (7+) pelotons that were together both times I saw them... Not sure how there weren't a good number of penalties in our wave.

Regardless, my ride went pretty well. Slower than my Avg for the Olympic (which was admittedly too fast) but I came off feeling pretty good.
What would you do differently?:

Need more long sets at higher power to help me get the "feel" of holding high watts when cadence changes.
Transition 2
  • 01m 20s
Comments:

Again, a little faster than the olympic thanks to my better transition spot. Unfortunately I ran right by my spot (couldn't see my shoes for some reason) and had to backtrack. Cost me a couple of seconds in an otherwise great transition.
What would you do differently?:

Take a few more minutes the day before to get the lay of the land.
Run
  • 21m 45s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

Had no idea how the run would go so again, no electronics to look at. I was ready for the inevitable passes that were going to happen and didn't let it get in my head... just kept moving forward... hell I might have even smiled once or twice. Toward the end I even managed to pick off one or two guys, felt good. Cruised into the finish almost exactly in the time I had predicted for a "good" day. Not great mind you, but considering how I felt at the start, good had exceeded my expectations.
What would you do differently?:

Better than Saturday for sure, much better bike/run combo. I was still off pace, but think that was largely in part due to fatigue doubling up. I think it was a fairly good run for my fitness on the day.
Post race
Warm down:

Cooled off and checked my ranking. I knew 1:10 was top 25 in 2013, so I had held out a little hope, although I thought I had counted much more than that on the run turnaround.

Turns out in 2014 it was only good enough for 50th. Nonetheless, I was not upset. Obviously I wasn't worlds material yet anyways.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I have long looked at triathlon as a cycling race with two events sandwiching it. It works fairly well in the "small ponds" where having a 23-25mph bike split really puts a gap in people... but when those splits are firmly back of the front to mid pack, the weakness in my other two sports really shows.

I'm a stubborn b@stard though, so it's back in the water to become a real swimmer, longer bike sets and motor pacing to help me hold watts throughout terrain changes, and more speed work to add some pep to my legs.

2015 will be a whole new ball game.

Event comments:

Again, not a huge venue to be Nationals. Also, WHY do organizers insist on barbecue as post race fare? Keep it simple please... Fruit, Cokes, Beer, Sandwiches... things that don't make me ill just looking at it.

This is a great race, and I actually liked the entirety of the sprint more than the olympic, although both were great. If you get to go...go!




Last updated: 2014-08-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:56 | 750 meters | 01m 43s / 100meters
Age Group: 59/114
Overall: 668/1734
Performance: Average
Suit: Desoto T1
Course: Under the bridge with a quick turn and back in U shape. Shorter version of Saturday.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 67F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:24
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:31:46 | 12.43 miles | 23.48 mile/hr
Age Group: 38/114
Overall: 186/1734
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Smaller version of the Olympic, with all the "tough" parts and less of the fast flats.Out and back 2x
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:20
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Bad
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:45 | 03.1 miles | 07m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 68/114
Overall: 579/1734
Performance: Good
Course: Smaller, imo nicer version of the Olympic course, only the run went through the park instead of down the road beside it. Maybe I wasn't suffering as much, but I thought it was a lot better.
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] 4