Grand Rapids Triathlon - Sprint Course - Triathlon


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Ada, Michigan
United States
Tris4Health
70F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 15m 26s
Overall Rank = 44/454
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 5/25
Pre-race routine:

Slept in a little due to the rain, as I figured that people weren't going to be in as much of a rush to get to transition as they normally would be. I was right. I was the second person in my rack of 21 athletes. Had some Gu Chomps on the way and downed some water. I hate mornings, so this is about the extent of my routine.
Event warmup:

Due to the rain, I just didn't feel like warming up. I didn't take my bike out, I didn't go for a run, and they had already shut down the swim warmup area before I got to the water, so I had no warmup besides a little stretching and arm rotation. Oh well.
Swim
  • 11m 46s
  • 600 meters
  • 01m 58s / 100 meters
Comments:

Very disappointed in my swim. I should be a full minute faster. I just haven't felt fast in the water this entire year since I started working it again back in late January. I probably could've pushed a little harder here, but that wasn't my problem in general. I swam okay for what I have been doing, it just should be faster. There are other former swimmers I know who I should be on par with, and I just haven't been this year.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing on race day, but I need to go work on my stroke. I feel like I've lost my feel for the water am just not getting anything out of my pull.
Transition 1
  • 02m 48s
Comments:

GR Tri transitions suck. I am normally great at transitions, but struggled a little here today. I didn't use the wetsuit strippers, as I am superstitious about them - the only time I used them was 2 years ago in Grand Rapids, and about 50 yards later as I was running, I strained a calf muscle, so that cost me time, especially considering I struggled to get the wetsuit off my left ankle for some reason. This was probably worth 25 seconds, more if I used the strippers.

Then I got caught behind a slower moving athlete as I was running out of transition. The alley was too narrow for me to get by him, so I had to slow down to not run into him. Frustrating, as the transition is very long, about .15 miles I believe.
What would you do differently?:

Use the westuit strippers.
Bike
  • 34m 1s
  • 20 kms
  • 35.28 km/hr
Comments:

I felt pretty good on the bike after about the first 5 minutes or so. Looking at my HR graph, there was a noticeable drop right about that point, and I felt good from there on. It was nice that there were some waves out in front of me, which meant that I always had people in front of me to focus on catching and passing. Roads were a little wet, and some puddles had to be avoided, but not bad at all. In retrospect from how I was feeling and looking at my HR graph, I think I had a lot more to give here, but since I hadn't been riding the course this year (haven't been to Ada Time Trials yet), I didn't quite have my bearings about me. Might've been a little off due to wet roads too, but that's not an excuse for effort.
What would you do differently?:

Push a little harder...legs could've handled it. Get out to Monday night time trials, haven't done enough hard biking this spring/summer.
Transition 2
  • 02m 2s
Comments:

Much better than T1. I did have to slow down noticeably a few times running against the outbound Olympic traffic to avoid crashes which cost a few seconds, but not much. Struggled with the shoes just a little bit, as I had done a poor job getting them covered by a trash bag and they were more soaked than I expected...and I had forgot to put on my race laces as these are shoes I have never raced a tri in before. Ooops. Finally, I almost went the wrong way out of transition, which was probably more my fault than anyone else's but I just didn't see a volunteer pointing which way to go and I accidentally started to follow a volunteer who was showing the MyTeamTriumph guys where to go. Wasn't a big mistake, only a couple of seconds.
What would you do differently?:

Remember to put on race laces. Protect shoes better in case of rain. Run the right direction to get out of transition - I've done this race every year!
Run
  • 24m 47s
  • 5 kms
  • 04m 58s  min/km
Comments:

I'm still improving here, but this is where the pack gets me back. Too many guys just zip past me in the last mile or so. I ran okay, and did negative split it - 8:07, 8:09, 7:55, 0:32, but it could've been better. I probably could've pushed through that last mile a little harder and come home with a 7:30 or so. Cadence is too low right now. Need to figure out why that is down a little bit and correct.

Unfortunately, my orthotic was a little off due to being wet and I could feel it rubbing wrong on my foot, so I was trying to adjust it every 6th stride or so for a while by just kicking my foot out a little bit. It didn't really work, but it was driving me nuts so I had to try. It didn't blister, which I was surprised about. I'll take this run on a positive note, but it could've been better.
What would you do differently?:

Push a little harder, take the suffering. Maybe take one cup of water, since I always avoid them in 5Ks as I don't want to lose my breath while drinking.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked and drank water to cool off, grabbed one slice of pizza, talked to a couple of friends, and bolted pretty quick.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not much besides myself. Since it was my first race of the year, I maybe didn't push it as hard as I could, and didn't embrace the suffering to the point I am capable of. A few little mistakes cost me time here and there as well.


Event comments:

Only small complaints about this race: need more options for packet pickup, transitions are the worst of any race I've ever been to but I don't know that they have any real way to fix that, and the weather sucked, but that wasn't their fault.




Last updated: 2015-06-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:46 | 600 meters | 01m 58s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/25
Overall: 36/454
Performance: Below average
This number is way off because it includes the run to the start of the transition area. I clicked my Garmin right as I came out of the water to show 11:16 and 705 yards, but not sure of it's accuracy. That gave me 1:36/100y.
Suit: sleeveless wetsuit
Course: Out about 250 m, over about 100 m, back about 250m
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:48
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:34:01 | 20 kms | 35.28 km/hr
Age Group: 7/25
Overall: 45/454
Performance: Good
Garmin showed this as 12.28 miles for an average of 21.7mph and an average HR of 161.
Wind: None
Course: Out and back...
Road: Rough Wet Cadence: 92
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:02
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:24:47 | 05 kms | 04m 58s  min/km
Age Group: 12/25
Overall: 120/454
Performance: Good
Garmin pretty much agrees with the time and distance, giving me an average of 8:02 per mile. Average HR was 169, average cadence was only 170. Ugh.
Course: Flat, basically out and back with a short jaunt through a neighborhood.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 4