Sweetwater Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Douglasville/Lithia Springs, Georgia
United States
Sponsored by the Douglas County Kiwanis Club benefitting Youth Council of Douglas County, I think ;)
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 18m
Overall Rank = 44/60+
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up in plenty of time, prepped everything the night before, just had to load the bike up int he car and head out.

Met up with a few locals I met through swim training, not sure if they're on here. A couple guys from north Atlanta came down too. ADollar79 was there but not racing. His words of "encouragement" would be very important in transition. ;)

Marital issues have had my head spinning for the past month, so my training has not been as structured as it should have been during that time. Oh well, whatcha gon' do?
Event warmup:

Sooting the breeze while waiting for the start, 200 yds swim to get the blood flowing.
Swim
  • 03m 10s
  • 200 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

Started a little too hard, anxious with this being my first tri and all. Started at the front of the pack and pretty much paced the IronKids, as I call them (our local Elite-level guys). TOTALLY went against my normal breathing routine for about 75 yds, breathing every 6-8 strokes instead of every 4 as I've been training.

Since I wasn't breathing as I should, I kinda blew up the last 25-40 yds, but managed to get out of the water in pretty much the same position as I started. I was impressed with my swim time.
What would you do differently?:

Not let nerves break me from my rhythm. This was a very good swim for me, even though it was short. Not much more I could ask for.

Swim more than once in the two weeks before the race?
Transition 1
  • 04m
Comments:

Time is a total estimate, as we weren't using timimg chips or anything.

Ran well from the water exit to my transition area, sat down, dried my feet, put on shirt/helmet/socks/shoes, and I was off.

Got a swig of water, and left my bottle at transition (I would regret this later). We'll call it average since I really don't have anything to compare to.

Oh, Let's not forget ADollar79's words of "encouragement" in T1.

"Go faster."
"Can I get you a hair dryer?"
"You wanna take a nap or race a little more?"

;) <3 ADollar
What would you do differently?:

Train sockless so I won't have to deal with that any more. I lost a LOT of time dealing with socks, even though I used the roll-up trick well. The IronKids had T1 times of about 15 seconds it seemed.

Maybe lose this gut I have, and just run the whole race shirtless or get a tri top...
Bike
  • 28m 15s
  • 9.2 miles
  • 19.54 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike was pretty good. Passed some people, got passed by others. Nerves affected me a little bit, but I think the course was more difficult than I'm giving credit, because I feel like I could have gone harder, but it was pretty hilly.
What would you do differently?:

Keep up my training schedule. I definitely slacked in my training the last couple weeks, and it showed. My pace was pretty good, but I wasn't feeling as strong as I know I can. Probably should have finished this about a minute or so better than I did.

Oh, and keep my water bottle on the bike. I was starting to get a little dehydrated toward the end of the bike.
Transition 2
  • 03m
Comments:

T2 was in a different place than T1, just the logistics of the park.

Bike finish was the steepest hill we rode, and it was hurting. Rounded the corner and ADollar grabs me some water as I change my shoes. Good man, no matter what people say about him.

Threw off the helmet, put on my hat, changed shoes, and I was off, very slowly.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Run
  • 39m 45s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 12m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

This was gonna be bad and I knew it. By this time, the sun was getting up there in the sky, and my lack of drinking on the bike might have been taking a little toll.

It took a few hundred yards for to get my running legs under me from the bike. Run some, walk some was the order of the day here. From now on I'm not wearing a hat, I can definitely tell it affected my body's cooling ability, even tough it was wicking material.

Water station was pretty much at the halfway point, so that first half was no fun

Run some, walk some. Run some, walk some. man, I gotta train more.

Had I been in decent run shape, I could have knocked around 7-8 minutes off this time. Seriously.
What would you do differently?:

Train more. My longest training runs have been on the order of 2 miles, just because I hate running. That will be changing this week.

I did finish strong, and the IronKids were nice enough to cheer me on to the finish. ;)
Post race
Warm down:

Water water water and a couple bananas, cheering on the people who I was actually faster than, talking things over with the guys, comparing times, etc.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training the past 2-3 weeks, but not my mind has not exactly been focused, to say the least.

Event comments:

RACING HURTS, but I knew that.

This was an excellent intro race for me. It's a shorter sprint, but it's more of a charity benefit than competitive race even though there are awards and such.

My slacking the past couple weeks definitely showed, but my mind has been in a million different places the past month. One other thing worth mentioning:

I CAUGHT THE BUG.

There will be more racing, there will be more training, there will be better race times.

Oh, BIG UPS to Mark, Tony, ADollar, and Mark (the IronKids) for their support and words of "encouragement." Mark and Tony have really been great ambassadors of the sport. Best of luck to them in their IMs and HIMs this year.




Last updated: 2008-06-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:03:10 | 200 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/60+
Performance: Good
Suit: no
Course: 200 yds total, around the buoy and back.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder:
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:00
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:28:15 | 9.2 miles | 19.54 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/60+
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Pretty hilly/rolling course, pretty rutted and rough due to heavy truck traffic. T-shaped course, one lap.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 03:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:39:45 | 03.1 miles | 12m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/60+
Performance: Bad
Course: HILLY run on park roads and trails.Out-and-back with an extra little loop on the back portion. It was getting HOT HOT HOT by this time.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4