Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon - Triathlon


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Charlotte, North Carolina
United States
ake Norman YMCA's Community Outreach Program.
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 50m 27s
Overall Rank = 314/394
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 22/24
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:45AM and left the house at 5:15AM after a Power Bar and an Ensure. Slurped down a 12 oz. Red Bull on the way to the event. I had tried a Red Bull before with no gastro distress at all and I drink a large cup of coffee most mornings. However, I am trying to determine if this is possibly connected to my cramping problem that cropped up.
Event warmup:

Not much. I jogged around the parking lot a little. Didn't do any real stretching since I was preoccupied with getting body marking done, picking up chip, putting the bike together, setting up transition area. Paid for the lack of stretching later. See below. This was my first triathlon and instead of stretching, I used that time to concentrate on being nervous and intimidated by the whole event. I was successful at both.
Swim
  • 20m 48s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

My 'Age Group Rank' reflects my ranking in the Masters Novice Male category because that is what I entered. It seemed like this was a large wave with lots of varying swim skill levels. I got kicked plenty and let a lot of people go ahead of me just to find an open area to swim. After the first 200 yards or so the field spread out enough to relax and just swim.
What would you do differently?:

I really, really need to work on my swim stroke. I spent virtually no time at all training for the swim and my dismal time reflects it. I knew I would give up a lot of time to this portion leading up to the race and I decided to just get through it and move on. Too many other time demands came in front of swim practice and lessons this summer.
Transition 1
  • 02m 47s
Comments:

The run from the lake to the transition area is a bit long and not too foot friendly. I stepped on a rather large pebble or three on the asphalt and it really got my attention. The organizers had put down carpeting over the pine mulch areas and this helped tremendously. I could barely walk barefoot on the mulched areas, so I was really glad to see it.
Upon my exit from the swim, I felt a significant tightening in my right calf that completely surprised me. I hadn't had a single muscle cramp all summer long including after two practice swims for this tri.
What would you do differently?:

Not too much except maybe run on the grass between the short section of road and the tennis courts rather than the road. However, it is outside the cones, so I don't know if you would pick up a penalty.
Bike
  • 54m 50s
  • 16.74 miles
  • 18.32 mile/hr
Comments:

'Age Group Rank' reflects my position in the masters novice category.
What would you do differently?:

I really neeeeeeed a tri bike. Sheez, the top end is way better and fellow triathletes tell me the run is a LOT more comfortable off a tri bike than a road bike. After seeing Mr. Cervelo blow by me going down the hill just before the Faith Road climb, I was bummed...but impressed.
Transition 2
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

No trouble finding my rack spot. Took too long to get my bike gloves off. Other than that, went well and I remembered to put on my number belt only because I laid it across my running shoes. I know I would have left it behind like I saw others do if I hadn't done that.
What would you do differently?:

Should have released my shoes and ridden in with feet on top, but then I would have had to deal with the pebbles in the parking lot. Must not be too much of a problem for everyone else though, seemed like this was a popular way to do this transition. I also should have at least pulled the velcro straps on my gloves before entering the dismount area, but that wasn't a big factor. Wasted some time moving my Forerunner to my wrist strap from the bike mount since it wasn't giving me my HR anyway.
Run
  • 30m 19s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

Ended up 10th in the Masters Novice category and I was really disappointed. The cramp in my calf was so bad running up the short hill out of the transition area that I considered dropping out when I got to the top and went through the timing gate. My quads on my right leg starting tightening at this time too. I was pissed. Why is this happening??? An entire summer of training and not once did I have this problem. Now, it's race day and all I could think was '...what the hell did I do wrong??!!' I did have a Red Bull, but I just don't think that was responsible. I really expected the three Endurolytes and the Gatorade to take care of it, but no chance. I have run 5K distance at an 8:40 pace before and I fully expected to do at least that, but I kept having to take walk breaks and my time suffered badly.
What would you do differently?:

I have to figure out why I had the cramping issues. Any ideas out there? If I hadn't had the cramping problems, I would have really had a blast doing this event. It was still fun and I will do the race again next year, but man, it would have been totally different without the cramping.
Post race
Warm down:

Collected kisses and congrats from my wife and kids. A coworker even drove down from Troutman to drop in and that made me feel good. Went over to the Y building and used it to try to stretch out my calf. It was hurting.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Leg cramps

Event comments:

This left me wanting more. I think I could train up for an Olympic distance fairly easily, but I see very few of them scheduled. Seems like they would be more popular since it is a much more appropriate step from a sprint event than a 70.3 and would be a little easier to hold with the shorter distances and times.




Last updated: 2008-08-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:48 | 820 yards | 02m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/24
Overall: 355/394
Performance: Bad
Suit: No-Not legal
Course: Rectangular
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:47
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:54:50 | 16.74 miles | 18.32 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/24
Overall: 246/394
Performance: Good
Unfortunately, my Garmin Forerunner decided to malfunction on this day, of all days. I wore the HR monitor belt under my tri suit for the swim and I think it must have gotten wet. During the bike and run it said my HR was 119 the whole time. My cadence monitor didn't function either, so I went without both and just went by feel, which was OK since I had done the course about 50 times. Meanwhile, my right calf is still tightening and cramping. I remembered putting together a mini first aid kit for the Lake Norman Excursion a month or so earlier and pulled it out of my bag below my seat without stopping. Sure enough the three Endurolytes I had put in the ziploc were still there, so I fished them out and chugged all three of them simultaneously to see if I could get rid of the cramp about mile 7 or 8. Didn't work, but I still had a good ride for me with a road bike and no clip on bars. Passed quite a few people in the novice group that I am sure blew my doors off in the swim. Consumed just about all of my 20 oz bottle of Gatorade trying to get rid of the cramp in my calf.
Wind: Little
Course: As mentioned earlier, I have ridden this course too many times. I live in Davidson, so I practiced on the course almost every week to the point I knew the gear changes by heart and the best places to swig off of the water bottle. The two big hills on Faith Road and Midway Lakes became my friends and I passed a number of people grinding their way up. Glad I did those intervals on my trainer over the past two months. However, every time I was on the flat or downhill, some guy on a Cervelo tri bike came blowing past me until we got on a hill and I did the same to him. Now, I want one... Honey, where's the checkbook????
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:45
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:30:19 | 03.11 miles | 09m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/24
Overall: 334/394
Performance: Bad
No HR data because of Forerunner malfunction
Course: Some decent, short hills and a long gradual incline on Victoria Bay in the sun.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %2%
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
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