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Maumee Bay Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Oregon, Ohio
United States
HFP Racing
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 30m 9s
Overall Rank = 121/199
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 8/13
Pre-race routine:

Woke up about 5am or so because I just couldn't sleep anymore. I wasn't going to get up until 5:30ish but the birds where chirping and I was too excited to get the day started.

Everything had already been packed the night before so I just got dressed and then drove down from the camp site to the transition area. Picked up my chip, got body marked and then picked my end spot on one of the racks.

After setting up my area, I ate a cliff bar and drank some water/gatorade mix and basically walked around chatting with various people.

Saw Dave and Alice and talked with them about the adventures from Saturday with the bike and then wished Alice good luck.


Event warmup:

I went for a short mile run or so and stopped about half way and stretched out well.

Headed down to the beach to feel the water temp as I didn't have a wetsuit and I had heard previously that that temp was about 68F! The opened the water for warm up and in I went, the temp was actually 72F and very nice once you got moving. I swam a couple hundred yards or so easy and then back to the beach to wait for the race to get started.
Swim
  • 16m 12s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

Man what a swim! By far the best swim I have ever had in a tri yet! I was so pumped coming out of the water today that I am sure between my bald head and the smile that was on my face that all the people on the beach where blinded. :)

This was a beach start which was a first for me. My previous three tris where all in water starts. I got in the middle of my wave and took off when the horn sounded. I haven't ever dolphin kicked/dive so I ran in as deep as possible and then just dove in and started swimming. It was an ok start, but I guess I might need to work on this.

I was doing good for the first 50-100yds I would guess and then it happened. I started to hyperventilate for some reason and I just couldn't breathe. So I pulled my head out of the water, did the breast stroke for a couple of seconds and things calmed down. Started out again and never had a problem the rest of the swim. My sighting was awesome, never went off course the entire time, stayed just outside of the buoys and made fairly tight turns.

I passed a few folks in the swim, which is a very unusual event for me :) and over all I just felt fantastic. I was recalling my previous three swims while I was swimming in this one and I was just amazed that less than a year ago, I couldn't swim at all, period and that today I was getting out of the water at 15 minutes and felt awesome.

There was a little bit of a run up to TA which took me about a minute or so maybe less.

This swim gave me the confidence to know that I could have made the turn and done a 2nd lap if I was doing the Oly race. I was still very refreshed and had plenty left for another lap if I had needed to. Now don't get me wrong, it was slow going, but man I just didn't care, I could have floated to TA I was so happy.
What would you do differently?:

No a lot to be honest. I might need to learn how to draft better and maybe push a little harder at the sprint distance swims, but overall this was easily the best swim I have ever had, no matter what the time says!
Transition 1
  • 01m 4s
Comments:

This seemed like forever today. I did have to grab a couple of gels and put them into my pockets, but man I didn't think it would cost me that much time. I mean the last race I was in I had to remove a wetsuit and I think the T1 time was very close to this also. :)
What would you do differently?:

Don't know really, speed up somehow and figure out a way to get the gels in my pockets for the swim maybe?
Bike
  • 44m 12s
  • 14.29 miles
  • 19.40 mile/hr
Comments:

First I have to say that there was one spot that HFP really screwed up on in my opinion. They normally do great races, but the bike mount area of this race was just a huge cluster f*&k in my opinion. You came out of TA and turned right. The bike mount area was right outside TA but you had to go down a chute alongside of the TA and you where really supposed to stay single file until you got down and made the 180 degree turn back out of the TA spot. When I was trying to get out of T1 there where 6-7 bikes leaving at the same time and it was congested and slow, no doubt about it.

The bike itself though was great. Need to give a bit of background on this though because I have had major issues with my bike all week leading up to the race. About a week or so ago I had a flat on my rear tire while on a ride. No big deal, changed it and moved on. Went for a short ride with my wife Friday night at the camp grounds and no issues. I got up Saturday morning and I was planning on pre-riding the bike course with Alice. I road down to meet her and then we headed over to HFP to see if they might have a map so we knew where we where going. As we get ready to pull out I asked Alice if my back tire looked low as things felt really heavy. Yup it sure was, so we rode over to her camper and by the time I got there it was completely flat. So no problems I took my last tube and changed is semi-quickly while talking with Dave and the kids and then Alice and I headed out. About 7 miles later the tire is flat again and won't hold air. I had to call the wife to come pick me up and then figure out how to get it fixed prior to Sunday. (Alice if you are reading this dear, I again apologize for holding up the ride that day, not what I was expecting that is for sure. :D )

I ended up having to drive to Toledo and have a bike shop change the flat out for me. The holes where in the exact same spot on both flats, outside right on the seam. It looked like I just got a bad batch of tubes or something. they fixed me up, bought an extra tube for the race and out we went.

So because of the above I spent the first 7 miles or so constantly looking at my back tire and wondering if it was going flat or not. Finally after a long while I finally just said forget it, if it goes flat it goes flat.

I couldn't get my HR to settle down for anything, so I just rode. It was in upper Z4 maybe Z5 but I was riding comfortably. Actually too comfortable as I really think I could have pushed harder. Flat courses are great for speed, but they do have a down side, YOU NEVER STOP PEDALING! :)

Now for a little rant. Again I am normally riding the bike course alone due to my slow swim times, but today I started in a good group of bikes. I saw a number of things that just plain disturbed me. First was drafting...can't do anything about it and I know it happens all the time, but it still frustrated me, especially as I watched the pack pull away, but I would rather ride correctly and be left behind than stay with them and know I was riding illegally. Second was blocking. I can't tell you the number of times I saw folks getting passed and they would come up out of their saddle. Now again, we where not on a hilly course! There was not a single hill on the course at all, so why are these folks getting out of their saddles right when someone is trying to pass them? Third was a guy that cut a corner and in my opinion was very lucky there wasn't a car coming. Orange cones where set up at each corner and just like in a car, you are expected to stay to the right of the cones. I had given him plenty of room to make the corner, but he went left of the cones, because I knew he was coming up on me I went a bit further right than normal and I couldn't make the turn. I had two options, turn sharp quickly and risk hitting a pebble and going down or go off the road. I choose the later of those options and went off the road into the dirt/grass. I almost had my first biking accident right there. Somehow I was able to keep the bike up right and get back on the road, but it was a scary moment for me.

Did any of these items effect my race, nope. Did any of them make a difference in the spot I finished, most likely not considering where I placed, but it was still a little frustrating and disappointing.
What would you do differently?:

Push harder. I road way to comfortably on this course and I could have pushed more. Sure my bike speeds are fast, but did you see everyone else's? :)

The race results say 23KM (14.2 miles) but my Garmin clocked in at 13.43 miles, that is a pretty bid difference...but oh well everyone road the same course.
Transition 2
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

Ok so I get back to T2 and someone had racked their (her) bike in my spot right over all of my gear! I know who the lady was because she was a bit upset that she didn't get the end spot on the rack and actually had an argument with another person on our rack about bike placement. No way she could have been mistaken as her bike was perfectly over my stuff.

I was a bit frustrated but again in the grand scheme of things it didn't make a difference. I still had to get my stuff on, which I just didn't do fast enough today.

I just felt like I was moving in slow motion today in both T1 and T2. I bought yankz for my running shoes but I forgot to put them in :) so that cost me some time.
What would you do differently?:

Get the yankz in my running shoes. Go a little faster. My slowness today in transition cost me a sub 1:30 today for sure. :(
Run
  • 27m 26s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

As with the swim, I think this was by far my best 5k run in a race yet. I haven't looked to make sure, but I know I felt awesome. I did have a cramp in my left calf again just out of T2 but I stopped, rubbed it for a bit and then was able to head out still.

Looking at my Garmin says that I let up a bit on mile #2.

Mile #1 - 8:43 (very fast for me, but I was feeling really good)
Mile #2 - 9:12ish
Mile #3.1 - 8:50ish

I didn't look at my Garmin on this leg much. I just ran for a change. I ran until it hurt and then I kept it right there. I might have been able to push a little harder in the 2nd mile but I don't know to be honest.

The run course setup was great. You got to see the fans on the way out, then again as you passed the TA spot just before the turn around, then again right after the turn around and lastly at the finish line. It was awesome to see so many people on a leg that is usually empty. Their energy sure helped me on this run that is for sure!
What would you do differently?:

Not much...it was a really good run for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, got some food and then talked with the wife, David and Alice.

Event comments:

I loved this race. The location was awesome and other than the issue with the bike mount point, the race was fantastic. I can't wait until next year!




Last updated: 2008-05-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:12 | 820 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/13
Overall: 130/199
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Rectangle shape with a beach start.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:04
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:44:12 | 14.29 miles | 19.40 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/13
Overall: 128/199
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: I LOVED LOVED LOVED this bike course. Roads where fairly smooth, but did have a few areas that where bumpy and had some pot holes. It was all out on country roads. Did I mention I loved this course. :)
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:15
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:27:26 | 03.11 miles | 08m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/13
Overall: 134/199
Performance: Good
Course: This was an out and back around the lake on the bike course. Very flat and was very fan friendly!
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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

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2008-06-23 9:03 AM

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: Maumee Bay Triathlon - Sprint Distance

Dave I have to say that your wife kicked major a$$ today man! Alice if you are reading this you MUST post a report, get over here and get it done. :D

Thanks for hanging with us this weekend, it was awesome meeting both of you and looking forward to seeing you guys at the Columbus International! 



Edited by EABonney 2008-06-23 9:07 AM


2008-06-23 2:37 PM
in reply to: #1482832

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Subject: RE: Maumee Bay Triathlon - Sprint Distance

Great race Eric. You'll get that Sub 1:30 next time. Very detailed race report too. Print it out and look at it bafore your next race.

David

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