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HU Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Mt. Airy, Maryland
United States
Health Unlimited
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 11m 64s
Overall Rank = 19/110
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 4/11
Pre-race routine:

This race was almost the first DNS for me as I have been dealing with a lower back injury since early August, and to top it off my 12 year old's sleepover birthday party was the night before (so I didn't get to sleep until 2am). Saturday night I had pretty much decided it was a no-go for me. But when my alarm went off at 5am I was up and out the door, ready to ride. Had my banana and yogurt (favorite pre-race meal), got to the race and registered and found out I'd been moved (a per my request) to the 1st wave of the start. Set up in the transition area and chatted with my neighbor Chris and his wife Patti, both who did the race (Chris beat me by 2 seconds! Doh!).
Event warmup:

Light stretching and nothing more.
Swim
  • 05m 30s
  • 400 yards
  • 01m 23s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was in the first wave of the race and it took forever for them to get the start worked out. While waiting I swam around a little to warm up. Once it started it was an uneventful swim. I was concerned about my ability to do flip turns with the back problem, but after my first flip turn I felt no pain so I had good turns throughout the swim. They didn't seed the waves by swim time and I lapped most people, some several times, over the course of the 400 meters. I was first out of the water and ran into T1. Watch said it was a 5:30 swim, which I was very happy with figuring that since the Bay swim in June I've been in the water only 3-4 times for workouts.
Transition 1
  • 01m
Comments:

My time is an estimate since the race does not do splits, but my T1 was fast for me. No wetsuit to deal with, I skipped putting on socks, and everything else went smoothly.
Bike
  • 41m
  • 12 miles
  • 17.56 mile/hr
Comments:

Being out of the water first, I was the first cyclist on the course, and I held this position through the entire bike. Being out in front is a little nerve racking, as you have to really pay attention to the turns on the course, but they were well marked and the pre-race meeting did a good job of pointing out potential problems on the course.

I've only been on my bike a handful of times this season, and since I hurt my back I've only been on it once for a 12 mile brick last week, so my expectations were quite low. I decided to hammer on the flats and try to make up time I knew I'd lose on the climbs and found myself feeling really good. I had a good cadence going and held my aero position at all times except for steeper climbs. The only significant climb is mile 9 which winds it's way up for a full mile, and I was nearly passed by one rider behind me, but at the top I pulled ahead of him and came into T2 as the first biker.
What would you do differently?:

I've biked a total of about 40 miles in all of 2009. It's pretty obvious what I need to do. But I can't help being happy to hold a 17mph average with a complete lack of training. Makes me want to get out and ride and get ready for spring '10 season!
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

I was first into T2, but got passed by the rider behind me who rode the bike in his running shoes thus had a 20 second T2. I switched shoes, racked the bike, and was off on the run about 50 yards behind him.
Run
  • 23m 30s
  • 3 miles
  • 07m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

At first I tried to catch the one runner ahead of me, but after the first mile I couldn't gain on him, so I settled into my own pace and ran my race. Mile 2 is a nice long downhill so I settled my heart rate and breathing and worked on establishing a good cadence. I used my Timex watch countdown timer, set to beep every 1 minute, to establish a cadence of 90 strides/min on the downhill and then for Mile 3 I forced myself to hold the cadence on the uphill. I came into the finish line as the second finisher and checked my split on my watch and was thrilled that I was under an 8 min/mile pace, especially considering that the running I've been doing has hovered around 9:20 - 10:00 min/mile pace.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, beside running more in training.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training volume and intensity.

Event comments:

I categorize this race as a 'fitness' triathlon, which is not a negative description at all, but implies that the field is mostly local people looking to do a tri for the sake of fun and fitness. I enjoy the size and atmosphere of these smaller hometown events and this is a good one without a lot of frills. The race premium (a nice heavy zippered sweatshirt PLUS a standard race T-shirt) is very nice for the $45 race fee. MD State Police support was very good and the organizers and volunteers did a good job with the event. I'd recommend this for anybody looking for a good, local fitness triathlon next fall.




Last updated: 2009-09-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:30 | 400 yards | 01m 23s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/110
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Pool swim in a split lane.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:41:00 | 12 miles | 17.56 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/110
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: A 11.55 mile course (according to my Cateye on my bike) that makes a big loop on MD state highway 27 and a series of secondary back roads. This course is scenic and mildly rolling with one long mile climb around mile 9. Though it's never really flat, there are lots of opportunities to get low and grind in a higher gear. Note that they changed the bike course from previous years and significantly improved it!
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:23:30 | 03 miles | 07m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/110
Performance: Good
Course: Mile 1 is through local neighborhoods and is gently rolling. Mile 2 is out to the twin arches (an old stone arch bridge) and is all downhill. Mile 3 is back from the twin arches to the finish line, and is all uphill. The hills are gradual, not very steep.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2009-09-21 9:15 AM

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