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Got The Nerve - TriathlonSprint


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Mt Gretna, Pennsylvania
United States
Chris Kaag
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 24m 40s
Overall Rank = 92/588
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 10/65
Pre-race routine:

Wake up 4:20. Heat up baked oatmeal with blueberries and eat it on the drive to the race. Pick up packet, get body-marked, set up transition, then talk to friends at the race.
Event warmup:

Arm windmills and flapping for a few minutes to loosen up my shoulders, arms, and lats before the swim start.
Swim
  • 07m 18s
  • 500 yards
  • 01m 28s / 100 yards
Comments:

I lined up in the front inside row again this year of wave #5, and exploded off the start and swam hard, but not an all-out sprint to get ahead of some of the others in my wave. After about 50-75 yds, I looked around, and saw that there were only about 3 other guys still with me, so I shut it down a little and relaxed. Shortly after rounding the first buoy, we caught up with stragglers from wave #4. Picked my way through them while maintaining a bee-line for the 2nd buoy. Just after rounding the 2nd buoy, I started seeing people from wave #3 around me. I Started picking up the pace again at this point, kicking a little harder to get more blood flowing in my legs. Swam until my hands hit bottom, and saw that people around me were in water no more than knee deep. Then I stood up and ran up the beach to the timing mat at transition about 100 yds away, pulling off my cap & goggles and taking the top of my suit down around my waist.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 1
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

Transition was ok. No glaring issues, but nothing spectacular about it either. Time was 74/588 overall.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 51m 2s
  • 16 miles
  • 18.81 mile/hr
Comments:

Pretty good ride. I noticed on the hills that even racing hard, I wasn't breathing extremely hard, but my legs were feeling the effort. It may be time to reevaluate my bike training to focus more muscular endurance, since that seemed to be my limiter in this race. Drinking was good - I had the small portion of my aero bottle filled with 50/50 Gatorade & water. I drank all of this, and had a little water in the bottom of the larger portion, which I drank some of too. There was very little water left when I finished. I stayed aero whenever I wasn't climbing or going around a hard turn.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This is my second weakest leg, but it has improved a lot. I need to keep working on it, but not as much as my running. I think this was the first race of this size where my bike split was in the top 25% of my AG.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

Again, this transition was good, but not excellent. 89/588 overall.
Run
  • 23m 41s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

As usual, my calfs threatened to cramp a little coming out of T2 and for the first few hundred yards, but then they relaxed, and I was able to pick up the pace. I didn't drink anything on the run. I knew the course was a slight downhill to the turnaround point, so I was prepared for the slight uphill back. This was a very good run for me - Possibly my best in a race ever.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing - I can't run any faster than this right now. I just need to keep working on my run, because it's definitely where I can improve the most.
Post race
Warm down:

Just walked around and kept moving.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness. Mostly run fitness.

Event comments:

This is an excellent event, and I recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to race it. The only negatives are the rough road for the bike in/out, and the post race food could be better. The only options were bananas, oranges, bagels, and trail mix.




Last updated: 2009-11-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:18 | 500 yards | 01m 28s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/65
Overall: 45/588
Performance: Good
Suit: Full
Course: Counter-clockwise triangle in lake. I'm pretty sure it was a little short of 500 yds.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:50
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:51:02 | 16 miles | 18.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 14/65
Overall: 111/588
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: 3 real hills on the course. The rest was flat-to-rolling. The roads are all pretty smooth with the exception of Lake Drive in and out of transition which is extremely rough with potholes.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:23:41 | 03.11 miles | 07m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 28/65
Overall: 206/588
Performance: Good
Course: Mostly flat out and back with most of the run on a shaded, dirt rail trail. This is a nice run course. I think it may have been a little short - More like 3.0 mi than 3.1.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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

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