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Ft. Collins Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lafayette, Colorado
United States
Ft. Collins Club
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 14m 45s
Overall Rank = 94/258
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 13/19
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:45 and ate a cliff bar, a banana and some gatorade. Things got a little hectic and before I realized that I should have probably eaten a little more, it was race time.

Met the BT crew at the parking lot and transition area. The first big disappointment of the day came when I found out when I spoke to Ryan (himself) and he told me that he injured his back the night before and was going to be unable to race. He was the one guy that I really wanted to beat. Even more than that though, I knew he was race-ready and seeing the benefits of all his hard training was something that I know he was looking forward to.
Event warmup:

Took a short ride on the bike to make sure it was in good working order and then swam 100 yds to get the blood flowing. This was the first workout I'd been able to get since my bike crash and I felt pretty stiff.
Swim
  • 07m 49s
  • 450 yards
  • 01m 44s / 100 yards
Comments:

Felt like a pretty good swim, but I should have passed that dude earlier.

Hindsight is always 20/20 though.
What would you do differently?:

Not drafted off of the guy ahead of me for so long and passed him earlier.
Transition 1
  • 01m 4s
Comments:

Good transition. I'll have to get some ideas from others to make this much faster.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 41m 59s
  • 13 miles
  • 18.58 mile/hr
Comments:

Felt great on the bike and even caught a guy (#60) who started 1:20 ahead of me. Caught him around mile 3 or 4 and we passed and re-passed eachother several times until the 3rd lap when I dropped him heading up one of the small hills. Settled back down into the aerobars and tried to conserve energy for the run. I was feeling good and just starting to rehearse my transition and subsequent run in my mind when I felt my front tire go flat about 1.5 miles from the bike-run transition. I briefly considered riding it the rest of the way but decided against it.

As the obscenities flew from my mouth, I knew my race was effectively over. I changed the tire as quickly as I could and I suspect it took me 5 minutes easy. (My tire changing skills are less than professional). I heard Jen (Numberswoman) say something as she went by, but I only heard her voice. At the time, I was secretly thankful that someone could vouch that I had a flat and not just a really poor bike ride.

Once back on the bike I hammered it as hard as I could to make up time (more on that later).
What would you do differently?:

Double checked and probably replaced the rim tape on my front wheel. I think the rim tape has slid off to expose the interior of the spoke and that is probably what caused my flat (might have even contributed to my crash earlier this week).
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Was slow getting my running shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

Get some Yankz! or something else to help me speed up putting my shoes on.
Run
  • 22m 5s
  • 2.9 miles
  • 07m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

My run was a whole lot slower than what it should have been. I should have at least been able to hold a 7 minute pace, especially since this was a short course.
What would you do differently?:

Not hammered the the bike after my flat. Gotta learn some discipline/self control there.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a bit and even briefly though I might puke although I think the nausious (sp?) feeling was a result of my disppaointment in my overall time.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Flatting on the bike.
Pushing too hard on the bike trying to make up time.
I think I might have been better served making up time on the run

Event comments:

Although I was disappointed w/ my race, I still had a good time. Seeing Adam (TriGreenie) win our age group was fantastic and hanging out w/ all the other BTers (blackbud, numberswoman, luv2ride, himself, my wife and Mrs. Trigreenie) was great. The Colorado BTers are a great bunch and I can't wait for next season so we can begin taking over the whole Male 30-34 age group :)




Last updated: 2005-09-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:49 | 450 yards | 01m 44s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 64/258
Performance: Good
Had a guy pass me about 150 yards into the swim and drafted off him until he started slowing and somebody tapped my foot. I let the guy behind me pass us at the next turnaround and I passed the guy I was drafting off of. From there, I just snapped into my swim stroke and tried to pick up the pace.
Suit: Sugoi tri shorts and top
Course: 450 yd snake swim in a pool
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:04
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:41:59 | 13 miles | 18.58 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 156/258
Performance: Bad
Wind: None
Course: Mostly flat w/ some very minor hills. 4 sets of railroad tracks were pretty rough though
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:05 | 02.9 miles | 07m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 48/258
Performance: Below average
I changed the lenght of the course because I heard from several people that it was short. Some of them were people involved in organizing the race and they said it was 2.9 miles instead of 3.1
Course: The start of the run sucked. Since the sidewalk had been destroyed for some reason, we ran through what was essentially a big ditch. Otherwise, I really liked the course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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

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2005-09-13 5:40 PM

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Expert
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Subject: Ft. Collins Triathlon


2005-09-13 6:42 PM
in reply to: #246268

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Veteran
308
100100100
Denver, CO
Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon

Good race despite the flat.  You still beat one of my buddies in the race, even with the flat.  You smoked your July swim time, T1 was faster than July, and it looks like you were on pace to absolutely kill your July bike time.  All in all, that's very respectable, and I've got to hand it to you for just finishing the race - I would have DNF'd if I flatted.

Between that speedy new bike and your run race pace, we'll all be pushing each other hard next year and dominating these local races.  Great racing and training with you this season.

2005-09-13 7:13 PM
in reply to: #246314

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Regular
120
100
Eagle, CO
Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon
Great job Ben. Even with a flat you smoked alot of people, which is tough to do in a sprint race. Look forward to meeting up with you and some other BT's again next season. I want to see you at some ow events and some Oly's!!!! Have a great winter and take care.
Ryan
2005-09-13 7:53 PM
in reply to: #246268

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Expert
683
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Denver
Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon
Major props for sucking it up and finishing despite the flat. You looked strong on the swim too. I watched you for most of it and if it wasn't for those few seconds of not getting around the guy and having to wait at the wall, I think you would've dropped another 10 seconds off your time. Watching with your mom, I told her to watch because it's kind of funny - how everyone else was flying, turning over their arms at a pretty good clip and that even though you're much more methodical and slower in your turnover that you'd still catch the people in front of you. Sure as sh*t, you did. I know she enjoyed watching, too.
2005-09-13 10:09 PM
in reply to: #246268

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Official BT Coach
2210
2000100100
Englewood, CO
Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon
Nice race!  Nice to finally see the race report.  Flats suck!  Especially on your new bike.  Keep up the work and it will pay off.  Later!
2005-09-13 10:44 PM
in reply to: #246268

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Member
24

Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon
Great job in the race.  Too bad you had equipment problems, but it's good to see that you could bounce back from it.  Since I also suck at changing tubes, I probably would have just tried to ride the darn thing out - and then regretted it!


2005-09-19 5:32 PM
in reply to: #246268

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Extreme Veteran
336
10010010025
Peachtree City, GA
Subject: RE: Ft. Collins Triathlon
Hey man that sucks. Even though you flatted your time was better than mine in June LOL. Can't wait until next year.
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