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Twilight Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Crystal River, Florida
United States
DRC Sports
90F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 08m 24s
Overall Rank = 119/248
Age Group = Clydes all ages
Age Group Rank = 11/21
Pre-race routine:

First evening/night race so really didn't have a plan. Drove up, checked into the hotel, found a seafood place for lunch, too late, should have eaten earlier, then back to hotel to get changed.
Event warmup:

Nothing other than standing around in 90+ degree heat & humidity. Shoulder stretches as I waited for my wave.
Swim
  • 08m 6s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

NASTIEST SWIM EVER!!! The swim was in a very shallow, muck bottom, shelly, dark brown, awful tasting lagoon. Visibility was zero because of so many people having already churned up the muck. My wife said some people were coming out of the water and you could see the muck on their faces. She compared them to chimney sweeps! As I approached the shore, I stood up when my fingers touched the bottom, at which point I immediately sunk to my knees in crap. On about my third step I cut my second & third toes on something.
What would you do differently?:

NOT THIS RACE!!! There are way too many races that are closer and cleaner than this event.
Transition 1
  • 00m 52s
Comments:

T1 was very short because the timing mat was right at the entrance instead of down by the water. Had an end spot because I got to check in early. Took a few seconds to turn on lights and wipe off my feet. Could really feel the cuts burning. Wiped off my left foot again and could see it was bleeding, but not too bad.
What would you do differently?:

Not cut my toes on the swim.
Bike
  • 28m 43s
  • 10 miles
  • 20.89 mile/hr
Comments:

Once I got my feet in my shoes, I really didn't feel the cuts. The road had a decent bike lane, but the white line has been painted so many times there is a lip to it, so most riders were riding in the road. The road was rough with some potholes that were more like splits in the asphalt. Really had to pay attention to what was ahead. Saw one guy afterwards that was chewed up pretty bad, overheard him say that as he was riding, his front wheel "just disappeared out from underneath me." There was also a small bridge that had a dip/drop at each edge. At both the turn around and re-entering transition, there were cars backed up that forced me to slow up and maneuver around them. All that aside, the thing that bothered me the most was being passed by trucks pulling boat trailers. The road dead-ended at a boat ramp 500 feet past transition, so EVERY boater going home that evening had to pass the riders.
What would you do differently?:

NOT THIS RACE!!! There are way more races closer that have better and safer roads.
Transition 2
  • 00m 47s
Comments:

Another good T2, had almost forgot about the cuts until I stepped off the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not cut my toes exiting the swim.
Run
  • 29m 56s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

All runners were on the same side of the road, so there was a lot of traffic. It wasn't really a problem except for the water station. Runners running towards each other, both trying to grab a drink and not enough volunteers. And it was getting dark. It made for some close calls. I did see one volunteer sprint to a lady who went through when there was no cups ready and brought her 2 cups of water. Just after the turn around, I was caught by another Clyde and we ran stride for stride to within 400 yards of the finish when he dropped me with his kick.
What would you do differently?:

Not cut my toes on the swim exit! Pushing off was really uncomfortable but the thing that bothered me the most, was my big toe (which was not cut) sticking to the insole because of the blood.

Train more, eat less, get faster and lose weight!
Post race
Warm down:

Went to the medical tent to get my toes cleaned up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was about 3 minutes slower than I was hoping for. The combination of a poor choice for lunch and eating too late along with the inability to fully use my left foot was probably the difference.

Event comments:

The allure of a night race got me to drive 2+ hours to this event, glad I did it, but don't think its worth the time in the future. Too many things that left me feeling let down by this one.




Last updated: 2012-06-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:06 | 440 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/21
Overall: 82/248
Performance: Bad
Suit: Ryder Bikes Tri Suit
Course: Straight out from shore about 175 yards, then right turn, another 50 yards, another right turn then 175 yards back to shore.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 90F / 32C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:52
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:28:43 | 10 miles | 20.89 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/21
Overall: 76/248
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: 5 miles out and back along the only road out to the beach. Wind was off the Gulf, so tailwind on the way out, headwind on the way back.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence: 86
Turns: Below average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:47
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:56 | 03 miles | 09m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 14/21
Overall: 170/248
Performance: Average
Course: 1.5 mile out and back along the right side of the road with a single water station at the mile and 2 mile mark.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2012-07-29 11:02 PM

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Expert
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10002525
Bradenton, Florida
Subject: Twilight Triathlon


2012-07-30 7:06 AM
in reply to: #4336603

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New user
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Subject: RE: Twilight Triathlon

I agree with your assessment, I've done three races there in the morning and I liked each of those better.  One, I think the water gets churned up by the swimmers who swim there all day so it doesn't seem near as murky.  Also, I think it was low tide and I don't remember it being that shallow, in June it seemed to have a much sandier bottom.

 But as you also mentioned, the thing that bothered me the most was the boat traffic.  In the morning, it isn't near as bad although there is still some traffic (and at that point in the morning, they probably haven't nearly finished the case of beer they had as they were leaving at 8pm!)  The mosquitoes were also horrible after the sun went down.

I like the DRC events and think they are well run, but not sure if I will do this one again.

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