General Discussion Triathlon Talk » First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group! Rss Feed  
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2013-08-24 1:40 PM

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Subject: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Hey guys!

Today I just competed in my first triathlon! It was the Maple Grove Life Time Triathlon, here in Minnesota. The race was nice and flat (mostly) with big gusts of wind and then a heat wave. I learned a lot from this race, and I plan on doing A LOT more from here on out! Here are my results and summaries of what happened.

Zach
Age: 15
Age Group: 14-16

Overall Time: 1:23:48.16
Age Group Place: 2nd
Gender Place: 115 out of 390
Overall Place: 141 out of 728

Swim Split (500 roughly meters):
Time: 0:09:22.15
Pace: 1:48 per 100yds

My nerves were completely racing at the entrance to the swim start. My lower back was bugging me, I felt hungry, I had to go to the bathroom (just nerves) and was overall scared of the race. I started talking to a guy next to me about how to go about racing this portion. I stuck to his advice and hit my stride early on. I continued to go off course and had a hard time staying on the inside. A couple lifeguards had to help point me in the right direction, so I probably swam a good 100m or more then the 500m I had to do. I am a high school swimmer and I expected more out of my swim time. So I was quite disappointed with that part. For my next race I will have to work on swimming in lakes and spotting, because I never practiced for this triathlon. Not the best idea.

Transition 1:
Time: 0:02:41.10

After swimming my legs felt great, I ran to the transition area and quickly got my stuff together. Nothing out of the usual happened, and I think there are some things I could improve upon. But right now transitions are not a major issue.

Bike Split (14 miles):
Time: 0:45:29.31
Rate: 18.5 MPH

I had a great bike ride. The course was straight, flat, and smooth. I kept a great pace and passed a ton of people (did I mention I was in the VERY last wave). I thanked all the police officers and officials as I went by. I was on fire. I started passing people with fancy tri-bikes and realized I was in the middle of the 20 year old group. My only issue was that my tri-top kept riding up and my crotch was on fire from my bike. Overall, strong performance on my part.

Transition 2:
Time: 50 seconds

Nothing special, just jumped off and ran.

Run Split (5k):
Time: 0:25:25.19

I was really disappointed with my performance in this area. I was running at a very slow pace, a pace that I kept for my half-marathon a year ago. But my legs felt horrible after the bike ride. I had never experienced the feeling from biking to running (probably should have trained for this) and it left me shocked. My calves were on fire and my legs overall felt like lead. I tried my hardest but in the end I couldn't pick the pace up. My XC time for a 5k is a low 20m or a high 19minute. But I did my best, and I know what to train for now!

I had a great time! And getting an award and top three in my age group made it that much more sweeter. This is the first of many triathlons in my future.

-Zach


2013-08-24 2:12 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Good job in your first race. Now you know that you need to do some bike run bricks to get used to running off the bike at a high intensity. Since you are a high school swimmer, I'd practice on swimming in the pool with your eyes closed to see how straight you go. But if you have access to open water, go practice some sighting. You can also practice sighting drills in the pool too.

Looks like T1 was slow... did you put your running shoes on or have bike shoes?

T2 was pretty good but not sure if you had running shoes on or had to switch?

Overall sounds like you might of over done it on the bike just a touch but the adrenaline was rushing so you had no clue.
2013-08-24 2:28 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Congratulations Zach :)  Well done!
2013-08-24 10:03 PM
in reply to: switch


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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
I have no doubt you will shave a lot of time off on your second. Also, don't disregard the transitions so easily. Your T1 looks like you could have taken a minute plus off with nothing more than a little planning ahead.
2013-08-24 10:09 PM
in reply to: Portlander

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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Nice Zach!  Well done on the race report as well.  Keep at it and your times will keep coming down!
2013-08-25 12:18 PM
in reply to: spie34

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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Originally posted by spie34

Good job in your first race. Now you know that you need to do some bike run bricks to get used to running off the bike at a high intensity. Since you are a high school swimmer, I'd practice on swimming in the pool with your eyes closed to see how straight you go. But if you have access to open water, go practice some sighting. You can also practice sighting drills in the pool too.

Looks like T1 was slow... did you put your running shoes on or have bike shoes?

T2 was pretty good but not sure if you had running shoes on or had to switch?

Overall sounds like you might of over done it on the bike just a touch but the adrenaline was rushing so you had no clue.


Thank you! Yes I have now been told that practicing bike run bricks would help with the feeling of going from biking to running. Swimming with eyes closed? I feel like that could lead with some bruised faces, especially with me trying!

I didn't know what to expect. We had about a 100m run to the transition area and I was in the back. I don't have bike shoes, so I had to put my socks on and running shoes.

For T2 I didn't switch, but once again I was in the back.

Thank you! Yeah I think I went a little to hard in the bike ride. And it showed in my run. But if I get better, wouldn't it be possible to go faster on the bike and still go fast in the run?

-Thanks spie34!


2013-08-25 12:19 PM
in reply to: TheNewBlood

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Subject: RE: First Triathlon Completed - 2nd in Age Group!
Thank you switch, leftbrain, and portlander! I tried really hard, and I think I will be able to shave a lot of time on my next one.
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