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Patagonia Triathlon - Triathlon


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Patagonia, Arizona
United States
Patagonia Triathlon
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 00m 38s
Overall Rank = 28/76
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 4/9
Pre-race routine:

The first stop on Friday was Tucson to pick up the race packet. Then on to the town of Patagonia and the park to preview the bike course – I drove the road from the town into the park where the swim would be held. The hills were steeper than I expected, which made me a little nervous. In addition, I saw that the elevation of the area was around 4000 ft., so the air would be a little thin as well. Great… I was starting to wonder what I had gotten myself in to. I also paid my park fee so I wouldn't have to wait in line at the guard gate on Saturday morning. Finally, I was on to Nogales to spend the night. A lot of driving on Friday – the race was taking place in a much more remote area than I thought.
Event warmup:

On Saturday morning, I had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Patagonia Lake. Got set up and still had plenty of time before the late start. Had an opportunity to get in the water a little bit for a practice swim. The water felt very cold to me (63 degrees) – I was glad I got to ease into it and get used to it a little bit before the race started.
Swim
  • 30m 3s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim started smoothly and I was making good progress for a while. About ¼ to 1/3 of the way through, I started having some difficulty breathing and relaxing. I stopped briefly to collect myself – reminded myself that it was just a little cold and I had probably gone out too fast – just relax and find a rhythm. I settled down and got back into it, but I was a little frustrated that I had gotten into my own head there. Thankfully, there was plenty of time to recover from the brief setback.

I finally rounded the last buoy and headed for the beach. When I exited the water, I checked my time and saw 30 minutes and change. It was a much faster swim than usual for an Olympic distance, especially since I felt that I had performed poorly. I have to think that the swim course was measured a little short.

What would you do differently?:

Mental issues – might have been intimidated by water temperature
Transition 1
  • 02m 16s
Comments:

Decent transition; stopped to apply sunscreen
Bike
  • 1h 25m 53s
  • 24.6 miles
  • 17.19 mile/hr
Comments:

My biggest concern about the bike course was the expected winds. The course was, indeed, very hilly as advertised and observed, but predictions were for winds to increase steadily throughout the day (expecting 20-25mph during the race), and from the direction of the park toward the town. In other words, the wind would be right in our faces as we returned from Patagonia to the lake, and would only get worse the longer we were out there. While wind and hills both make rides difficult, winds are worse since they are unpredictable and there is no way to see when or if they will end. At least you can see the top of a hill and see if it gets flatter or steeper as you go. I wanted to get through the bike quickly – the sooner I finished, the weaker the wind would be while I was out there.

I almost had an accident very early on. I came down a hill that ended with an abrupt right turn that I didn’t see coming. I went into a skid and got upright just as I ran out of road. I was actually in the dirt a little bit as I got corrected. While that was the closest I came to disaster, the adventure of the bike course was just beginning. The climbs on the road out of the park were no joke and brought me out of the saddle on a couple of occasions. To add insult to injury, even the downhills provided no relief. The descents were technical and winding, and I just didn’t have the nerve to attack them. I felt cross winds that made me skittish and I laid on the brakes to keep my speed down where I still felt in control.

I made it out of the park and felt like the road would straighten a bit heading toward Patagonia. It did, a little, and I felt pretty strong on most of the hills – I still backed off the speed on a few of the downhills, but felt like I was making good time and the winds weren’t getting too heavy. I traded spots a few times with another rider in my age group over this stretch (I would pass him on a flat or uphill, and he would pass me back going downhill), but finally passed him and put some time between us for good as we neared town . I made the turnaround at the high school and was heading back to the park. I knew that when I made the turn on the road to the lake, the winds wouldn’t be right in my face, so that gave me something to look forward to. I managed to pass several riders in this stretch, and felt pretty good.

I turned back into the park and still had about 5 miles to go and it would all be up and down. The winds still hadn’t gotten too nasty, so I was confident that I could get off the bike before they were too much of a factor. The hills on the park road were just as bad on the way in as they had been on the way out. I continued the pattern of grinding slowly up, and then panicking all the way down, but it was almost over and I was just focusing on finishing safely. I was a little frustrated with myself for not being more confident in my experience and ability to handle the bike on the descents, but some days are like that. The week before at Pumpkinman, I felt great about my handling. Other times, like today and the times I have descended from Mt. Lemmon, I get skittish and can’t attack the downhills at all. I probably cost myself a couple of spots overall, but still finished 17th on the bike in a field of 76.

What would you do differently?:

Confidence on downhills
Transition 2
  • 01m 35s
Comments:

Good transition – no wasted time
Run
  • 1h 00m 50s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m 05s  min/km
Comments:

The run course, like the bike, was very hilly. The terrain was ½ road and ½ gravel. It was a scenic run, especially over a steep bridge across the marina, but challenging from start to finish. It was hard to gauge where in the field you were at any given time, since parts of the course had to be run twice, so you never knew who was on lap one and who was on lap two. The hilliness made getting into a good rhythm challenging, and despite doing some hill training, the course stopped my forward momentum more than I care to think about. There was one 10% grade that we went up twice and I couldn’t keep my legs going. On the bright side, very little passing was going on – I was in a group of three people for a long while, and while we weren’t catching anyone, no one was catching us, either. One of the guys was in my age group, and on one of the uphills, the other runner (who was 35) and I were finally able to shake him. I traded spots back and forth with the 35 year old for another mile or two until we got to the bridge. I knew it would hit me like a wall, and it was narrow, so I sent him ahead, not wanting to hold him up if he could manage a better pace. After crossing the bridge, I just had to get through the campground to get to the finish. Even after a long morning, I still was close to 3 hours, but I saw that I wasn't going to be able to break it. I also wouldn't be able to break an hour for the run (which was also measured short at a little under 6 miles). I think the bathroom stop I made on mile one cost me both milestones, but I’m not going to let that lead to disappointment.
What would you do differently?:

The run was the final six miles of what has been a long, but wildly successful season. While I may have been able to push harder and be a minute or two faster, I’m not going to beat myself up over it.
Post race
Warm down:

I checked the results and saw that I was in 4th in my age group and 28th overall, so there was no need to stick around for awards. I ate a little and went to transition to pack up my things. I talked to the guy racked next to me and found out that he had won the race. I was glad for him, since we had talked for about 10 minutes before he even mentioned it, and he did it in a very casual way – very humble.

All year, I had the past two weekends circled on the calendar, knowing that my two toughest events this year would occur on back to back weekends at the end of the season. All along I thought that Pumpkinman would be the toughest one and while Patagonia would be challenging it would be a little bit of a step down - that wasn't really the case – be it the course or the conditions, Patagonia was the bigger challenge this time around. It was really the event I was preparing for all along – I just didn't realize it. The course was nasty in November, but it would have REALLY killed me at the size and shape I was in earlier this year. It was a good measure of how far I came this season. I loaded the car and headed for Tucson to rest for the night before heading home.


Event comments:

While this race is very, very challenging (I think Bartlett Lake may have lost the title as the toughest Olympic distance race in Arizona), it is a well run race and a pretty venue. The organizers add a personal touch, and you don’t feel like just a number as you tend to at big, name brand races. I hope that the race grows enough where it is successful and sustainable, but not so big that it loses its grassroots feel.




Last updated: 2014-02-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:03 | 1500 meters | 02m / 100meters
Age Group: 6/9
Overall: 47/76
Performance:
Average 141; Max 150
Suit:
Course: Point to Point from the boat ramp, around a set of buoys, and back to the beach
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:16
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:25:53 | 24.6 miles | 17.19 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/9
Overall: 17/76
Performance:
Average 155; Max 168
Wind: Some
Course: Out of the park, to town of Patagonia, and back
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:35
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:00:50 | 10 kms | 06m 05s  min/km
Age Group: 5/9
Overall: 40/76
Performance:
Average 153; Max 164
Course: Out and back over marina bridge and down Sonoita Creek trail twice
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2014-11-08 5:20 AM

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