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No Label Triathlon - Triathlon


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Katy, Texas
United States
i Tri Events
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 06m 39s
Overall Rank = 12/298
Age Group = m30-34
Age Group Rank = 4/35
Pre-race routine:

Schedule for the morning was: Open racking of bikes starting at 5 am & race start at 7 am. Race was 5 minutes from my house.

Woke up at 4 am and drank a big glass of water then had a banana with peanut butter and honey. And some coffee.

Double checked my transition bags and threw them in the truck. Topped off the tires and threw the bike in the truck and headed out.

When I pulled up at 4:50 there were already people racking their bikes and I was pretty pissed. But there was still plenty of room on the first row right by transition entry/exit so I was good. Racked the bike, put some water in the aero bottle and laid out my helmet, sun glasses, towel and shoes.

Then I drove over to the finish to park which was at a different location. There I handed my T2 bag to a race official and boarded the shuttle back to the pool/T1 location.

Chatted with some folks for the next hour or so once we got back to the pool. Once it was time to start lining up and self seeding for the serpent swim it got interesting. The jockeying for position and people lying about their swim times was quite comical to me. Based on last years times I figured I needed to be at least in the front 15 people and probably the first 10 and I was able to get right around there so I felt good about it. But I did feel pressure to make sure I swam fast enough to stay out of peoples way.
Event warmup:

No warm up.
Swim
  • 04m 2s
  • 300 meters
  • 01m 20s / 100 meters
Comments:

I went out way to fast to start. I think the adrenalin and the pressure to not hold up the people behind me led to that. I don't know if it was the adrenalin or the pool but I was making my turns way too close to the wall at first and actually have a bruised heel from hitting very hard on one of them.

I caught the guy in front of me about 1/3 of the way through and it was at that point I realized I was going to hard. There was no one close behind me so I took a couple of big breath open turns to put some space between the guy in front of me and recover a little. I was hurting and couldn't believe I still had so many lanes to go.

I was able to settle into a much slower pace and finish the swim in ok shape, but definitely not ideal condition coming out of the pool.
What would you do differently?:

Trust my speed in the water and try to have a much more even split. If I had been slower at the beginning I could have maintained that speed throughout and finished with the same time, but been in much better shape going into T1 and the bike.
Transition 1
  • 01m 2s
Comments:

Working way to hard in the pool made this an interesting experience. I bust out of the pool building and turn to run toward the T1 area. I hear my wife yelling "There's daddy!! Go daddy go!!" I see her and my kids and my parents so I run over to give the kids a high five. I hadn't prepped them for this so they had no idea what to do (they're 2 and 5). It was pretty funny. I think the suddenness of me appearing confused them.

I run to my bike, throw my goggles at my bag and put on my sunglasses and helmet. I feel like my arms are shaking and my vision is blurry. Immediately my sunglasses fog up. I take them off and hook them on my suit collar. Get in my shoes and go.
What would you do differently?:

The race started at 7 am and the official sun rise wasn't until 7:20. The sunglasses weren't necessary and I shouldn't have even messed with having them there. Maybe some clear glasses, but with them fogging up they wouldn't have been of any help either. I don't ever remember wishing I had anything covering my eyes on the bike, so from now on unless it's going to be bright I'm not going to worry about glasses.

Could have shaved a few seconds off by not trying to high five the kids, but it was worth it. That afternoon they were riding their bikes and scooters around the cul-de-sac and they'd do a lap on the bike/scooter then jump off and run a lap and they'd high five as they ran by. Good stuff.
Bike
  • 38m 22s
  • 14 miles
  • 21.89 mile/hr
Comments:

note: on the attached bike data, I forgot to hit the garmin when I got to T2 so you'll see about a minute of flat data at the end that affected the averages.

Holy crap was I out of it when I first jumped on the bike. There were a couple of quick left turns right out of the gate before the first long straight away. I don't remember this section very well. I don't think anyone passes me early on.

Once on the straight away I settled into my aero bars and was hitting my target of 22-23 mph. I was hurting but happy with the pace. A few miles I got passed by a couple of guys, one of which is a guy I know, and I knew he was going to pass me so I was ok with it as I was still hitting my pace.

Right before the first right turn of the big rectangle I got passed by a guy that started the swim only a couple of people behind me. He never got more than 20 yards in front of me for the whole next 2 straight aways. I did notice that when I got out of the saddle to get back up to speed on the corners, my calves were trying to cramp on me.

At some point on the second of the two straight aways I was behind him I realized I wasn't in as much pain anymore even though I was still hitting my pace. As we rounded the third right turn another guy passed me. So now I'm sitting behind two guys and feeling way too good for this sprint race.

So I cranked up the effort, passed both of them and was hitting 24 mph for the next few minutes. I kind of died off a little by the next right turn and they both passed me again for the last short straight away. At this point I'm thinking about T2 and the run so I was happy to just sit at 22 mph so I would be a little more coherent during T2. As I was rolling up I loosened my shoes but kept them on when I jumped off the bike.


What would you do differently?:

I really need to get intimate with my new power tap. I can really see the benefit of power now as even though there wasn't much wind, it was enough to make 22-23 too easy for the longest straight away. I also would like to not be in such a bad place to start as I think I could have made up way more time on the bike than I would lose by swimming a little easier or at least more level paced.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

I followed the two guys right into T2 and people were yelling all sorts of numbers. I yelled my number to a gal and she pointed me down my aisle. Once on the aisle someone else pointed me to my spot. The second guy that passed me had his bike and himself right on top of my stuff. He was yelling out over and over "225?!?!?" (my number was 226).

I just racked my bike next to his and dumped out my T2 bag. Threw my helmet down, got out of my shoes, threw my running shoes on. Grabbed my number belt and visor and took off. Somewhere during all of that the guy gave up on finding his bag and took off barefoot.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. If I want to be faster here I need to practice getting out of my shoes while still on the bike and doing a running dismount. But I didn't think it was going to save me much time and had potential for disaster on my first race even if I had been practicing.
Run
  • 22m 6s
  • 3 miles
  • 07m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

Run started out bad. The insides of my calves were slightly cramping with every step I took. About 200 yards into it, afraid that the cramping would get worse, I stopped at a stop sign and stretched them out for 10-15 seconds. When I started running again they were still doing it but at some point I guess it stopped but I don't remember exactly when.

When I stopped a girl passed me that I had passed on the bike. I was following behind her and the barefoot dude. He continued to gain ground but I kept up with the girl running about ~7:10/mile which was about what I thought I could do. I was hurting but I'm not sure if I was pushing myself as hard as I could have.

The run was basically an out and back along the same path. Right after the turnaround was the only aid station. They yelled at the girl that she was the 1st female. Well I'll be damned it that didn't motivate me to try and pass her, lol! But I could not. Both of our paces increased on the second half and we were both booking it pretty good at the end. I could not run any faster the last half mile, that's for sure.

Turns out that the girl started the swim farther in front of me than she finished the run, so I did end up beating all of the females.
What would you do differently?:

Not much except practice 5k pace before hand.
Post race
Warm down:

Celebrating with my boys, eating breakfast tacos and drinking craft beer!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not training specifically for sprints. Not knowing what pace I could maintain and not having experience pushing myself to the max.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2015-02-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:04:02 | 300 meters | 01m 20s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/35
Overall: 8/298
Performance: Good
see attached photos
Suit: Zoot 1 piece tri suit
Course: Pool
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:02
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:38:22 | 14 miles | 21.89 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/35
Overall: 14/298
Performance: Good
see attached photos
Wind: Little
Course: Flat long rectangle.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 77
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:06 | 03 miles | 07m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/35
Overall: 29/298
Performance: Good
see attached photos
Course: Flat
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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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2015-03-30 11:10 AM

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812
500100100100
Katy, Texas
Subject: No Label Triathlon


2015-03-30 11:35 AM
in reply to: #5104707

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Pro
6520
50001000500
Bellingham, WA
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Great race Sean.  Enjoyed reading about it.  Hope the rest of your HIM training goes well.  I think this race is a good indicator that you are on the right track. 

2015-03-30 11:51 AM
in reply to: #5104707

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Member
667
5001002525
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Awesome race!

I hate when my sunglasses fog up. Last year during a half marathon my glasses fogged so bad I couldn't see where I was running. I decided that since I use baby shampoo in my goggles so why not try it with my sunglasses. It actually worked!
You're going to have an amazing season!
2015-03-30 12:02 PM
in reply to: #5104707

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Master
6595
50001000500252525
Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Sounds like a very organized race, especially for a sprint! 

Nice job on pushing through. As for shades, the eye protection is good to have, even if you don't need tint, the fogging is a pain though.

Funny that the guy took off barefoot! I'm guessing that's not his first barefoot run if he was able to maintain that strong of a pace.

Glad you enjoyed your first experience and glad the boys decided to "play triathlon". Future triathletes in the making.

2015-03-30 12:14 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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538
50025
Brooklyn, New York
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Thanks a million for this report. I have basically the same layout pool tri coming April 19th. Still figuring how to seed myself for the pool swim. What you addressed has been my concern - that I go too hard for little time benefit, but at the expense of CV work and energy better spent on bike. You are a somewhat faster than I expect to be in the swim (mine will be 400 yards) and am torn between seeding myself at 6.30, 40 or 50. Our heart rate zones definitely differ, but I am curious, what percentages of max were those numbers you shared in the post race stats? That'd help me with my predicted pacing for myself.

Thanks again for this posting, gets me even more psyched for mine
2015-03-30 12:41 PM
in reply to: fortissimo

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Great race, Sean, especially for a first ever effort!!  Wow, I know there will be more good races headed your way.  You've learned some pacing and racing strategies and will only be more streamlined from here.  I love how your kids were 'playing triathlon' after you got home, so cute!  Congrats again!



2015-03-30 1:01 PM
in reply to: melbo55

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812
500100100100
Katy, Texas
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Thanks so much everyone! The support on here has been so wonderful!

TJ - to be honest, I haven't done a max hr test for either the bike or the run. I've just been following the free 20 week HIM plan on here (4 weeks out now), and it hasn't called for it so I haven't done it. I'm going to do that right after my HIM though so that I can use it in my training going forward. If I had to guess it would be around 190.
2015-03-30 1:26 PM
in reply to: Jet Black

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Master
7712
50002000500100100
Orlando
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

What an awesome first race Sean!!  I don't know about others, but I always feel horrible the first 200 yards or so of the swim.  With the excitement and trying to bust out into a fast ( for me!) swim, my heart rate spikes and it feels like I may die! It is better if I've gotten a warm up of some type in as that gets the heart rate up a bit.  Maybe a warm up would be good for you too.

congrats again!

2015-03-30 2:05 PM
in reply to: 0

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Veteran
2842
200050010010010025
Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Great race! 

The high fives later in the day - well, you can't beat that.  Absolutely worth however much time that took!

Question for you on the bike:  How many spikes over about 300W did you see?  Just curious, as this might be one way that you find a PM useful in a race (as opposed, or better in addition, to all the ways they're useful in training).

'Grats on a great race and here's to a terrific season!  Looking forward to meeting up in Galveston!

Matt

ETA: Just looked at Strava.  The power profile for the ride was really quite smooth, especially for someone new to riding with power.  Big spikes coming out of corners, but only a relatively few over 300W otherwise.  For me, and many others, those spikes do more to hurt the run than steady power output and don't improve the overall bike time as much (might have been part of the calf cramping, as you noticed that on standing).

And for the swim, I did the exact same thing in my first couple sprints (I'm a slow learner!).  Now that you've experienced it, though, should be easy to catch (just remember there are no walls from which to pace yourself on an OWS).  Definitely would recommend a swim warmup, if at all possible - even just cords or something if you can't get into the water.

M



Edited by mcmanusclan5 2015-03-30 2:11 PM
2015-03-30 2:34 PM
in reply to: mcmanusclan5

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812
500100100100
Katy, Texas
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Thanks Matt! Great advice as always!

Luckily at Galveston there's only one turn (the turnaround) once you get out onto the seawall. Lots of straight away saddle time. I'm getting very comfortable there, which is encouraging. Getting to and from Moody gardens from the seawall will be a good place to both recover from the swim and prepare for the run. Once out on the beachfront, hammer down (respectively).

I feel like (I hope) I won't feel the pressure to go fast on the swim in open water. But I've never done it so who knows. I don't want to be around a bunch of yahoos either though, so a little quicker pace for 100-200 then settling in is probably a good strategy. Thoughts?
2015-03-30 4:10 PM
in reply to: #5104707

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Master
6834
5000100050010010010025
Englewood, Florida
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Nicely done, Sean. You should be really happy with the race, from mutiple standpoints. The first being that your finishing time was good. The second being that you learned a bit. And of course, quality family time!!!!

Congratulations on a very good day!



2015-03-30 4:14 PM
in reply to: Jet Black

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Pro
6520
50001000500
Bellingham, WA
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Originally posted by Jet Black Thanks Matt! Great advice as always! Luckily at Galveston there's only one turn (the turnaround) once you get out onto the seawall. Lots of straight away saddle time. I'm getting very comfortable there, which is encouraging. Getting to and from Moody gardens from the seawall will be a good place to both recover from the swim and prepare for the run. Once out on the beachfront, hammer down (respectively). I feel like (I hope) I won't feel the pressure to go fast on the swim in open water. But I've never done it so who knows. I don't want to be around a bunch of yahoos either though, so a little quicker pace for 100-200 then settling in is probably a good strategy. Thoughts?

Well Sean, my initial thought is that you are not learning anything the hard way.    You seem to be nailing any and everything first attempt. 

Seriously, a little faster out of the gates is not a bad idea.  It enables you to better position yourself, gets you ahead of some of the yahoos, and better enables you to latch on to some faster feet.

2015-03-30 9:07 PM
in reply to: popsracer

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812
500100100100
Katy, Texas
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Originally posted by popsracer

Originally posted by Jet Black Thanks Matt! Great advice as always! Luckily at Galveston there's only one turn (the turnaround) once you get out onto the seawall. Lots of straight away saddle time. I'm getting very comfortable there, which is encouraging. Getting to and from Moody gardens from the seawall will be a good place to both recover from the swim and prepare for the run. Once out on the beachfront, hammer down (respectively). I feel like (I hope) I won't feel the pressure to go fast on the swim in open water. But I've never done it so who knows. I don't want to be around a bunch of yahoos either though, so a little quicker pace for 100-200 then settling in is probably a good strategy. Thoughts?

Well Sean, my initial thought is that you are not learning anything the hard way.    You seem to be nailing any and everything first attempt. 

Seriously, a little faster out of the gates is not a bad idea.  It enables you to better position yourself, gets you ahead of some of the yahoos, and better enables you to latch on to some faster feet.




Thanks Steve. Yeah the faster feet would really be nice I imagine. I really need to get out and practice open water swimming and drafting.
2015-04-01 2:04 AM
in reply to: Jet Black

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Veteran
2441
200010010010010025
Western Australia
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Great job Sean. you did an amazing job especially with it being your first race.
2015-04-01 8:16 AM
in reply to: StaceyK

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812
500100100100
Katy, Texas
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon
Thanks Stacey!
2015-04-02 11:24 AM
in reply to: Jet Black

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Seattle
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

Great start to the season!!!

You should get a warm-up routine down. It will really help, especially with short course racing! 



2015-04-07 10:47 AM
in reply to: Asalzwed

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Member
2689
2000500100252525
Denver, CO
Subject: RE: No Label Triathlon

What a fantastic race!!  You've got super speed, and even more potential, plus you seem to have the mental part pretty well nailed.  You clearly have an aptitude for this!  Love that your little ones were there to see you and were then inspired to do little duathlons of their own later.  Keep up the great work, Sean.  Can't wait to read more of your race reports.

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