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Treasure Island Triathlon - Olympic Distance - Duathlon


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San Francisco, California
United States
TriCalifornia
58F / 14C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 23m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 3:00 due to our fricken cat and our nieces cat. Long story. At 4:00 I actually got up and started to get ready. I got oatmeal and packed the rest of my stuff.

I headed out to TI and on the offramp there was a crash. Boy did that foreshadow the race.
Event warmup:

After I set-up my transition area I caught up with Aaron Smith and we did a warm-up run. We didn't not warm-up on the bike--which in hindsight was not the smartest thing I've ever done. Next, time I will do this to ensure that the bike is working well.
Run
  • 00m 50s
  • 0.09 miles
  • 09m 16s  min/mile
Comments:

Nice non event. However, on the upside, my swim time was inline with the pros.
What would you do differently?:

Swim
Transition 1
  • 01m 4s
Comments:

I struggled with clipping into the bike. That's been a while since, I've done that.
What would you do differently?:

Swim
Bike
  • 1h 25m 26s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 17.45 mile/hr
Comments:

Going into this event I have been warned by many people that this was a very difficult course with many potholes and turns. This IS NOT my strong suit. My game plan was to take laps 2 - 3 easy with 4 and 5 harder and 6 strong without killing myself.

I went too hard on the first lap. I could feel my legs tighten-up too much. The first 1/2 of the lap had a lot of bikers due to the format, but it got much clearer after everyone got into their grove.

As I got to about the half way point of the first lap, I saw an ambulance crew attending to two bikers. One had dropped his bike and the other ran over him before hitting a building. Not good. They were still there as I completed my second lap. I was was very glad that I did a practice run through last weekend.

I was amazed that many people were passing at high rates of speed during the turns. After the first lap I started to get used to this. Frankly, this felt like I would imagine a crit to feel like.

On laps two and three I backed off of the speed and focused on staying alive! Laps four and five I picked it up quite a bit. It was interesting that at this point a bunch of us had found our speed and would pass each other back and forth and talk during the race. One guy in particular would pass me on the flats, but I passed him on the hills three times in a row. Another guy (who was 53) was in the same pack.

On lap 5 I thought to myself, don't kill yourself before the run. So I knocked it down a little. At about 3/4 of the way through the lap, the 53 year old guy and I were talking about the race. He got ahead of me by about 200 meters. On the final turn before the hill I saw him lose control and the bike wheels slip out from underneath him. He hit a police barricade very hard. I saw a police office get to him and tell him to stay down. It did not look good. At that point, my race changed to "let's get through this. I ended up heading up the final hill and did not crank it on the down hill. As I hit the transition, I was very thankful that I did survive.

Also, it was great to see my former teammates from Team in Training yelling for me. It was great!

Total elevation was 1,025.
What would you do differently?:

I did not get enough nutrition on the bike. This is something that I need to work on. Additionally, I need to work on my gear work. I think more active management here would increase my speed.
Transition 2
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

This was a pretty good transition for me.
What would you do differently?:

I need to get the quick strings for my running shoes
Run
  • 54m 54s
  • 6.43 miles
  • 08m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

It was a decent run. My mile was pretty slow and tight was it took me the normal amount of time to get my legs underneath me. However it is getting easier.

About 1/3 of the way through the course, I saw a bunch of TNT people cheering for everyone. Boy what a great pick-up. During the second lap, I started to cramp a little, but I kept on going. At that time, I saw Chris "Big Sexy" pointing to his watch--nice!

My goal for the race was go open it-up on the third lap, but I did not have much left. I think my nutrition was poor and I paid for it here. I ran pretty well, but did not have it in me to do a stride at the end.
What would you do differently?:

Better nutrition next year.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking around and caught up with Peter, Sean and Aaron. I ended-up getting a hot dog and wandering over to see the TNT people.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Consistent training. I have missed more workouts these last two months than I have the previous six. Also, I think I need to work more on my strength training.

Event comments:

This is a good race from many perspective, and has issues on others.

TriCalifornia does a world class job putting on events. The are true class acts. They handled the oil in the bay with grace and class. At the end of the day they did the right thing by canceling the swim. I felt bad for the athletes trying to qualify for the Olympics. Can you image being a swimmer and tapering for this event. Bummer.

The downside the bike course with the tons of cracks and pot holes. However, if you bike the course a couple of times before the event you should be ok.




Last updated: 2007-10-09 12:00 AM
Running
00:00:50 | 00.09 miles | 09m 16s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: The swim course was replaced with a quick run from the swim area. The swim was canceled because a cargo ship hit the bay bridge and dumped 58,000 gallons of oil into the bay. Bah
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
T1
Time: 01:04
Overall: Average
Run with bike? Good
Jump on bike? Good
Getting up to speed and into shoes: Below average
Biking
01:25:26 | 24.85 miles | 17.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong
Course: The course is 6 loops around Treasure Island--including a little hill. The course is really bumpy--which many pothole, ruts and gaps.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:04
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:54:54 | 06.43 miles | 08m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
I need to get the official time. I forgot to stop my Garmin after stopping.
Course: Three laps out along the water.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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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2007-11-11 4:56 PM

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Expert
683
500100252525
Lafayette, CA
Subject: Treasure Island Triathlon - Olympic Distance


2007-11-12 9:13 AM
in reply to: #1047967

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Veteran
188
100252525
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Treasure Island Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Great RR and great race too!  Sounds like you are lucky you survived the bike.  Lots of turns!  Your run times look fantastic!  You did well considering the circumstances and your nutrition being off.  How did they decide on the distance for the 1st run?  A friend of mine was in a similar situation (swim canceled due to too rough waters in Lake Ontario), but they split the last run in half - 5K at the beginning, 5K at the end. 
2007-11-12 10:56 AM
in reply to: #1047967

User image

Expert
683
500100252525
Lafayette, CA
Subject: RE: Treasure Island Triathlon - Olympic Distance

I think it was a function of lack of course space available.  They were considering a shorter run--maybe 2 miles at the beginning.   

It was better than getting covered with oil!

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