Sunset Sprint Triathlon:
.5 mi Swim, 16 mi Bike, 5k Run
Overall, a great race. First one of the season for me, as I missed 4 races earlier this year due to work. This was a good course for all three. Out and back swim in a lake, good bike loop (not repetative), and the run was actually more on trails than roads.
Swim (0:15:16):
Water temp was 86 degrees!!! No wetsuits, which was good for me. I just got my first wetsuit in the mail Friday night, so with no time to practice in it, I wasn't going to wear it anyway. However, I felt HORRIBLE on the swim! I couldn't get my rhythm AT ALL once I was in the water. Not to mention I couldn't see a damn thing and had to stop and look around too much. I started in the first wave (with a few pros!) and definitely finished towards the back of the pack. But, all things considered I guess I can't complain too much. Definitely learned that I need to practice open water swimming more often (for direction) and swim at race pace more often. I never got into a good rhythm, so hopefully swimming at faster paces will help that. Felt okay when I got out of the water, but I was a little more winded than I wanted to be.
T1:
Cedric was right - keep the tri-top on during the swim! Even with a zipper, that thing was hard as hell to pull on a wet body. Or, just don't wear one! Other than that, I was pretty happy with this transition. Transitions are something I rarely practice, so it wasn't too bad.
Bike (0:43:00):
I felt like I was crushing people on the bike. I was only passed once, and that was by a guy I had already passed. I was smoking by people for the most part. Some rolling hills and wind slowed me down for some of the course, but I was still catching people in front of me. Felt like my nutrition plan was a good one - no complaints for the rest of the race. If I can make an improvement here, it's - HILLS, HILLS, HILLS!!!
T2:
Not bad, although I want to research the quick laces for my shoes. I felt like I wasted a lot of time tying up my running shoes. No socks definitely helps, but the laces were killing me. Otherwise, again - I felt it was a good transition.
Run (0:22:24):
MUST DO MORE BRICK WORKOUTS!!! Even though the rubber-legs went away relatively quickly, my legs still felt pretty heavy for most of the run. I was passed more than I'd hoped, but that was just people making up for the bike I think! But, I was fairly happy. I really didn't set any goals for this race, but the fact that I ran sub-8:00 miles made me happy.
Overall (1:25:03), 49th Overall, 5th in age group (25-29), 41st Male
I was happy about the race. There are definitely things I need to improve on (overall swim, hills on the bike, bricks from bike to run), but I feel good about how I raced.
Waiting on the official times and pics, and I'll update this again
Congrats on a great race!! Thanks for the report!!
Shell
Great race!!! I did that race on Saturday and must say that I ran into the same problems on the swim. I kept on sight breathing only to find myself off course. I couldn't get into a groove and was disappointed in my swim time.
Here's my numbers: Overall pretty pleased considering this was my second tri
Swim: 16:05
I started in the third wave (the third wave alone was bigger then the last tri i did). Like I said earlier, I couldn't get into a groove and found myself headed in the wrong direction. I was passed often and realized many bikes were alread gone when I reached T1. Best part of the swim was realizing that I needed to train at race pace more often in order to be comfortable w/ being out of breathe in the water.
T1: 1:40
I wore a Zoot tri suit and loved it. No need to change or add any clothing. All I had to do was put my cycling socks and shoes on, sunglasses and helmet and I was off. One benefit to not wearing a wetsuit ...you don't have to take it off!!
Bike: 52:31
Last race I didn't have cycling shoes and clip in pedals. I really noticed a difference. I quickly got into my rhythm and just moved. There's was one awesome downhill ...I got to 35mph. What a break on the legs. A little disappointed in my uphill climbs, but overall I would say this was my best leg. I heard a couple people got lost ...I found it easy to navagate.
T2: 1:19
I would suggest Yanktz laces ...really easy to put your shoes on w/ them. I still need practice in taking my shoes off while still on the bike. I think I lost a lot of time running in my cleats. With them being new though I still wasn't totally comfortable w/ keeping my shoes clipped in. With practice hopefully I can work on this.
Run: 23:53
Man was I out of breathe and my stomach was making some funny noises. I was wondering if i drank too much gatorade on the bike. At about 1/2 mile though I got used to it and am happy to report that nobody passed me!! I LOVED ALL THE SHADE. Usually in practice I average a 7 minute mile ... alittle disappointed w/ the time but w/ everything considered happy about the race and happy to make it to the finish line.
Final Time: 1:35:34, fifth in age group (20-24), 37 out of the females and 134 overall.
congrats 2 both of you!. The write-up is great...now i know some things i need to be prepared for before my first tri
thanks
Nice job gang. Great races!
Armour & mlbucey
- if you haven't seen it already, we have added the Sunset Tri to VirtuRace. Congrats - that's a great race and you both kicked butt!
[URL=http://www.virturace.com/virturace/Time.aspx?courseID=8510&eventID=6574]... Triathlon - Sprint Tri Results[/URL]
mlbucy,
Nice race! Awesome times! Sounds like we both learned something on the swim. I've been working on a little faster pace in the pool this week. With some advice from a couple friends, I'm definitely going to try and SET A RHYTHM this time. A buddy of mine told me to do that - he said that even if I feel like I'm getting blown away at first, I'll make up for it in the end, so we'll see! Still an area that needs work.
There are a couple more races in the area - the Jersey Bambino Sprint, and the "Give it the ol' Philly Tri" up here in the city. Are you competing in either of those?
virturace - thanks for the link to the page. That's a great resource to track races!
And thanks ot everyone else on the words of encouragement. Gotta love these sites!!
Armour
Awesome and congrats to both of you for some solid races.
Armour
The next race I'm doing is the Naylor's Beach Tri in Virginia. I am planning on doing a final tri in late september early october. Are any of the two you mentioned around that time of year?
Keep me updated on how your training goes in the pool and you come across any training ideas that have helped!!! I went to the Y the other day and swam at a faster pace in the pool than I did the race. It was a little harder, but I did it. I need to remember that training should not be easy!!! If you train hard the race will be easy. This is something that i need to keep telling myself.
This website really helps!!! Thanks to everyone for the words of encouragment
mlbucey -
Actually, both of those races are this weekend. The Bambino one is somewhere called Port Republic, NJ (apparently close to Atlantic City), and then the other one, is of course here in Philly.
On the 7th, there's an Olympic distance race in Wilkes-Barre that I'm competing in as well. I know - what a psycho to do 4 races in 3 consecutive weekends, but I missed so many races earlier this year, I'm just trying to make up for lost experience. Most of the first part of Sep, and first part of Oct I have more work stuff, but the end of Sep is wide open. You're pretty close in Baltimore - so if you hear of any nearby races, let me know! I'll do the same for up here around Philly.
Oh, and same to you on the swim stuff. I also swam pretty hard this week, trying to maintain form, but really push myself instead of just "floating along!" I'll let you know if I come across any good tips.
Armour