An early morning Sprint distance triathlon in Yorktown, Virginia appears to be my third and final triathlon of 2015. A swim of 750 meters, 12 mile bike, and 5k run were the distances for this event. I previously completed this event two years ago. I completed as a Clydesdale that year and competed in the 35-39 Age Group category this year.
The swim was the same length, but on a different course from my previous attempt. Previously, athletes swam out around a large orange cone and back; this year there were three right hand turns and one left hand turn to create a swim path in the shape of an 'L.' Knowing that I hadn't spent much time in the pool preparing for this race, I had no desire to work too hard and raise my heart rate during the swim. Calm waters in the James River enabled me to sight the turn cones well, minimizing my time spent off course. Within my age group I finished 5 of 13 swimmers.
The bike course was the same as I remembered it. Strait out and back on open roads. The volunteers kept traffic at bay for turns, but on strait aways the roads were open to traffic. I thought I was going faster than I did. The 12 mile ride time was a 41:18, which was good for 8 of 13 cyclists. Normally I'm closer to the mid point of racers, this is likely indicative of the lack of training on the bike this year.
The run was also the same course as before. Having put some time into running at lunch during work, I was looking forward to this split. I did improve from my previous 5k times this year, ultimately crossing the finish line at 27:52. Previous times this year included 30:17 at the Smithfield Sprint and 29:30 at the Tidewater Triathlon. What I truly value is that I was able to see improvement after about a month of moderate running activity. One day, when I have tons of time and energy, I hope my body still responds to exercise with similar results.
Unless I find a triathlon in Sep/Oct, this is likely my last event of 2015. Things to build on for next year:
1) While at a challenging job I still found time to participate in three triathlons (that seems like just the right amount to me). My family gave me the time and I found the time, that's good.
2) My body still responds positively to training. Though I didn't train much this year, the little I did for running prior to the Patriot's Sprint Tri showed results.
3) I'm still heavier than I desire. Volume control, sugars, and snacks are my downfall. That needs improvement.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Tidewater Triathlon, Hampton, Va, July 18th 2015
At Buckroe Beach in Hampton, Va I completed my second triathlon of 2015. It was another 'Sprint' distance triathlon covering 500 meters of open water swimming, 10.5 miles on the bike, and a 5k at the end.
Traveling from home to Hampton for a 7:00 AM start required an even earlier wakeup of 4:00 AM, but it is all worth it. Finishing a sprint at 8:30 ish in the morning allows you to continue being productive, I love the early starts.
The venue was in a great section of Hampton, the Bukroe Beach park had lots of wide open grassy areas and clean, sandy beaches. I experienced a mouthful of pollution during the swim (maybe not pollution, but it tasted awful and felt worse). 120 swimmers started at the same time and it was crowded for a 500 meter swim. My sighting on the yellow, floating pyramids was not great. As a result I did not swim in a strait line. Fitness wise I felt good. In the 35-39 age group I was 4th out of 18 athletes.
The transition from swim to bike was smooth and uneventful.
The bike portion was two laps on a five mile loop. I felt that there was a significant wind going in one direction, and the resultant boost from the wind coming back the opposite direction. When glancing at my speed, it varied from 17-20 going into the wind and 19-22 returning with the wind. I was unable to record my average from the ride but my time leads me to believe I averaged around 19 miles an hour. My overal bike performance was less good than it has been in the past. Normally I'm around the 50th percentile in my age group. This event I finished 11 out of 18 athletes.
The transition from bike to run was uneventful.
I had my watch on during the run and my goal was to run the 5k faster than 30 minutes. If I could keep my pace faster than 10 minutes miles I would have a shot. Runner after runner passed me, but I was not deterred. This was not a race against them, but a race against myself. As the finish line eventually appeared, I had in my sights a portly fellow who had passed me earlier in the run. My goal quickly changed to beating him, and this had nothing to do about fitness or challenging my body. My one goal in like was to beat this guy in front of me. I did. I'm a winner.
Granted, there was only one guy in the 35-39 age group that I ran faster than, and the guy I finished ahead of actually had a faster run time than me. But, I still won.
Within my age group I finished 11 of 18, kinda normal for where I finish amongst the age groupers.
Running. Keep running.
Traveling from home to Hampton for a 7:00 AM start required an even earlier wakeup of 4:00 AM, but it is all worth it. Finishing a sprint at 8:30 ish in the morning allows you to continue being productive, I love the early starts.
The venue was in a great section of Hampton, the Bukroe Beach park had lots of wide open grassy areas and clean, sandy beaches. I experienced a mouthful of pollution during the swim (maybe not pollution, but it tasted awful and felt worse). 120 swimmers started at the same time and it was crowded for a 500 meter swim. My sighting on the yellow, floating pyramids was not great. As a result I did not swim in a strait line. Fitness wise I felt good. In the 35-39 age group I was 4th out of 18 athletes.
The transition from swim to bike was smooth and uneventful.
The bike portion was two laps on a five mile loop. I felt that there was a significant wind going in one direction, and the resultant boost from the wind coming back the opposite direction. When glancing at my speed, it varied from 17-20 going into the wind and 19-22 returning with the wind. I was unable to record my average from the ride but my time leads me to believe I averaged around 19 miles an hour. My overal bike performance was less good than it has been in the past. Normally I'm around the 50th percentile in my age group. This event I finished 11 out of 18 athletes.
The transition from bike to run was uneventful.
I had my watch on during the run and my goal was to run the 5k faster than 30 minutes. If I could keep my pace faster than 10 minutes miles I would have a shot. Runner after runner passed me, but I was not deterred. This was not a race against them, but a race against myself. As the finish line eventually appeared, I had in my sights a portly fellow who had passed me earlier in the run. My goal quickly changed to beating him, and this had nothing to do about fitness or challenging my body. My one goal in like was to beat this guy in front of me. I did. I'm a winner.
Granted, there was only one guy in the 35-39 age group that I ran faster than, and the guy I finished ahead of actually had a faster run time than me. But, I still won.
Within my age group I finished 11 of 18, kinda normal for where I finish amongst the age groupers.
Running. Keep running.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
2015 Smithfield Triathlon
April 18 2015 - Smithfield, Virginia. This was my first triathlon of the year. There are numerous activities that demand more time and effort than training for a triathlon this year, as a result I expect to participate in three triathlons this year instead of 'compete.' I am familiar with the Smithfield Sprint Triathlon, third time I've completed it, and it is one of the local triathlons to the Hampton Roads area. The swim is an easy 300 meters in a pool, ten mile bike ride on country roads, and a neat 5k through oldtown Smithfield.
It is a given that everyone makes up ridiculous times when submitting their estimated times for pool swims. The goal is to minimize swimmers clogging up the lanes trying to pass each other. Eventually, everyone subtracts minutes off their 300 meter times and the result is all the swimmers are clogged up on the walls waiting for faster swimmers to go on by. The race directors at the Smithfield Sprint devised a staggered start to attempt to minimize the total length of the event. The first 100 swimmers were the fastest 100 times, and notionally the best athletes. The next four heats of 100 had the full range of swim times, ranked by time, and the next heat of 100 couldn't start until the last swimmer from the previous heat of 100 had left the pool. This got slower athletes out on the course sooner, thus minimizing their overall time on the course. I don't know if it achieved an overall decrease in event time, because the slowest athlete in the last heat was still out on the course for a while. But, Bravo Zulu to the race organizers for thinking outside the box.
I had some swim practice prior to the event, not sustained or frequent, but enough to pass several athletes in the pool. Within my age group, out of 15 athletes, I placed 5th.
Transition to the bike was smooth and uneventful.
I probably had less time on the bike, with the exception of two races in the late winter/early spring, than I did in the pool prior to this race. I wasn't feeling particularly great during the ride. The lone bright spot came during a steep decline followed by a >90 degree left hand turn with a long incline. Two riders had just passed me on the downhill and obviously had greater fitness than I did. They cleared the turn ahead of me and began the uphill climb. Knowing it was uphill after the turn, and I had to slow down for the turn, I devised 'strategy.' First I downshifted about 10 gears then stopped pedaling and prepared to make the quick turn. As soon as I felt the momentum of the downhill start to decrease I pedaled as fast as I could, and PASSED the two riders with superior fitness who were struggling to downshift and make it up the hill. I felt like Lance Armstrong! Shortly, one of those riders passed me on a strait-away. I never saw the other guy, I probably forced him into a DNF with my superior riding skills. Within my age group I was 5th out of 15 on the bike.
The transition from bike to run was also smooth and uneventful.
I am a poor runner. I've lamented on the internet about that for several years now. My 5k time was over 30 minutes, which is not good. One day...one day.
In my age group (35-39) of 15 athletes I placed 8th, the middle guy. Not too bad considering the weak preparation I had for the event and my slow run time. The bright spots were my decent performances in the swim and bike, and some pretty good transition times.
I'll do the Smithfield Sprint again, even with the wacky swim start times!
It is a given that everyone makes up ridiculous times when submitting their estimated times for pool swims. The goal is to minimize swimmers clogging up the lanes trying to pass each other. Eventually, everyone subtracts minutes off their 300 meter times and the result is all the swimmers are clogged up on the walls waiting for faster swimmers to go on by. The race directors at the Smithfield Sprint devised a staggered start to attempt to minimize the total length of the event. The first 100 swimmers were the fastest 100 times, and notionally the best athletes. The next four heats of 100 had the full range of swim times, ranked by time, and the next heat of 100 couldn't start until the last swimmer from the previous heat of 100 had left the pool. This got slower athletes out on the course sooner, thus minimizing their overall time on the course. I don't know if it achieved an overall decrease in event time, because the slowest athlete in the last heat was still out on the course for a while. But, Bravo Zulu to the race organizers for thinking outside the box.
I had some swim practice prior to the event, not sustained or frequent, but enough to pass several athletes in the pool. Within my age group, out of 15 athletes, I placed 5th.
Transition to the bike was smooth and uneventful.
I probably had less time on the bike, with the exception of two races in the late winter/early spring, than I did in the pool prior to this race. I wasn't feeling particularly great during the ride. The lone bright spot came during a steep decline followed by a >90 degree left hand turn with a long incline. Two riders had just passed me on the downhill and obviously had greater fitness than I did. They cleared the turn ahead of me and began the uphill climb. Knowing it was uphill after the turn, and I had to slow down for the turn, I devised 'strategy.' First I downshifted about 10 gears then stopped pedaling and prepared to make the quick turn. As soon as I felt the momentum of the downhill start to decrease I pedaled as fast as I could, and PASSED the two riders with superior fitness who were struggling to downshift and make it up the hill. I felt like Lance Armstrong! Shortly, one of those riders passed me on a strait-away. I never saw the other guy, I probably forced him into a DNF with my superior riding skills. Within my age group I was 5th out of 15 on the bike.
The transition from bike to run was also smooth and uneventful.
I am a poor runner. I've lamented on the internet about that for several years now. My 5k time was over 30 minutes, which is not good. One day...one day.
In my age group (35-39) of 15 athletes I placed 8th, the middle guy. Not too bad considering the weak preparation I had for the event and my slow run time. The bright spots were my decent performances in the swim and bike, and some pretty good transition times.
I'll do the Smithfield Sprint again, even with the wacky swim start times!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Winter Training
Since my last triathlon I've started a new job and the winter season has set in. With the challenges of working in the shipyard and colder weather, I've decreased the level of energy I've spent preparing for 2015 triathlons.
But lets back up a bit. I also have a wife, a kid, live on a horse farm, and am working on "making the new house our home." I can acknowledge that I have legitimate jobs, tasks, and responsibilities that are rightly prioritized higher than triathlon training. That will never change. As I (hopefully) continue on this journey of fitness what I intend to accomplish is efficiency of training and efficiency while training. With the limited amount of time I have I shall be smart about scheduling my training, and while training I must put forth an honest effort.
Lastly, eating. Still my Achilles heal, food is so good and such a soothing feeling that I fear the goal I set one year ago is still unaccomplished. I am approximately the same weight, 220-222 pounds. There was some gain across the 220 pound threshold during the holiday season and I feel that I have arrested that increase. I would love to say that I'm losing the weight now and on my way down. Maybe by the end of February I'll be at 210. Nice thoughts.
But lets back up a bit. I also have a wife, a kid, live on a horse farm, and am working on "making the new house our home." I can acknowledge that I have legitimate jobs, tasks, and responsibilities that are rightly prioritized higher than triathlon training. That will never change. As I (hopefully) continue on this journey of fitness what I intend to accomplish is efficiency of training and efficiency while training. With the limited amount of time I have I shall be smart about scheduling my training, and while training I must put forth an honest effort.
Lastly, eating. Still my Achilles heal, food is so good and such a soothing feeling that I fear the goal I set one year ago is still unaccomplished. I am approximately the same weight, 220-222 pounds. There was some gain across the 220 pound threshold during the holiday season and I feel that I have arrested that increase. I would love to say that I'm losing the weight now and on my way down. Maybe by the end of February I'll be at 210. Nice thoughts.
Monday, September 22, 2014
2014 Sandman Triathlon
On the morning of September 21, 2014 I participated in my third Sandman Triathlon at the waterfront in Virginia Beach. The water conditions were the most severe I have ever experienced in a triathlon and the transition area was moved away from Rudee Inlet to the 24th Street park.
Once I arrived, soon after the transition area opened at 0530, the announcer began prepping the participants for the eventuality that the swim portion may be cancelled due to either rough conditions or rain squalls reducing the visibility for the lifeguards. I quickly set my transition area up and walked down to the beach to get a view of the water conditions. While still dark, the rain and waves crashing upon the shore created a dramatic picture of the ocean. I was hoping that the rain went away and seas improved enough so I could swim in these epic conditions.
After an hour of rechecking my transition area, getting marked, and warming up quickly on the run the race organizers made the decision to keep the swim in the triathlon. Success! I put on my wetsuit and made my way to the beach to warm up in the water.
While trying to swim out past the breakers I quickly realized that these conditions were no joke! Everyone was getting pushed around by the water and there were waves way over my head breaking on me or just in front of me. I've seen far less significant water conditions force people to abandon the swim, I quietly thought that they still might cancel the swim or lots of people are going not going to finish the swim. I hope no one drowns!
I was in the last of seven heats, so I got to watch the madness that ensued. I watched wave after wave of eager triathletes get pounded by the waves and tire themselves out attempting to reach the first orange buoy placed 75 yards off the shore. Between five and ten athletes were raising their hands to request the assistance of the lifeguards on surfboards or jet-skis. I saw one extremely fit guy walk out of the water with a giant wound underneath his right eye. He looked like he caught someone's heel or elbow in a wave. Looking towards the buoy I saw several tired looking swimmers beginning the 750 meter journey towards the end of the swim portion of this triathlon. All of them looked exhausted.
About five minutes before my heat was set to go I saw an older gentleman participant on the shore looking out into the water. It appeared as if he had tried working his way through the waves but lacked the confidence or physical strength to withstand the force of the waves. Standing there on the shore, he looked like he was trying to convince himself that he could get back in there and make it out to the turn buoy. Eventually, against the back drop of an overcast day with ten foot waves, he made the decision to abandon the race. Generally, when one does not finish the swim, the rest of the race is over for that athlete. I hope this man got the opportunity to finish the bike and run portions of the race.
Once it was my turn, I consciously spaced myself out from the rest of the heat in order to avoid flying skulls and elbows. I made it out to the buoy without exhausting myself, turned right, and began swimming along the shore towards the next buoy. This buoy would mark where I would need to turn right again and head back to shore. I couldn't see this buoy. But seeing as how the distance I had to swim was only about 750 meters, I planned on keeping my distance from the shore by judging distance off of the hotels on the beach. I found a spot where the waves weren't breaking on top of me and began the quick haul. Several times I felt as if I fell out of a wave and into the water during the swim, fun if your at the beach on a boogie board trying to ride the waves in, not fun if you're competitively swimming and trying to avoid drinking salt water. By the time I was about 100 yards from the turn buoy, I realized I was 75 yards further into the ocean than I thought I was and had to swim an extra 75 yards to get back to the beach.
The new transition area was closer to the beach than the previous two years and no gravel to run on. I like it. I experienced no problems transitioning to the bike. The conditions on the road were wet from the morning's rain, and starting in the last heat I had a lot of traffic in front of me. There was a headwind going out for the first 7 miles and the expected tail wind on the return. I averaged 19.5 miles and hour, which I'm generally pleased with considering I hadn't trained specifically for this race.
The transition to the run also went smoothly. I started off at a pace of 7 miles an hour, but gradually slowed down as the 5K overpowered me.
The best part of the triathlon was approaching the finish line and hearing Cary cheer for me. As I turned to my left I saw her and Luke near the finish line smiling and waving. Well, Cary was smiling and waving, I think Luke was looking at all the people making noise. It was still cool, they empowered me to drain my last internal resources and sprint ahead of a couple of slowpokes before the finish line.
Overall I was 91 out of 300 finishers in the General Classification. I placed 15 out of 28 Males in the 35-39 Age Group. Within each discipline, I managed 61 out of 300 in the swim, 95 out of 300 in the bike, and 202 our of 300 in the run. Not bad for a Sunday morning!
Once I arrived, soon after the transition area opened at 0530, the announcer began prepping the participants for the eventuality that the swim portion may be cancelled due to either rough conditions or rain squalls reducing the visibility for the lifeguards. I quickly set my transition area up and walked down to the beach to get a view of the water conditions. While still dark, the rain and waves crashing upon the shore created a dramatic picture of the ocean. I was hoping that the rain went away and seas improved enough so I could swim in these epic conditions.
After an hour of rechecking my transition area, getting marked, and warming up quickly on the run the race organizers made the decision to keep the swim in the triathlon. Success! I put on my wetsuit and made my way to the beach to warm up in the water.
While trying to swim out past the breakers I quickly realized that these conditions were no joke! Everyone was getting pushed around by the water and there were waves way over my head breaking on me or just in front of me. I've seen far less significant water conditions force people to abandon the swim, I quietly thought that they still might cancel the swim or lots of people are going not going to finish the swim. I hope no one drowns!
I was in the last of seven heats, so I got to watch the madness that ensued. I watched wave after wave of eager triathletes get pounded by the waves and tire themselves out attempting to reach the first orange buoy placed 75 yards off the shore. Between five and ten athletes were raising their hands to request the assistance of the lifeguards on surfboards or jet-skis. I saw one extremely fit guy walk out of the water with a giant wound underneath his right eye. He looked like he caught someone's heel or elbow in a wave. Looking towards the buoy I saw several tired looking swimmers beginning the 750 meter journey towards the end of the swim portion of this triathlon. All of them looked exhausted.
About five minutes before my heat was set to go I saw an older gentleman participant on the shore looking out into the water. It appeared as if he had tried working his way through the waves but lacked the confidence or physical strength to withstand the force of the waves. Standing there on the shore, he looked like he was trying to convince himself that he could get back in there and make it out to the turn buoy. Eventually, against the back drop of an overcast day with ten foot waves, he made the decision to abandon the race. Generally, when one does not finish the swim, the rest of the race is over for that athlete. I hope this man got the opportunity to finish the bike and run portions of the race.
Once it was my turn, I consciously spaced myself out from the rest of the heat in order to avoid flying skulls and elbows. I made it out to the buoy without exhausting myself, turned right, and began swimming along the shore towards the next buoy. This buoy would mark where I would need to turn right again and head back to shore. I couldn't see this buoy. But seeing as how the distance I had to swim was only about 750 meters, I planned on keeping my distance from the shore by judging distance off of the hotels on the beach. I found a spot where the waves weren't breaking on top of me and began the quick haul. Several times I felt as if I fell out of a wave and into the water during the swim, fun if your at the beach on a boogie board trying to ride the waves in, not fun if you're competitively swimming and trying to avoid drinking salt water. By the time I was about 100 yards from the turn buoy, I realized I was 75 yards further into the ocean than I thought I was and had to swim an extra 75 yards to get back to the beach.
The new transition area was closer to the beach than the previous two years and no gravel to run on. I like it. I experienced no problems transitioning to the bike. The conditions on the road were wet from the morning's rain, and starting in the last heat I had a lot of traffic in front of me. There was a headwind going out for the first 7 miles and the expected tail wind on the return. I averaged 19.5 miles and hour, which I'm generally pleased with considering I hadn't trained specifically for this race.
The transition to the run also went smoothly. I started off at a pace of 7 miles an hour, but gradually slowed down as the 5K overpowered me.
The best part of the triathlon was approaching the finish line and hearing Cary cheer for me. As I turned to my left I saw her and Luke near the finish line smiling and waving. Well, Cary was smiling and waving, I think Luke was looking at all the people making noise. It was still cool, they empowered me to drain my last internal resources and sprint ahead of a couple of slowpokes before the finish line.
Overall I was 91 out of 300 finishers in the General Classification. I placed 15 out of 28 Males in the 35-39 Age Group. Within each discipline, I managed 61 out of 300 in the swim, 95 out of 300 in the bike, and 202 our of 300 in the run. Not bad for a Sunday morning!
Monday, July 21, 2014
Bicycle Maintenance
Prior to competing in my second triathlon of 2014 I took my bike in for a "regularly scheduled" checkup at the local bike store in Newport, Rhode Island. Since my last visit for a tune-up, approximately 3 years ago, my brakes had loosened and the gears did not switch as cleanly as they used to. I found out that 3 years is probably a bit too long to go between maintenance periods and there are more frequent maintenance items I should conduct to increase the performance of my bike.
My bike is a 2006 (or 2007) Trek 1000; in the grand scheme of things it is no big whup. But, I've had it now for about 8 years and would like to see how far I can go with it. I am truly a recreational triathlete, and I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on a new bike. Preserving this one for a longer amount of time will help ensure that I am not in need of a bike due to the complete mechanical failure.
One can generally improve the longevity of a bike chain by cleaning it after every ride. This is a challenging task, and I am fond of ignoring this essential maintenance item. After hours of accumulating road dirt on your chain, the dirt particles will increase the natural breakdown of your chain and the gear teeth on your chain-rings. My chain-rings, and chain, were the original that came with the bike; they were in need of replacement. In addition to wearing down the gear teeth, the individual rollers on the chains had become loose around the pins, leading to excess give in the chain. The final result was a replacement of my chain and chain-ring.
Though I haven't made the investment yet, I have heard of great tools to clean the gears after each ride. Using and old rag and some spray cleaner while hand-pedaling on an upside down bike isn't always the most fun things to do.
Cables for my brakes and gearshift were also replaced. I had performed "underway repairs" on my back brake cable, leaving it functional but very loose.
I doubt there was much improvement in my speed because of the upgrades I made during my bicycle's check-up. I do however believe it is an important part of keeping your bike in racing shape; allowing more racing on the same bike for a longer period of time.
My bike is a 2006 (or 2007) Trek 1000; in the grand scheme of things it is no big whup. But, I've had it now for about 8 years and would like to see how far I can go with it. I am truly a recreational triathlete, and I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on a new bike. Preserving this one for a longer amount of time will help ensure that I am not in need of a bike due to the complete mechanical failure.
One can generally improve the longevity of a bike chain by cleaning it after every ride. This is a challenging task, and I am fond of ignoring this essential maintenance item. After hours of accumulating road dirt on your chain, the dirt particles will increase the natural breakdown of your chain and the gear teeth on your chain-rings. My chain-rings, and chain, were the original that came with the bike; they were in need of replacement. In addition to wearing down the gear teeth, the individual rollers on the chains had become loose around the pins, leading to excess give in the chain. The final result was a replacement of my chain and chain-ring.
Though I haven't made the investment yet, I have heard of great tools to clean the gears after each ride. Using and old rag and some spray cleaner while hand-pedaling on an upside down bike isn't always the most fun things to do.
Cables for my brakes and gearshift were also replaced. I had performed "underway repairs" on my back brake cable, leaving it functional but very loose.
I doubt there was much improvement in my speed because of the upgrades I made during my bicycle's check-up. I do however believe it is an important part of keeping your bike in racing shape; allowing more racing on the same bike for a longer period of time.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
"Oh My Goddard" Olympic Triathlon, 22 June 2014
This race, just outside of East Greenwich, RI, was my first Olympic Distance triathlon of 2014. It was also my second Olympic Distance triathlon ever. I was hoping to see some improvements from last years performance at the Monticelloman Triathlon, where comparisons could be made.
I enjoy the early starts, 630 AM in this case, mainly because the races are over with a large portion of the day remaining to recover from the race.
There was nothing unique or spectacular about the transition area. I got there early enough to get my bike on the end of the rack, walk through my transitions, and mentally prepare for the race. One of my favorite parts about participating in triathlons is the excited feeling I get prior to the start of the race. It reminds me most of the feeling I had prior to swim meets back when I was a kid.
Though cold enough for a wetsuit, the water temperature was refreshing once the race got started. Couldn't have asked for a better temperature, I believe it was around 70 degrees at start time. Each wave had about 30 people in it, and I was in the third wave. By far this was one of the most polite swim starts that I experienced in a triathlon. There was only one swimmer, who has a similar pace to me, that I repeatedly "bumped into" during the first leg of the swim. The distance of the swim is published as .9 miles, and my time was 21:32. This is about 8 minutes faster than my swim in last years Monticelloman. I don't think I am six minutes faster than I was last year. There was also no discernible current. I believe there was some difference in the lengths of each course, and I probably took half that time off due to increased swim fitness.
After completing the swim there was a longer jog back to the transition area than I am accustomed to. I experienced no significant issues here, other than pressing 'stop' on my Garmin instead of 'lap.'
If there is a Triathlon feature on my Forerunner 310XT, I should figure it out prior to the next race. The data I pulled from this race was basically unusable.
The bike portion of the event was shortened to 20.1 miles, so technically this wasn't the Olympic distance, but long enough to tire me out. I did not feel powerful, or fast, during this 20 mile ride. My quadriceps were sore, as if I had completed a long ride or squat workout the day before. Neither of which I had. I did not employ my legs during the swim in a manner that would have depleted quad strength for the bike portion of the triathlon. I also believe I had generally good nutrition prior to the race. I'm not exactly sure where that soreness came from.
The ride had uphills and downhills, and was shaded for most of the ride. I was cycling by myself for most of the course until the Olympic Distance athletes merged back with the Sprint Distance athletes with about 5 miles left on the course. I felt like I had to weave in and out of a couple of riders on mountain bikes cruising in the middle of the road. My overall time was 1:05:25, which is about 18 miles an hour. One of my slower performances on the bike, and relative to the rest of the field one of my poorer performances. With the volume of bike training I put in so far in 2014, I'm not exactly sure how I managed to pull this off.
Entering into the transition area for the second time and departing on the run I experienced no significant issues.
I made the conscious decision to bike and run without socks. No issue during the bike. Because the run was essentially a trail run through the Goddard State Park, I managed to get a couple of twigs in my left shoe that resulted in a nice blister on the bottom of my foot. No big deal, but definitely uncomfortable after the race. This run was painful, as all 10k efforts are for me. But, I was pleasantly surprised at my time of 56:14. This is a decrease of about 6 minutes from my effort during the 10k in last years Monticelloman. I'm still a ways off from the 48 minutes, which appears to be the average for normal athletes in the 35-39 year old category.
Overall I was pleased with my improvements in the swim and run. Though baffled by my bike time, I think my overall performance warrants mild enthusiasm as a result of my efforts!
I enjoy the early starts, 630 AM in this case, mainly because the races are over with a large portion of the day remaining to recover from the race.
There was nothing unique or spectacular about the transition area. I got there early enough to get my bike on the end of the rack, walk through my transitions, and mentally prepare for the race. One of my favorite parts about participating in triathlons is the excited feeling I get prior to the start of the race. It reminds me most of the feeling I had prior to swim meets back when I was a kid.
Though cold enough for a wetsuit, the water temperature was refreshing once the race got started. Couldn't have asked for a better temperature, I believe it was around 70 degrees at start time. Each wave had about 30 people in it, and I was in the third wave. By far this was one of the most polite swim starts that I experienced in a triathlon. There was only one swimmer, who has a similar pace to me, that I repeatedly "bumped into" during the first leg of the swim. The distance of the swim is published as .9 miles, and my time was 21:32. This is about 8 minutes faster than my swim in last years Monticelloman. I don't think I am six minutes faster than I was last year. There was also no discernible current. I believe there was some difference in the lengths of each course, and I probably took half that time off due to increased swim fitness.
After completing the swim there was a longer jog back to the transition area than I am accustomed to. I experienced no significant issues here, other than pressing 'stop' on my Garmin instead of 'lap.'
If there is a Triathlon feature on my Forerunner 310XT, I should figure it out prior to the next race. The data I pulled from this race was basically unusable.
The bike portion of the event was shortened to 20.1 miles, so technically this wasn't the Olympic distance, but long enough to tire me out. I did not feel powerful, or fast, during this 20 mile ride. My quadriceps were sore, as if I had completed a long ride or squat workout the day before. Neither of which I had. I did not employ my legs during the swim in a manner that would have depleted quad strength for the bike portion of the triathlon. I also believe I had generally good nutrition prior to the race. I'm not exactly sure where that soreness came from.
The ride had uphills and downhills, and was shaded for most of the ride. I was cycling by myself for most of the course until the Olympic Distance athletes merged back with the Sprint Distance athletes with about 5 miles left on the course. I felt like I had to weave in and out of a couple of riders on mountain bikes cruising in the middle of the road. My overall time was 1:05:25, which is about 18 miles an hour. One of my slower performances on the bike, and relative to the rest of the field one of my poorer performances. With the volume of bike training I put in so far in 2014, I'm not exactly sure how I managed to pull this off.
Entering into the transition area for the second time and departing on the run I experienced no significant issues.
I made the conscious decision to bike and run without socks. No issue during the bike. Because the run was essentially a trail run through the Goddard State Park, I managed to get a couple of twigs in my left shoe that resulted in a nice blister on the bottom of my foot. No big deal, but definitely uncomfortable after the race. This run was painful, as all 10k efforts are for me. But, I was pleasantly surprised at my time of 56:14. This is a decrease of about 6 minutes from my effort during the 10k in last years Monticelloman. I'm still a ways off from the 48 minutes, which appears to be the average for normal athletes in the 35-39 year old category.
Overall I was pleased with my improvements in the swim and run. Though baffled by my bike time, I think my overall performance warrants mild enthusiasm as a result of my efforts!
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