31 May, I kicked off my triathlon season by participating in the 35-39 Age Group in the Sprint Distance race in Onset, Massachusetts. The drive was approximately 1 hour from my temporary residence in Newport, Rhode Island. The distances for this sprint triathlon were a .3 mile swim, a 10 mile bicycle ride, and a 5K run. Very similar to the Smithfield Sprint Triathlon, but substituting a 300 yard swim for a 600 meter swim in the brackish Onset Bay.
The registration, parking, and directions were all strait forward and enabled me to arrive with plenty of time to spare prior to a 9am start. Knowing that there have only been a few warm days in New England this spring I anticipated a cold swim, and I was right. The published temperature was 63 degrees, but it felt like 53 degrees. Warming up was essential for my body to acclimate to the cold. I felt my chest constrict and my face was in pain for approximately one minute after being continually submerged in the water.
I started in the first heat, with the 39 and under males, Elite Males, and Clydesdales. That group was pretty large for a swim start in a constrained bay, and the first minute I spent negotiating bodies, knees, and elbows. After that I got into a decent stroke rhythm and my body quickly got used to the cold. Sighting the exit point was accomplished effectively, I don't think I spent too much time swimming off in random directions. Within the 35-39 age group I finished the swim 8th out of 35, with a time of 10:39.
During the first transition I got to my bike before the participant stationed next to me. He had incredible racing gear and a really fancy bike. It made me smile that I beat him out of the water. Unfortunately, as I struggled to get out of my wet suit he appeared, deftly removed himself from his wetsuit, grabbed his bike and ran out of the transition area. My brief victory was over.
Once I overcame my wetsuit difficulties I began the bicycle portion going up a slight hill to get out of town. Of all the triathlons I have participated in, this one had by far the worst control of traffic, worst road conditions, and worst directions. I know I'm supposed to ride the course prior to the event, but I never do and all previous events have had good volunteers on the course. The volume of traffic and blind turns added some confusion to the race that I had never had to deal with before. Also, several of the roads had sand, likely left of from this winter's awful cold and snow spell. The highlight of the bike was a large male turkey darting in front of me, he quickly cleared the road and disappeared into the woods before crashing into any bikers. Within the 35-39 age group I finished the bike portion 17th out of 35, with a time of 31:40.
T2 flew by with no issues.
The run is always my struggle. I used my Garmin to monitor my speed, I wanted to avoid falling into an exhausted trance and slowing down to a crawl. With the exception of a couple of steep hills, I believe that was accomplished. Running at least twice a week prior to the event made a difference. I was surprised to look down at my watch and observe rates of 8:30 min/mile at several points during the run. I normally do not retain that level of fitness during the last leg of the triathlon. Within the 35-39 age group I finished the run 30th out of 35, with a time of 26:15.
Overall, with a time of 1:11:39, I was 15th out of 35th in my age group, 90th of 254 Men, and 117th out of 456 overall participants.
I was pleased with my overall performance, nothing spectacular but I put a solid effort into each event.
Prior to my next event, mid-June, I would like to focus on continuing to lose weight (No change since last Fall, I like snacks), continuing to run (work up to six miles for the Olympic Distance), and get a bike tune up (It's been a couple of years)
http://maxperformanceonline.com/escapethecaperace/escape-the-cape-tri-live-results/#/person:&entry_id=525:1401574074010
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Awakening from the winter slumber
The goal last fall was to lose weight to improve my performance in 2014's triathlons. I don't think I lost any weight.
My first triathlon of 2014 will be the "Oh My Goddard" Olympic distance triathlon in Warwick, RI, on June 22. I have just over a month to, ahem...hone my training from the base I've maintained since last fall.
There isn't a lot of base training since last November. Between being at sea for my previous job and temporarily moving to Rhode Island for school I have not established a workout routine. Since being in Rhode Island in early April, my cardio has improved dramatically, but not with specific goals in mind, nor with sustained effort. Once I signed up for the June Triathlon, I noticed a small mental shift, and I feel the desire to get back out and ride/run/swim.
This is the first year that I've started out with an Olympic distance, to be fair, last year my first triathlon was a sprint followed the next day by an Olympic distance so it's almost the same timing. Completing that distance encouraged me to know that I could complete it, and know I can work on improving my times (why didn't you say that this past winter when you were eating lots of candy and cake, hmm?)
I think a 2 hour 30 minutes time is excellent. I got a 2H 48M in last years Monticelloman, and 18 minutes is a significant jump. I always stress running as my weakness, my speed on the 10K portion of last years Olympic distance (Monticelloman) was about 10min/mile. Improving my pace to 9min/mile drops 6 minutes, and improving 8min/mile drops 12 minutes. I don't know if an 8min/mile is reasonable to achieve by June, maybe 8.5 min/mile, making the reduction 9 minutes. My "goal" weight for the race is 200 pounds. A loss of 20 pounds will likely improve my overall bike time by some factor, lets call it 1 mph, the distance is just over 20 miles, a quick swag results in a time reduction of 3 minutes. I suspect I am going to get the same swim time. With this unscientific calculation I result in a time of 2 hours and 36 minutes, 6 minutes slower than my goal.
Those 6 minutes will have to come from a combination of magic and hard (smart) work.
49 days until the race! This is easy.
Things I need to accomplish before the race are:
1) Get a Fit Test on my bike. Sometimes, when I'm in the aero bars, I am very uncomfortable in my core/lower back. This could be poor positioning, poor core fitness, or a combination of both. Eliminating the inanimate object as something to blame is step one. Core fitness is step two.
2) Get a proper tune-up on the bike. Never done it, probably needs it. Since buying my awesome aluminum Trek 1000 in 2007 I've replaced several inner tubes, tires, brake pads, tightened the handlebars (head case), and attached removable aero bars. I might be able to crank out .01 mph faster with a good industrial cleaning on the chains.
3) Optest my new tri-shorts. They are compression type Sugoi 9 inch piston 200 tri shorts. They are still in the bag I purchased them in. If they are too small, I will need to promptly acquire another pair.
The two other Triathlon events I have my eyes on for 2014 are the Patriots Half OR Spring, and the Richmond Rox Endurance Triathlon (Half Ironman). Why the Half Ironman this year Jacob? I don't know, it's a challenge.
My first triathlon of 2014 will be the "Oh My Goddard" Olympic distance triathlon in Warwick, RI, on June 22. I have just over a month to, ahem...hone my training from the base I've maintained since last fall.
There isn't a lot of base training since last November. Between being at sea for my previous job and temporarily moving to Rhode Island for school I have not established a workout routine. Since being in Rhode Island in early April, my cardio has improved dramatically, but not with specific goals in mind, nor with sustained effort. Once I signed up for the June Triathlon, I noticed a small mental shift, and I feel the desire to get back out and ride/run/swim.
This is the first year that I've started out with an Olympic distance, to be fair, last year my first triathlon was a sprint followed the next day by an Olympic distance so it's almost the same timing. Completing that distance encouraged me to know that I could complete it, and know I can work on improving my times (why didn't you say that this past winter when you were eating lots of candy and cake, hmm?)
I think a 2 hour 30 minutes time is excellent. I got a 2H 48M in last years Monticelloman, and 18 minutes is a significant jump. I always stress running as my weakness, my speed on the 10K portion of last years Olympic distance (Monticelloman) was about 10min/mile. Improving my pace to 9min/mile drops 6 minutes, and improving 8min/mile drops 12 minutes. I don't know if an 8min/mile is reasonable to achieve by June, maybe 8.5 min/mile, making the reduction 9 minutes. My "goal" weight for the race is 200 pounds. A loss of 20 pounds will likely improve my overall bike time by some factor, lets call it 1 mph, the distance is just over 20 miles, a quick swag results in a time reduction of 3 minutes. I suspect I am going to get the same swim time. With this unscientific calculation I result in a time of 2 hours and 36 minutes, 6 minutes slower than my goal.
Those 6 minutes will have to come from a combination of magic and hard (smart) work.
49 days until the race! This is easy.
Things I need to accomplish before the race are:
1) Get a Fit Test on my bike. Sometimes, when I'm in the aero bars, I am very uncomfortable in my core/lower back. This could be poor positioning, poor core fitness, or a combination of both. Eliminating the inanimate object as something to blame is step one. Core fitness is step two.
2) Get a proper tune-up on the bike. Never done it, probably needs it. Since buying my awesome aluminum Trek 1000 in 2007 I've replaced several inner tubes, tires, brake pads, tightened the handlebars (head case), and attached removable aero bars. I might be able to crank out .01 mph faster with a good industrial cleaning on the chains.
3) Optest my new tri-shorts. They are compression type Sugoi 9 inch piston 200 tri shorts. They are still in the bag I purchased them in. If they are too small, I will need to promptly acquire another pair.
The two other Triathlon events I have my eyes on for 2014 are the Patriots Half OR Spring, and the Richmond Rox Endurance Triathlon (Half Ironman). Why the Half Ironman this year Jacob? I don't know, it's a challenge.
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