Race Report: Park City Olympic Tri

Total Time = 2h 16m 20s Overall Rank = 36/287 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 0/

Event warmup:

talked with the RD, who has had a stellar race season of his own. Found my main man Rudy, wearing his clown wig and doing body markings as a favor to Team Mossman before heading off for a day of cyclocross. What a beast.
Knew this was going to be a strange race, with a receding tide that was more than halfway out to the far marker. Had a mile run, got in the wettie (which is now getting noticeably too large! Ahem! Time to size down) and got in for a nice zip around.

SWIM

• 24m 58s
• 1640 yards
• 01m 31s / 100 yards

Comments:

I place no stock in this swim performance, we all started swimming and some of us noticed very quickly the floor had come up, and started walking\dolphin diving. The lead pack was up about 100 yards at this point, and my overwhelming thought was "why the hell don't I just train to sprint the beginning?" I can keep up fine, and I'm sick of getting whacked by weaker swimmers going sideways trying to navigate in front of me from some weird angle. When I get in a groove, I'm now swimming in the 1:20 range with a wettie (which as I said is now too big!) and I just need to get out of the middle. Bad on me for not being smarter about this.

What would you do differently?:

Be more aggressive, but more open water swim practice, too. By next year I'll have it put together I have no doubt. This was a weird one, but for the period of time we were actually swimming, I was long, even, and strong. 

TRANSITION 1

• 00m 56s

Comments:

I took the wettie off on the beach, which was smart. Actually walked for a couple seconds to get my heart rate down a bit from running up the sandbar with the wettie on and overheating.

What would you do differently?:

meh.

BIKE

• 1h 03m 24s
• 25 miles
• 23.79 mile/hr

Comments:

I rode really well. Period. I got dinged for a 2 minute penalty which was total Bull$hit, so I'm not including it. I spoke to the two refs afterwards, and one agreed with me, and the other didn't, and the penalty stood. The RD thought it was BS too. The official's motorcycle came up fast behind me while on was on a pass and scared me stupid (it's a MOTORCYCLE) so I quickly ducked right, to the right of the guy I was passing. I finished the pass on the right side because, hey, I was going really fast and the other dude wasn't. The argument was I should have either 1) told the motorcycle to wait (really?????? REALLY?) or 2) slammed on the brakes and resumed my pass on the left after the motorcycle left. Whatever. The ref was pretty sure of herself, and I know what happened out there. Nothing else to say.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I had a great bike.

TRANSITION 2

• 01m 5s

Comments:

my back hurt a little at first getting off, so I stretched it for maybe 5 seconds.

RUN

• 45m 58s
• 6.2 miles
• 07m 23s  min/mile

Comments:

Took a little while before I remembered I had a longer stride in me for shorter runs...turned on the jets in the last loop and regained about 15 spots I'd lost earlier. Dumb. I'm still pretty new to running, so the fact that I'm improving to the point where I forget I can go faster is kinda funny to me ;)

POST RACE

Warm down:

My family was there! Hung with the kiddos, wife and my mother on the beach. Gorgeous. Waited WAY to long for the awards ceremony to collect my...Ahem....2nd place overall in the Mossman Championship Series. :)

Event comments:

The post race sucked this year, but that's all. The swim was idiosyncratic to the particular day of the month, can't ding the race for that. Last year was totally different. This is all part of the game. I''m THRILLED at knocking off more than 16 minutes off last year, that's the kind of year I've had, and it's incredibly rewarding. Lots of hard work paying off, and I feel great about it. I just want to keep pushing harder and harder and have more years like this one! I can't believe I started this crap only 2 1/2 years ago, it feels like I should have been doing this for years. So happy my family was there to be with me today at the end of the season, it was really quite joyous and I feel very blessed. See ya next year Mossies!

Race Report:Mossman Sprint

Total Time = 1h 08m 16s Overall Rank = 36/453 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 0/

Event warmup:

set up transition, got there early to get a good spot on the rack. Couple sprints to get the heart turned on, 300 yardish swim 

SWIM

• 12m 30s
• 880 yards
• 01m 25s / 100 yards

Comments:

Went off in the elite wave, and got smoked pretty fast as expected. I swam fine for my ability at this time, I haven't worked on swimming as a focus in a while and it's now painfully obvious I need to.

What would you do differently?:

Need to develop a faster stroke - I don't swim fast, and that isn't a reflection so much of stroke fluidity any more, I'm just not turning over very fast, don't have an effective kick, and I'm not experienced enough. This will be the #1 off season focus. 

TRANSITION 1

• 01m 9s

Comments:

Chose to put the shoes on in transition, which I think is a wash when the transition is on grass like this one. The time it saves me to get the shoes on comfortably while riding is lost getting up to speed, whereas if I have them on, I'm at full speed right out of the gate.

What would you do differently?:

nothing.

BIKE

• 32m 24s
• 12.5 miles
• 23.05 mile/hr

Comments:

pretty hard to be upset with a split like this, and I'm not. 20 seconds faster and it's a top 10 OA bike on a sprint. Cornering was a little dicey with the slick pavement from a rain the night before.

What would you do differently?:

nothing. Another year of training with power and I'll be out for blood!

TRANSITION 2

• 01m 1s

Comments:

I talked to a guy in the elite wave who had crashed out on the bike. Lame. I don't know, I wasn't eligible for an AG podium spot due to the Mossman series championship thing, so I softfooted a bit.

What would you do differently?:

meh. Not talked? I like talking to people, so what.

RUN

• 21m 14s
• 3.1 miles
• 06m 53s  min/mile

Comments:

My best run split this season. Just ran. As I knew I could, I let my HR and breathing elevate while my body acclimated over the first mile, and then settled while getting stronger in the second 2. I just gotta do more of this.

What would you do differently?:

nothing, finally happy wiht my run. I'll get better, but this was finally representative of the work I've been putting in.

POST RACE

Warm down:

I had brought a couple beers to split with RudeDog55, back from a long winter and sporting a clown wig. Talked with friends/

What limited your ability to perform faster:

no limits. Just need more training.

Event comments:

I like the venue a lot, the size of the race, and the post race events. So it's a 5.

Race Report:Mighty Moss Half

Total Time = 5h 28m  Overall Rank = 31/154 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 5/

Event warmup:

Short run, nice swim.

SWIM

• 28m 40s
• 2112 yards
• 01m 22s / 100 yards

Comments:

Ridiculously complicated swim course, which accounts for very little dispersion in times. Lots of drafting, felt quick. I took 30 seconds off the time and added it to t1 to account for the shore to mat jog.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

TRANSITION 1

• 01m 47s

Comments:

I had originally put my shoes on the bike, but decided with the wet grass it wasn't worth it. Pulled them off and put them on after wiping my feet down. Time to crush dreams.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

BIKE

• 2h 46m
• 58 miles
• 20.96 mile/hr

Comments:

I had a perfect bike. Excellent power, great control, spun the hills to conserve energy, geared perfectly, passed quite a few people and got passed by none. Nutrition plan turned out to be perfect, the only gripe is that I don't have a power meter, which might have allowed me to go a little harder.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

TRANSITION 2

• 01m 28s

Comments:

Took my time to put on my socks and get my watch on.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

RUN

• 2h 05m 46s
• 13.1 miles
• 09m 33s  min/mile

Comments:

Started out feeling good, and kept my heart rate and pace in check. I was running 7:45 mm for the first 3 and felt fine. Course had what seemed to be good stock of water and ice. Then....out came the sun and with it the humidity. Everyone seemed to bake at once. Literally, we were all running, then we all started walking. I'm fine with my split, this was the best effort I could have put forth this day. The aide stations ran out of ice and coke, which made the second lap pretty bad. I did the first lap in 55 minutes, which tells you how hot the second really was. I knew I'd done well though, and the finish line was a welcome and glorious sight. My buddy was there to meet me with cold towels and water. Excellent post race food including gelato, fruit, pizza and drinks.

What would you do differently?:

In time....just takes more long runs, more conditioning, but how could I possibly be upset with doing my best for where I'm at? I could not have trained more, or more effectively, and with that training I couldn't have delivered a better performance. Obviously it's not a "good" run, but I don't think you "run " in a HIM so much as you run as best you can and finish.

POST RACE

Warm down:

Ate tons of food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The humidity!

Event comments:

Race started half an hour late because the police were late. That definitely negatively affected the run heat. If at all possible they should hold it earlier in the year for less humidity. The Sound would be 5 degrees cooler with no negative effects at all. Obviously, need more ice and coke. I'd also make the run flatter somehow. The race is billed as a tuneup for Lake Placid, but it deserves its own identity. The bike is challenging, and with CT humidity, the run is just too brutal with hills afterwards. Allow athletes to have better runs and the race will get very popular, because the venue is excellent.