Tri Peachtree City Sprint
Date of Race: 08/20/11
Total Race Time = 1h 18m 27s
Overall Place = 194
Age Group = Male 40-44
Age Group Place = 48/131
Pre-Race: Alarm went off at 3:30 am. I like getting up really early so I can ease into the morning without feeling rushed. I had a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. I already had all my gear packed the night before. I grabbed the bottles I had prepared the night before from the freezer and placed them in a small cooler. Since I haven't done a sprint since last year, I wasn't too sure what to do about nutrition. All I knew was that I wasn't going to go with Perpetuem. I was only going to do gels. I filled an aero bottle with EFS and mixed in some Hammer Gel. Froze that bottle with the drinking straw in place. I also had a second bottle of EFS that I would take on the bike as a back up. Left the house just before 5 am and drank 16 oz. of EFS on the way to Peachtree City. I had been hydrating the day before drinking water and Gatorade. Since I had heat related issues the week before, I didn't want to take any chances of dehydration. I arrived before 6 am and picked up my race packet and got body marked after I peed. I setup my transition and placed everything like I had rehearsed the day before. I talked to a few ATCers I saw out there and said hello to April (swim coach) who was one of the MCs for the event.
Warm-up: I wanted to get a quick swim in, but there wasn't enough light when I got done with setting up transition. I ate a Clif Bar and had another 8 oz. of EFS. I took advantage of the time I had to walk the transition area and find the run exit and did a light run from the swim exit to my bike and then to the run exit. At this point they were starting to close transition and I had to go pee again. The wait for the porta potty took a while and I never got a chance to get in the water. I got in line towards the front and stretched my arms while I waited for my turn to start. Last year I started in the back and didn't get into the water until 1 hour after the start of the race. I was hoping to start within the first 30 minute.
Swim: According to my watch I started 16 minutes after the race start (7:16). I was a bit concerned since I didn't warm up and getting in the water before the start in a nice mental exercise for me. Swim started great, but I think I started a bit too fast. At about 150 yards I did a couple breast strokes as I slowed my pace and got my heart rate/anxiety under control. I also used that opportunity to sight the turn buoy. I kept the buoys close to my right and was surprised that most of the swimmers were further to the left. This gave me plenty of room. I kept sighting and stayed on course to the first turn. It got a little crowded as I neared the turn, but nothing too bad. The next section I got off course for a bit, maybe 10-15 yards to the left. I corrected and made the second turn with no problem. Swam to the finish with no problems and picked up the pace for the last 100 yards. I expected to beat my swim time from last year and my goal was 12 minutes. As I crossed the timing mat, I looked at my watched and saw that the time was 7:26. That gave me a huge boost of confidence since it meant I did the swim between 10-11 minutes.
Swim Time: 10m 21s
T1: I ran at a comfortable pace to my transition area. I already had swim cap and goggles off and tossed them into my bag as I put on my helmet and sunglasses. I struggled putting on my HR monitor strap while trying to slip on my bike shoes at the same time. Even though I went through this the day before, my feet didn't slide in as easily into the shoes (because they were wet). Meanwhile my glasses were all fogged up. Finally got my shoes on and ran out to the bike exit.
T1 Time: 1m 55s
Bike: My goal on the bike was to finish under 40 minutes and hit an average +20 mph. Last year I didn't get any HR data so I have nothing to compare. This year I was getting my HR and I think it helped with my pacing. My HR was right at LT the entire time. I took the opportunity of the downhills to bring my HR down 10-15 below LT. I also kept an eye out on my cadence. I didn't pay attention to my bike average. I figured if I kept my HR & cadence in check, I'd hit my bike average. Since I started earlier this year, there were less cyclist on the road and it made passing a lot safer since everyone was pretty much riding single file. I passed quite a few people on the bike, but I also got passed as well. I really enjoyed passing guys on their fancy tri bikes on the hills. I've been riding long distance that I was surprised how quickly 14 miles came up. I started to slow down towards the end trying to bring my HR down, making sure that my legs were spinning a high cadence and getting ready for the run. I drank all 16 oz of EFS w/gel just before the end of the bike.
Bike time: 39m 53s AVG 21.1 mph
T2: I thought T2 went smoothly. I had no problems. I could probably get out of my bike shoes quicker. Running shoes went on quickly. I went sockless for the bike and run. I've also been using these new quick laces called "Flat Lines" that I like better than Yankz and similar products. I also used talcum powder in both sets of shoes when setting up my transition.
T2 Time: 1m 26s
Run: I felt really good on the run. Legs felt quick and looking at my data from the Garmin footpod confirmed this. I was running about a 8 min/mile pace and there were spots where I was faster. I started feeling some stomach cramps about the halfway point. I think I probably should've skipped the Clif Bar before the race start. I slowed my pace a bit and started to control my breathing. I probably dropped to a 8:30 pace for a couple minutes and then slowly picked up the pace. Once I was about a half mile from the finish I started picking up the pace some more. As I crossed the bridge on the final stretch I was doing a sub 8 min pace and I think I hit sub 7 when I crossed the finish. I ran 5-10 above LT for the whole run.
Run Time: 24m 54s AVG 8:02
Post Race: Grabbed a water bottle and then a couple slices of pizza. Found the rest of the ATCers and sat down. We talked about our race as we waited for official results. At this point I had no idea what my time was. I knew that I was within my goal of 1:20. I was blown away to see 1:18:27. That's 10m 30s faster than last year.
I didn't hit all the goals I set out. I missed my under 24 minute run and keeping my transitions under 1:30. There's room for improvement. I think I left a few seconds out on the swim with getting off course a bit. I didn't focus on my form during the swim and I don't think I got full extension, that may have cost me a little time. Overall I'm really happy with my results and I can't complain.
Rate your overall experience with this race: This is a well organized race and they have the best swag. I like the long sleeve t-shirt. They also gave away Yankz (BTW if anyone wants mine - you can have it), cowbell and water bottle. It's always great to get a finishers medal as well. I don't think you see that in sprint races.
For comparison:
|
|
Div
Place
|
Overall
Place
|
Age
|
Swim Rank
|
Swim Time
|
T1
|
Bike Rank
|
Bike Time
|
Bike MPH
|
T2
|
Run Rank
|
Run Time
|
Run Pace
|
Finish Time
|
|
2010
|
69
|
440
|
41
|
89
|
14:15
|
2:24
|
65
|
42:26
|
19.8
|
1:46
|
64
|
28:07
|
9:05
|
1:28:56.35
|
|
2011
|
48
|
225
|
42
|
67
|
10:21
|
1:55
|
53
|
39:53
|
21.1
|
1:26
|
32
|
24:54
|
8:02
|
1:18:26.65
|
I can't believe I took the largest chunk off my time on the shortest leg of this race. Even though I didn't hit every goal, there is improvement all across the board. That's very encouraging and motivating. I'm so glad I got to do this same race and compare my times. I think weather was a little cooler this year than last year. It may have also had something to do with finishing almost an hour earlier. This is one of my favorite races and I think I'll do it again next year. I'm already thinking sub 10 swim.
Congrats to all the podium finishers. It's awesome to be training and racing along side each of you. It's was also great to see so many ATCers out along the course. Can't wait until Augusta!
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