Dec 25, 2007 4:07 PM
Stoneman Sprint Tri RR with some photos :)
500yd swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run.
I don?t want to post any spoilers, so those that just want the cliff?s notes, the race results can be found here (I?m Michael Hall, for those that don?t know my name on here): http://www.onlineraceresults.com/pdf/5996.pdf[/URL" target="_blank">
Pre-Race:
Grilled egg sandwich with ham and cheese and a glass of vanilla Carnation instant breakfast for breakfast. Then, a banana 1.5 hrs before the race and a gel .5 hours before. This combo is what I used last year and never had any nutrition problems, so I went back to it for this race. It worked fine and I had no urges to stop like I had last week. I arrived at the race site and got set up in the extremely crowded transition area. Racks were assigned and they left no room to spare, in fact fitting 10 bikes per rack was impossible, so people had to rack in the leftover/vacant spots at other racks and hope to not get caught. No one did get caught as far as I know.
500yd swim:
I got a good spot near the front, and at the gun found some feet to draft off of, pushing the pace as fast as I thought I could go. The swim was straight out and back and there must have been a current on the way out because. I checked my watch at the turnaround and was around my predicted pace with a time between 3:45-4:00 at the halfway point. The way back I felt like I was moving through Jell-O and the pretty much stayed with the same people the rest of the way in. My swim time was less than spectacular, but not too many people were happy with their time either. I came out of the water and up the slippery ramp sprinting about 100yds to transition and crossing the mat in 9:07 (actual time somehwere around 8:47-50 after subtracting the run to get to T1) for the 16th fastest swim time.
T1:
I grabbed my helmet and bike and sprinted out of transition in 37 seconds for the fastest overall time.
12 mile bike:
The plan was to go all out pass as many people as possible and hopefully come in with a time of under 30:00, so I just hammered. I got out there and passed everyone that came out of the water ahead of me, save 1. I actually caught him at one point, but he had a good surge and I wasn?t able to overtake him. He just gradually pulled ahead. I was able to keep him in sight, but couldn?t gain any on him. As I hopped off my bike, I followed him into T2 :23 back (as the final results would later reveal). Total bike time of 29:55 for a 24.07mph average and tied for 2nd fastest bike split, so I just barely beat my goal.
T2:
I figured out why my T2 times are slower in proportion to T1. I can?t sprint anywhere near top speed off of the bike, where I can out of the water. Still I am satisfied with :40 and tied for 12th fastest T2.
5K run:
As I was leaving T2, it struck me ?I?m in 2nd place in my wave.? I didn?t know how the people in the later waves were doing, but it didn?t matter. I knew I was actually leading my AG since the guy in front of me was 19, which I had seen when I got close to him on the bike. I thought, ?Oh man, I gotta hang on to this!? I knew my biggest AG rival wasn?t too far behind me because I saw him entering T2 as I was leaving, so I picked up the pace. The guy in front of me was gradually pulling farther and farther away and I knew I had no chance of catching him (no wonder, he ran a 16:47), so I just went as hard as I could, running my race to try and finally win my AG. I ditched the HR monitor for this race, wanting to force myself to gut it out. I usually tell myself that I am only wearing it to get data from the race, but that means I?m temped to look at it and usually do. Not taking it with me meant that I never let my HR get under control and thus didn?t ease into the run like I have most of this year. In retrospect, this is the way to go. I just ran as hard as I could and if I felt myself slowing, I forced the speed as much as I could and didn?t let anyone catch, or pass me coming in at 20:39. Huh, 20:39!!??!? That?s only 3 seconds slower than my pace for a stand alone 5K and 1:14 faster than my Tri 5k record!!! It turns out I was tied for the 26th fastest run time. As I crossed the line, I was so stoked, knowing that I finally won my AG, but wondering where I would come in overall.
Total race time: 1:00:59
Post race:
I showered and then hung out with my parents, waiting for the final results to be posted. Once they were and I made it close enough to see, I started scanning from 10th place up, figuring I was at least in the top 10. I was ecstatic to see my name in 2nd overall!!!
Final standings:
1/25 Age group
2/274 Overall
Final thoughts:
This was a great way to close out my season. I told my wife that if I could manage top 3, this would be my final tri this year. I still have the desire to compete, but have felt guilty all summer over the time I?m missing with family and friends. I still have the desire to train, but again, 2.5 hours a day to devote to training + a full time job leaves little room for anything else. I think it is time to get some of that time back while a little bit of summer remains. Since the desire is still there, I?m going to switch the focus and put the bike away for a little while, bringing out the mountain bike for some non focused trail rides. I can concentrate on my swimming and running and plan on entering some 5k?s to close out the year. Overall, it has been a satisfying season and I accomplished and exceeded my goals of an AG award at Tri-Shark Classic, and winning an award at every race. 5 for 5 with an overall top 2 to close out the season isn?t too shabby. Thanks for reading.
Me with the awards:
A closeup of the finishers medal and award:
P.S. Now, what do I do with that award? I love it and it is nice and unique. Being 1 inch thick, solid stone, it could go outside, but the kids in the neighborhood can't be trusted and it would most likely get broken. It weighs more than my bike, so I don't want to put it with the other trophies and medals I have (on top of my entertainment center in my game room). That would really hurt if it fell on anyone. Maybe mount it to the wall?
------------------
For great travel deals go to: My Website[/URL" target="_blank">
My Profile[/URL" target="_blank">
My Tri Club[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by xflbk432 (edited Jul-31-2007).
I don?t want to post any spoilers, so those that just want the cliff?s notes, the race results can be found here (I?m Michael Hall, for those that don?t know my name on here): http://www.onlineraceresults.com/pdf/5996.pdf[/URL" target="_blank">
Pre-Race:
Grilled egg sandwich with ham and cheese and a glass of vanilla Carnation instant breakfast for breakfast. Then, a banana 1.5 hrs before the race and a gel .5 hours before. This combo is what I used last year and never had any nutrition problems, so I went back to it for this race. It worked fine and I had no urges to stop like I had last week. I arrived at the race site and got set up in the extremely crowded transition area. Racks were assigned and they left no room to spare, in fact fitting 10 bikes per rack was impossible, so people had to rack in the leftover/vacant spots at other racks and hope to not get caught. No one did get caught as far as I know.
500yd swim:
I got a good spot near the front, and at the gun found some feet to draft off of, pushing the pace as fast as I thought I could go. The swim was straight out and back and there must have been a current on the way out because. I checked my watch at the turnaround and was around my predicted pace with a time between 3:45-4:00 at the halfway point. The way back I felt like I was moving through Jell-O and the pretty much stayed with the same people the rest of the way in. My swim time was less than spectacular, but not too many people were happy with their time either. I came out of the water and up the slippery ramp sprinting about 100yds to transition and crossing the mat in 9:07 (actual time somehwere around 8:47-50 after subtracting the run to get to T1) for the 16th fastest swim time.
T1:
I grabbed my helmet and bike and sprinted out of transition in 37 seconds for the fastest overall time.
12 mile bike:
The plan was to go all out pass as many people as possible and hopefully come in with a time of under 30:00, so I just hammered. I got out there and passed everyone that came out of the water ahead of me, save 1. I actually caught him at one point, but he had a good surge and I wasn?t able to overtake him. He just gradually pulled ahead. I was able to keep him in sight, but couldn?t gain any on him. As I hopped off my bike, I followed him into T2 :23 back (as the final results would later reveal). Total bike time of 29:55 for a 24.07mph average and tied for 2nd fastest bike split, so I just barely beat my goal.
T2:
I figured out why my T2 times are slower in proportion to T1. I can?t sprint anywhere near top speed off of the bike, where I can out of the water. Still I am satisfied with :40 and tied for 12th fastest T2.
5K run:
As I was leaving T2, it struck me ?I?m in 2nd place in my wave.? I didn?t know how the people in the later waves were doing, but it didn?t matter. I knew I was actually leading my AG since the guy in front of me was 19, which I had seen when I got close to him on the bike. I thought, ?Oh man, I gotta hang on to this!? I knew my biggest AG rival wasn?t too far behind me because I saw him entering T2 as I was leaving, so I picked up the pace. The guy in front of me was gradually pulling farther and farther away and I knew I had no chance of catching him (no wonder, he ran a 16:47), so I just went as hard as I could, running my race to try and finally win my AG. I ditched the HR monitor for this race, wanting to force myself to gut it out. I usually tell myself that I am only wearing it to get data from the race, but that means I?m temped to look at it and usually do. Not taking it with me meant that I never let my HR get under control and thus didn?t ease into the run like I have most of this year. In retrospect, this is the way to go. I just ran as hard as I could and if I felt myself slowing, I forced the speed as much as I could and didn?t let anyone catch, or pass me coming in at 20:39. Huh, 20:39!!??!? That?s only 3 seconds slower than my pace for a stand alone 5K and 1:14 faster than my Tri 5k record!!! It turns out I was tied for the 26th fastest run time. As I crossed the line, I was so stoked, knowing that I finally won my AG, but wondering where I would come in overall.
Total race time: 1:00:59
Post race:
I showered and then hung out with my parents, waiting for the final results to be posted. Once they were and I made it close enough to see, I started scanning from 10th place up, figuring I was at least in the top 10. I was ecstatic to see my name in 2nd overall!!!
Final standings:
1/25 Age group
2/274 Overall
Final thoughts:
This was a great way to close out my season. I told my wife that if I could manage top 3, this would be my final tri this year. I still have the desire to compete, but have felt guilty all summer over the time I?m missing with family and friends. I still have the desire to train, but again, 2.5 hours a day to devote to training + a full time job leaves little room for anything else. I think it is time to get some of that time back while a little bit of summer remains. Since the desire is still there, I?m going to switch the focus and put the bike away for a little while, bringing out the mountain bike for some non focused trail rides. I can concentrate on my swimming and running and plan on entering some 5k?s to close out the year. Overall, it has been a satisfying season and I accomplished and exceeded my goals of an AG award at Tri-Shark Classic, and winning an award at every race. 5 for 5 with an overall top 2 to close out the season isn?t too shabby. Thanks for reading.
Me with the awards:
A closeup of the finishers medal and award:
P.S. Now, what do I do with that award? I love it and it is nice and unique. Being 1 inch thick, solid stone, it could go outside, but the kids in the neighborhood can't be trusted and it would most likely get broken. It weighs more than my bike, so I don't want to put it with the other trophies and medals I have (on top of my entertainment center in my game room). That would really hurt if it fell on anyone. Maybe mount it to the wall?
------------------
For great travel deals go to: My Website[/URL" target="_blank">
My Profile[/URL" target="_blank">
My Tri Club[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by xflbk432 (edited Jul-31-2007).
