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Race Result
| Racer: |
Richard Gendron |
| Race: |
Kinetic Sprint |
| Date: |
Sunday, April 20, 2008 |
| Location: |
Spotsylvania, VA |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - Sprint |
| Age Group: |
Male 40 - 44 |
| Time: |
1:27:27 |
| Overall Place: |
41 / 373 |
| Age Group Place: |
1 / 47 |
| Comment: |
FINALLY |
Race Report:
[Note that race results were revised - the two AGers above me were actually open masters, so I ended up with a win - learned this four months after the race]
Pre-Race Issues Concerns (Written Saturday)
It's been a long winter and I've been targeting sprint distance Tris. Off-season started in November. I'm partially tapered since this week was an off week anyway. The key to this race for me will be warm-up, rhythm on the bike, and suffering on the run. The engine needs to be hot/not warm for this one. Getting out of a full smoothly is also making me nervous.
Swim - I got a late start building base and only switched over to speed last month. New full wet suit. Wearing a neoprene cap, but no booties. If all goes I'm predicting 12:00 in the swim.
Bike - Now I find out if a long winter of base and LT work have paid off. I have a new TT rig - not exactly dialed-in yet, but should be fast. I'd be very pleased to go under 48, but I don't know the course. Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm.
Run - knee injury, Training has been limited all winter (Surgery coming in Sept) but most miles were bricks and high intensity intervals. Capable of 22 on flat ground but would be pleased with a 24.
Sunday
I made a decision last night to ride this one sans data. I am focused on Rhythm on the bike leg. Wattage, HR, speed, cadence will only distract me. No PT, No Garmin, No Polar. I'm writing this with only a vague idea of how I really did. It will be interesting to compare my impressions to the splits.
This was the absolute wettest sporting event I've ever participated in. The Transition area looked like an outdoor mosh pit during a thunder storm. Ankle deep mud over by the Bike start/finish.
Warm Up (Key Focus)
I brought rollers thinking I could find a tent or a covered area to work the bike warm up. Note to self - Aluminum rollers are like cats - add water and, somebody goes home bloody. Instead I hit the wet roads. I got about 35 minutes of Recovery and Tempo mixed with a couple Steady State efforts and Power Interval Spin ups. Engine was nice and warm and lactic acid pipes were open.
I had planned on a swim warm-up from 9:50 - 10:10 for a start at 10:20. Race officials then announced no one would be allowed in the water after the first wave left at 10:00. That sucks.
Swim
Lined up in the front row. The first turn was about 200-250 meters which left time for the selection before the turn. I moved out into a nice position and rounded the buoy without banging bodies. I settled into a rhythm, trying to stay long and found a good draft. Traffic got ugly as we passed slower swimmers from the previous waves. The only trouble I had was that the wetsuit was inhibiting my stroke, so it was shorter than I would have liked. IF it is this warm next year - no sleeves. No Idea how I finished, probably somewhere 8-13 in the wave.
T1
Wet suit slipped right off (Thanks to PAM spray) - pretty quick, but I was hurting from running in the sand
Bike
FINALLY !! I mounted as i went over the imaginary line and pushed (on top of my shoes) up the hill. For the first mile or so, I avoided traffic and slipped my shoes on (Thanks again to PAM spray). I settled in and looked for the Rhythm and started passing other riders. Right about the time I found the sounds of rhythm, the first turn really messed me up. I actually unclipped to make sure I didn't go into the barrier (a police car). I clipped back in and cranked to get that speed back - I must have overshot and spent a few minutes recovering. I got passed at that point. I settled, centered, thought about rhythm and speed. It took about 2 minutes, but I not only passed, but then left the passer way back out of sight. There were lots of distractions, lots of riders to pass, a few cars - once there were cars in both directions so I lost a little momentum. With 2 turns to go I hit what I wanted - I closed my eyes and heard the rhythm - now (in Pete Custer's words) I had to find as much speed as I could from what was happening in the engine room. For the last 2 miles I upped my cadence to what felt like 110 or so. I slipped my shoes off coming down the last hill and then glided down the last little hill, side-saddle. There was no dismount line , so I call ed out "where's my line". The official said right here, so I hit bare feet to pavement going about 14 mph (ouch).
T2
Red Hot Chilly Peppers must have played for the mosh pit while I was biking, the mud was awful - It was all I could do to stay upright. Racked my bike, and looked for my shoes and number ...... Where is my number ? - Darn - it's in my bag still - unzip .... rummage, rummage ... here it is. Lost about 20-30 seconds. A.D.D. sucks.
Run
I could not feel my feet for most of the race. The hard landing at the bike dismount hurt pretty bad. The exit from T2 was a sharp hill, and I could not get any power. Once up the hill I tried to shake off the bike legs, but before I could, a "43" passed me - that hurts. For the record it is harder to hold onto someone's heel than someones wheel. I never really got up on the run - I'd say I ran defensively. The guy who I re-passed on the bike then passed me at the 1.5 mile point (Luckily he was from the prior wave). The rain picked up - on the running trail there were little streams of water on the downhill section - it made me nervous and I slowed down. I'm not sure, but I think I saw 1:44 on the clock - since we started at 10:20 I'm guessing I did a 1:24. (revised : I think we started at 10:18, and the 1:44 clicked over as I approached the line)
Summary
- Despite challenges, I executed a good solid warm-up.
- So if Cancarella hears an Orchestra and Pete Custer hears a Brazilian Carnival I think I heard a few yodels. But at least I know what to listen for next time.
- I'll have to wait until next year, after surgery, to improve the run
Great meeting everyone on Sunday. Fabrice, Shawn, Kevin, and Reid. Wish I could have stuck around, but I was starting to chatter in the rain. It felt good for about 10 minutes after the finish.
Results (Monday)
My run results are hard for me to look at but I am very pleased, this is only 60 secs off of my post surgical (2005) PR for a stand-alone 5K.
Swim was disappointing - The wetsuit/skinsuit combo really hurt my stroke and traffic was bad. there are 1-2 minutes here for next time
The best thing I can say is that I won my Age Group bike leg but not by much, averaged 23 mph, 16th overall - I'm guessing it felt faster than it really was cause of the rain zinging by my head. without instruments, I have trouble equating Tri and TT pace (where someone holds your bike while you clip in for a countdown start, and you get to go red for the last 4 minutes). I'd like to find 2 more mph this season, if possible If I can get back to where I was during the last few miles, It'll happen. I will be working on the timing of the bike warm-up next time.
Age group - I landed on the podium in 3rd - despite a mid-pack run. Field was 373 overall and 47 in 40-44 AG.
Swim : 14:17 (75, 5)
T1: 1:31 (11, 1) - PAM rocks, flawless
Bike: 46:59 (16, 1) - Tubular tires in the rain
T2: 1:29 (83, 9 DOH !) - I will not forget to tuck my number next time, 30 second stupidity penalty
Run 23:13 (130, 17) - good for now
Overall 1:27:27 (41, 3)
Ratio/Top 5 - .875891
VTS weight - .92
VTS Score - .8058
THINGS I LEARNED AT KINTEIC
As if I couldn't have figured it out ahead of time, Rain presents unique challenges to a sprint tri.
- One Word "Gortex" Bring serious rain gear for before and after
- Rollers/trainers don't work well when they get wet, road warm-up when it is raining
- Bring an extra set of dry clothes for afterwards
- Get and extra set of clear lenses for my riding glasses and treat them with something the night before
- Experiment with running shoes to see which ones don't end up feeling like spongy bricks
- No matter how good it feels, don't stand around in the rain at the finish line - I'm just thinking here, but jogging up to Transition and putting the wetsuit back on, seems like it would have been a good option.
- Before the race, spend some time at any bike corner greater than 90 degrees - maybe even do a dry run (no pun intended) through each one.
- I was pretty pleased with clipped on shoes, I'm not sure how you guys should handle the mud-in-the-cleats issue
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