2012-05-06
Knoxville, Tennessee United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
75F / 24C Sunny
Triathlon - Olympic
Total Time = 2h 36m 22s
Overall Rank = 106/412
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 13/39
Pre-race routine:
Drove down on Friday. Got a late start as I had to change the oil and do some laundry before hitting the road. 10 hour drive got my into Knoxville at around 8 pm. Still had enough sunlight to go for a shakedown jog on the course, getting back in the dark. Spent Saturday regestring, geting my bike a pre race tune up, and then heading down to meet my teammmates for both Team Fight (Ulman Cancer Fund) and Team Rev 3. Got thre sets of uniforms, but they actually fit this year. Then we did the Tri Slide Lube pit for the practice swim. I greased up a lot of folks and got to talk to a lot of nice folks from newbies to Matty Reed and Cam Dye and a bunch of other pros (Most of them had an Austrailian accent, which was a tip off). Then I got my swim in and then headed back to the room for a nap. Got up and hit Tomato Heads for a Team get together with some of my Rev 3 teammates and then called home and turned in. Sunday got up relatively late since bike was already checked in, got dressed and headed down to Transition, set up my area, lubed up with the last of my Trislide from yesterday, got the wetsuit on (after starting to put it on backwards but I caught it after one leg.) Then got ustered out of transition. Had a power gel (strawberry bannana when I got up, before I left the room, and just before heading to the swim start to top off, and water to wash it down.
Event warmup:
Swim was point to point so we had to walk about a mile to the start. Then I stood in line for the porta potties. Had one of my teammate behind me in line so I had someone to chat with. Fortunately the Olympic waves were last so I had plenty of time. After that I got my wetsuit fully on, donned my google and cap and waited till they let our wave down to the dock. We have 10 min between the first Olympic wave an ours (only 5 for the wave after us), so I jumped in and swam a few back and forths to get some heat going and then treaded water till the start.
Swim
Comments:
Having not done alot of swimming this winter, I vowed not to overcook it and started dockside about 3 rows back. 156 people in my wave made it quite crowded. Got a choppy start for the first 50 yeards or so then dropped into a rhythm. Other than the folks who couldn't swim straight, including one you kicked me in the jaw straying into my space. Other than that incident it wasn't a bad swim. Nice steady and unhurried rhythm, navigation was right on the buoys and other than the two folks from the previous wave doing side stroke I had to make sudden manuverss to miss running into them. OK swim especially considering the pre race swim was my second swim of the year.
What would you do differently?:
Swim more in the winter!
T1
Comments:
Long run up the dock thru the boat house, across the street down to the UT parking garage and then to the back corner to enter, made the time seem work than it was; however, I still was taking my sweet time and put my helmit on backwards and was headed to the bike mount before the announced called me out. Thanks Stu!
What would you do differently?:
Do my transitions with some purpose. That won't cut it in an Olympic. Lost 15 spots in T1
Bike
Comments:
Once I got my helmet on stright and clipped in I was ready for a good ride. There was alot of road construction in town and on Neyland Dr, so I was very careful and conservative. The hill going up the offramp was very steep and I had way too much gear but I wasn't dropping my chain shifting right there so I slogged through it. After than I got into a good cadence and rhythm and start moving. Couple sets of railroad tracks and one set on a down hill immediately followed by sharp left turn, so I took those sections very cautiously. Getting out into the country side the rollers started kicking in as well as the categorized climb. I did a much better job getting to the gears I wanted early and spinning up the hills and alternating standing on the longer hills to give my quads a short break. About 12 miles in right before the HIM/Oly split and the aid station. I recognized I was coming up on the spot where I wrecked in 2010. A nondescript section of old broken road, a grassy ditch and a farmer's field with a couple horses. I acknowleded the demons there with a point and glided past, putting those demons behind my for good. From there on I really felt energized and cranked up the effort. Did a few back and forths with 2 guys (Orler and ChucK) and the lady in the OBX top. We leapfroged the rest of the way, Orler was a fearless decender, I was climbing like a goat, and the others were steady. Dropped Chuch after my 3rd pass, but finished up right with the other two. The is a long curving uphill on the back half which seemed much longer and harder than the officially catorigized hill on the front (plus I think it is catorigized on the HIM map). Road that one well then took the down hill fairly conservatively with the fast sharp turns. Coming back to town I stood up for a few stretches as my back bothered me a bit. The pothot filled hill upto town (they have been working on this road for 3 years now) I messed up the gears again and stalled out and got passed by a bunch of folks but it did give me a front row seat to see one of those guys bunny hop the railroad track on the way in. Good solid ride. Drank a few good gulps on the flats and had a Power Gel right after the turn around on the out and back. Felt good. Rode from 20th to 14th in my AG and 201 to 110 OA. Most on the second half
What would you do differently?:
Should have gone out harder early, Wasn't really cranking until the second half.
T2
Comments:
Was very slow. Long run thru garage and around transition to my rack with the bike, changed shoes and grabbed some water and my hat before taking off. But lost 24 spots and 2 in my AG.
What would you do differently?:
Need fast transitions in an Olympic.
Run
Comments:
Legs felt great right off the bat and I got into a good pace. Had two people pass me in the first half mile (1 guy in my AG and one of my female teamamates) but that was it for the rest of the race. Tried to keep the guy in my AG in my sites and he pulled me thru the first half but then he slowly pulled away. Was greating pretty hot and my pace started to bog down a bit. Hit the turnaround and got to see a bunch of my teammates running strong. Got back in my groove for a while on the geenway and onto Neyland and saw I was catching my buddy Orlar from the bike. But I lost my rhytm and or he picked it up as I could get any closer. Passed a group of folks by the boathouse and then followed a guy up the hill in a livestrong shirt from the other wave (so I was 10 min ahead of him overall) but he too held me off and lead me up the hill and into the park where he was joined by his kids. Some I gave him some room and cruised in.
What would you do differently?:
Lost focus a number of times. Legs still felt good at the end so should have borne down more. But it was pretty hot and I was 2 min faster than 2010 on the run. Made up 3 spots in my AG and 28 spots overall on the run so it wasn't bad.
Post race
Warm down:
Got my shirt and medal and a Gatorade and Muscle milk and then sat in line for the NormaTec Booth. Did 30 min in the boots and my legs felt great. Then went to the timing tent to get an initial idea of my time (no watch today) and saw I was in PR territory. Walked down to the transition and packed up my stuff. Finally ran into Carole, right at the end of the weekend, and then walked back with Anthony and Jeff. Anthony won his AG in a 2:10:48
What limited your ability to perform faster:
Not swimming all winter, slow transitions, and being overly cautious at times with pacing and on the bike. PRed by about 23 seconds but over 8 min in transitions for an Olympic is just giving away time. And giving away spots. My buddy Orler beat me by 52 seconds overall despite the fact I was faster than him on all three legs. Transitions count too!
Event comments:
Great race weekend. The Urban Challenge and Little Rev Adventure races were a hit on Saturday and the Expo was very good. Great to get up close with the pros before and after the race, very cool people especially Matty Reed. The timeing system had a few kinks to work out and things were a bit funky post race but everything was good by the time I got home Monday.
Great swag. Unique medal, Finished long sleeve tshirt, visor, power bar stuff, and everyone got a pair of Blue Seventy Element goggles. Sweet!
Swimming
00:27:43 | 1640.42 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 20/39
Overall: 186/412
Performance: Average
Suit: TYR Hurricane cat 5 full
Course: In the river. Start swimming up stream past the river boats to a red buoy and the back downstream, up a bridge, past the start, under two more bridges and to the University of Tenn Rowing dock is and out.
Start type: Deep Water - Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C
Current: Low
200M Perf: Average
Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average
Drafting: Below average
Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 06:14
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good
Helmet on/Suit off: Average
Wetsuit stuck: No
Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:12:21 | 24.85 miles | 20.61 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/39
Overall: ?
Performance: Good
Split 1 39:28 12.8 miles (19.46 mph) Split 2 32.53 12.0 miles (21.9 mph)
Wind: Some
Course: Nice course out and over the river then through Knoxville and out to the country roads. Lots of rolling hills a two long hills 1 Cat 5 climb. Railroad tracks and rough roads in spots but scenic and fun ride.
Road: Rough Dry
Turns: Average
Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average
Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable
Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:01
Overall: Below average
Dismount: Bad
Running with bike: Average
Racking bike: Average
Shoe and helmet removal:Below average
Running
00:48:02 | 06.21 miles | 07m 44s min/mile
Age Group: 13/39
Overall: ?
Performance: Average
Split 1 20:12 2.74 miles (7:22) Split 2 27:50 3.46 miles (8:03)
Course: Left the parking garage, up Neyland for a mile and a half, onto the 3rd street greenway. Up the greenway though the parks and across the road to the turn around, back the way we cam then over to the boathouse down and under the tunnel, then up the hills via the Greenway to World's Fair Park, past the globe and to the finish.
Keeping cool: Average
Drinking: Just right
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]: 3
Physical exertion [1-5]: 4
Good race?: Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge: Just right
Organized?: Yes
Events on-time?: Yes
Lots of volunteers?: Yes
Plenty of drinks?: Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]:5
Great job Andy! I always enjoy your race reports.
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