Team,
Below is my race report for the Cranberry Olympic Tri that took place on August, 24th. Let me know if you have any questions.
Enjoy!
Ron P
“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” ― Isaac Asimov
It was another a gorgeous day for racing. Truth be told, it never rains on my birthday. The weather is always perfect, and today was no exception.
The Cranberry Trifest is one of my favorite races. Loon Pond is a flat, shallow, pretty body of water and the bike and run courses are relatively flat and fast and pretty. This race has a relatively big field, about 600 or so racers and the volunteers are always great and the energy is always fun. I believe this is the 4th time I’ve the done the Olympic race. Last year I thought I raced well, but my transition times were atrocious and I didn’t even finish in the top 10 in my age group. This year, one of my main focuses was to improve in T1 and T2 and hopefully to finish a little higher in the rankings.
The Swim:
The swim course was an imperfect rectangular shape where we keep the buoys to our left. Being a predominantly left breather, this works well for me. This year, they had a time trial start (2 racers enter the water every 5 seconds). The time trial starts are becoming more and more popular. I was in the fifth wave, and at first, I enjoyed the time trial start and the lack of chaos a mass start can create. However, I spent the entire swim passing people and this gave me a false sense speed. At one point I thought I must be having the best swim ever, that is, until I got out of the water and looked at my watch and noticed I was slower than last year….
Swim time: 24:27
T1: 1:42 – Last year I was 3:14. I made up my lost time in the swim and then some. Changes from year to year include, new Aquaman wetsuit, no gloves, and no fooling around with trying to stick extra nutrition on my back pockets as I already had gu’s in the pocket of my Fuel Belt race belt.
The Bike:
This is a 26.2 mile 1 loop bike course. Relatively flat and fast. My legs felt great from the extra rest I gave them this week. I set myself a power target of 260W. In retrospect, I maybe should have tried to average 265. I’m still learning what all this power data can do for me. Compared to last year I was about a minute slower. Some of that, I think, was from a section of road the was graded, due to construction, and was up hill and into the wind and some of that time lost was from being too conservative with my power.
Bike Time: 1:09:06
T2: 1:36 – 22 seconds faster than last year. Changes from year to year, no socks and bungi shoes laces.
The Run:
The run is a 6.2 mile one loop course with a nice mix of sun and shade. There are some ups and downs but no big climbs. As I ran out of T2 I realized I left my GPS watch on my bike. For a numbers guy like me this this was little concerning. However, I felt good and concentrated on my breathing and just tried to stay relaxed and focused. I did feel like an idiot when I caught myself looking down at my watchless wristband a couple of times, just out of habit. In the end, my run was 17 seconds faster than last year. (-:
Run time: 45:03
Overall all I was 2:21:53 which was about 20 seconds faster than last year, with the majority of the time gain coming from transition. And be believe me, every second counted, because I actually placed (3rd in my age group) for the first time in 4 races at Cranberry. I’m sort of liking this, being on the podium thing. Hopefully, I’ll never used it. (-:
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my swimming. Sometimes, I feel like I’m not improving as fast as I’d like. As you know, I’m a big fan of the Total Immersion program that focuses on less drag and a reduced stroke count. However, it’s easy to get into the pool for a 2,000 meter swim and simply lose focus after a few a laps, forgetting your lap count and letting your form deteriorate. This past week however, I began playing with an existing feature on my Garmin 910xt (there are cheaper toys to buy that do the same thing). This feature has my watch vibrate at a time that I set, for example, every 54 seconds. Now, why is this helpful? Well, here’s the math. Currently, the Brown University pool is set for long course, which is another term for 50 meter lengths. Now, I often go to the pool and swim 2,000 meters (about 1.3 miles). My average time for a 2,000 meter swim has been about, and bit over 37 minutes. That’s 2,200 seconds for 40 lengths of the pool, or 55.6 seconds per length (not super impressive). Now that I set my watch to vibrate every 54 seconds, it helps keep me focused the whole time in the pool. I try to swim each lap at the 54 second interval, and if I’m late hitting the wall, my watch reminds me. Although I started to feel tired somewhere around 1,200 meters and began feeling the watch vibrate before I hit the wall, I still ended up swimming a 36:12 (maintaining 54 seconds per length would have been 36 minutes flat), almost a minute faster than my average, for no other reason than I was able to know my pacing and I was able to keep my focus. I believe this will be an excellent tool to use in my swimming and I will undoubtedly adjust the time as I improve.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ron P.
Below you will find a link to an excellent article addressing the challenges runners experience while cycling when they attempt to transition to triathlon training. One of the questions they ask, “Do you have a butt?”
http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/multisport-lab/articles/former-runner-syndrome-080514.aspx
Also, if anyone is interested in late season sprint, I just signed up the Duxbury Beach Triathlon. It looks like a lot of fun! However, the swim is a .5 mile point to point in Duxbury Bay and wetsuits are required!!!
http://www.duxburybeachtriathlon.com/details.php
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ron P.
Below is a great article for any beginner cyclist. Great tips to follow!
Thanks,
Ron P.
http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/14-Fundamentals-Every-Cyclist-Should-Practice.htm?cmp=17-1-7158
Below is my race report for the Old Colony Olympic held this past Sunday, July 13th.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Enjoy!
Ron P.
Although this race was on my radar all season, I really didn’t decide to sign up until the Thursday before. I had done it last year and the heat and humidity was simply oppressive. This year was also hot, but compared to 2013, if it wasn’t pleasant, at least it was tolerable.
Old Colony is a small race, less than 100 people participated this year. However, there was some great Fuel Belt representation and just about everyone wearing the white and blue colors earned a spot on the podium.
The Swim:
The water was warm. I again debated whether or not to wear a wet suit. Last year I decided, post-race, wearing the wetsuit was a mistake. I may have chosen to go without it this year, but my new 2 week old Aquaman Bionik wetsuit that Peter Russo guaranteed would take minutes off my time1 was staring at me with the promise of a good swim. The course is a 2 loop triangle lake swim where you keep the buoys to your left. The sun was out and there was no wind to start the day and the lake was flat and shallow and warm. Because of the small field there were only two waves and I was in the first one. The buoys were easy to spot on a bright day and the 8am start meant the sun was high enough in the sky to not be anyone eyes. Overall, I enjoyed the swim and my new wetsuit performed very well.
Swim time: 29:01
T1: 1:48 – took 1 whole second off of last year!
The Bike:
This is a 4 loop bike course. Relatively flat and only partial shade. My legs were feeling a little tired from training throughout the week so I decided early on to hold back a bit to make sure I had enough energy in the tank for the run. My power numbers averaged about 30 watts below what I did last month at Oh My Goddard, and thus I averaged about 1mph less as well. I think this was the right call because I was still sweating a ton and managed to go through 4.5 Lbs of fluids during a bike.
Bike Time: 1:07:06
T2: 1:33 – 2 seconds slower than last year. Boooo!!!!
The Run:
The run is one loop of the bike course but in the opposite direction. No real hills, just some small ups and downs. Sometimes, when looking ahead, the ups appeared bigger than they actually were when you started to run up them. There were plenty of water stops and the volunteers were all really great. Around the third mile I passed someone with a 46 on his leg. It was the first and only time I saw anyone from my age group since the swim start (there were only 6 of us). What I didn’t know was that I had just moved into first place in the 45-49 age group and keep it for the rest of run.
Run time: 51:59
Overall all I did 2:31:29 which was well off my targeted sub 2:25 pace (thought my swim might be at least 4 min faster and was initially hoping for sub 50 minute run) but still good enough for 14th overall and 1st in my age group. I need to do more of these small field races. They are definitely better for my ego!
- No such guarantee was actually made.
“It’s a beautiful day for ball game. Let’s play two!” – Ernie Banks
Sunday was the Oh My Goddard triathlon. There was both a Sprint and an Olympic on the same day. I was participating in the Olympic. The conditions were absolutely ideal. Morning temperatures of 60 degrees with little to no wind, bright and sunny. It was so beautiful that I was concerned there would be nothing to complain about if things didn’t go well.
The Swim:
The swim was in Greenwich Bay and it was a bit odd in its design. It starts out diagonally to the right along the beach to the first buoy, less than 150 yards away and then a sharp 125 degree turn to swim along the beach, with the shore being on your left. Looking at the size of the swim wave and how close the first buoy was, I expected quite a lot of pinch coming around the first turn. I was in the first wave (which I like), rocking the pink swim cap along with all the 40 and older men, and when the gun went off it was a sprint to the first buoy. As expected, being that I’m not an overly fast swimmer, I got there with the pack, and although there were arms and legs everywhere, we all seemed to get around the turn in a relatively civilized manner. The rest of the swim was just great. There were no waves and no current and the big yellow buoys were easy to spot with the bright yellow sun at our backs. I’m not sure how many people were in front of me when I got out of the water, but I felt good and I was ready to catch as many as I could on the bike.
Swim time: 21:19
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/526108861
The Bike:
The bike course was flat and fast. It was supposed to be 23 miles, but the race directors had to make some changes and the alterations shortened it to just over 20 miles. In the first 6 miles I passed about 6 or 7 of the faster swimmers and from then on I biked by myself. I was happy with all the advance warnings I received about the railroad tracks at mile 12, because even with warnings and extra care, I still almost lost control when I went over them. The last few miles of the bike course was also the last few miles of the Sprint distance course and it was nice to actually see other racers for the final stretch. I hit all my numbers, averaging just over 250w for just under an hour and I was ready to run.
Bike time: 54:52
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/526108914
The Run:
Both the Sprint and Olympic run courses started off in the same direction for a half mile or so. Out of T2, up the stone stairs and off into the woods. A large portion of the course was on trails and I’m not an experienced trail runner. I opted for quicker, shorter strides on the soft surface and found myself spending a lot of time looking down and strategizing my foot placement. There was also a lot of horse manure to avoid. After the Olympic course split off from the Sprint, I found myself alone again, running in the woods and hoping I was on course. Everything was well marked, but still, I have been known to miss a turn or two at times. The last 1.5 miles merged back into the Sprint course. It was nice to see people again. With about 1 mile to go I caught up to Fred Silverblatt who was running past people less than half his age and looking great!
Run time: 43:25
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/526108959
Overall:
It was another fun day! So many great people out racing and cheering.
I’d like to give a special shout out to fellow Fuel Belt Race Team member, John LaRiviere for pulling 3rd overall, making him ineligible for an age group award (where he would have been 1st M45-49) thus allowing me to slide on to the podium! (-:
