Over50Newbie
05-20-2007, 02:04 PM
Hi Everyone,
About 6 weeks ago, I posted and asked advice about how to get a little faster on my bike for a sprint triathlon that was this morning.
I would like to thank all of you who responded. I took all of your advice and here is my race report.
I am new at triathlons (and also new to biking), but this was actually the second time that I did this event. My very first triathlon was this same event last year. It was a 250 yard pool swim (10 lengths), a hilly 9.3 mile bike ride, and a 3.2 mile run.
So anyway, here is the report...
I bettered my time from last year by 7 minutes!!!
Final time: 1:36:13 minutes
My goal was to do it in less than 1:30, so I was close, but didn't quite make it.
But I am still very happy with my results.
So, here is the race report:
First of all, the weather was miserable. 50 degrees with steady drizzle and/or rain the whole time, with a few downpours thrown in for good measure. REALLY WET AND COLD!
But that didn't bother me at all. I felt fine throughout the whole thing. Many other people who were there said that the weather was a factor for them, but I was okay with it.
Now for the swim:
I have found that I am definitely a faster swimmer this year than last year. The only problem is that I didn't put down a faster swimming time, so I was seeded in too slow of a group for me. I caught everybody by the 5th length, and then I couldn't pass them. So for the last five lengths, I had to do breaststroke. I know that if I had been seeded properly, my swim time would have probably been at least a minute faster! But I still beat my swimming time by 4 seconds over last year.
Last year's swim time: 5:10
This year's swim time: 5:06
So the lesson here is to seed myself in a faster group next time.
The Bike:
I felt great on the bike and really pushed myself. My average speed was 13 mph, which is really fast for me! I improved my time on this section by about 6 1/2 minutes. This time also included the time for Transition 1. They don't break out your transition times in this particular race, so I don't know how much of this time was for T1, but my guess would be somewhere around 3-4 minutes. That makes my bike time even better. This is the section where I could feel all of my training take effect.
Last year's biking time: 51:30
This year's biking time: 44:56
The Run:
Boy, do I hate to run. It felt absolutely horrible! Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike, but the run really sucked. Maybe I just need to get fitter, so that I don't feel so bad while running, but I can tell you that there was nothing fun about it today! My legs felt like lead, and my heart rate was through the roof - high 170's - low 180's. I ran the whole 3.2 miles completely in my anearobic zone. The good news is that I was 24 seconds faster than last time. Once again, this section included Transition 2, so I'm not exactly sure how fast my run time was.
Last year's run time: 46:34
This year's run time: 46:10
Last year's overall time: 1:43:15
This year's overall time: 1:36:13
And I improved my time in EVERY section from last year - the swim, the bike, the run, and the overall time!!!
So, that's about it. I am pleased with my swim time, because I know under the right circumstances, it would have been much better. I am thrilled with my bike time. And I am disappointed in my run time.
I am really going to have to work on running if I am going to continue to do triathlons!
But all in all, a very good day!
I am HAPPY!
Lynette, a strong and determined athlete
P.S. Oh, and a wonderful thing happened to my friend, Janlyn, today. She took 1st place in her age category (ages 55 - 59) with a time of 1:29.08. I was so proud of her, and it really made my day seeing her so happy!
About 6 weeks ago, I posted and asked advice about how to get a little faster on my bike for a sprint triathlon that was this morning.
I would like to thank all of you who responded. I took all of your advice and here is my race report.
I am new at triathlons (and also new to biking), but this was actually the second time that I did this event. My very first triathlon was this same event last year. It was a 250 yard pool swim (10 lengths), a hilly 9.3 mile bike ride, and a 3.2 mile run.
So anyway, here is the report...
I bettered my time from last year by 7 minutes!!!
Final time: 1:36:13 minutes
My goal was to do it in less than 1:30, so I was close, but didn't quite make it.
But I am still very happy with my results.
So, here is the race report:
First of all, the weather was miserable. 50 degrees with steady drizzle and/or rain the whole time, with a few downpours thrown in for good measure. REALLY WET AND COLD!
But that didn't bother me at all. I felt fine throughout the whole thing. Many other people who were there said that the weather was a factor for them, but I was okay with it.
Now for the swim:
I have found that I am definitely a faster swimmer this year than last year. The only problem is that I didn't put down a faster swimming time, so I was seeded in too slow of a group for me. I caught everybody by the 5th length, and then I couldn't pass them. So for the last five lengths, I had to do breaststroke. I know that if I had been seeded properly, my swim time would have probably been at least a minute faster! But I still beat my swimming time by 4 seconds over last year.
Last year's swim time: 5:10
This year's swim time: 5:06
So the lesson here is to seed myself in a faster group next time.
The Bike:
I felt great on the bike and really pushed myself. My average speed was 13 mph, which is really fast for me! I improved my time on this section by about 6 1/2 minutes. This time also included the time for Transition 1. They don't break out your transition times in this particular race, so I don't know how much of this time was for T1, but my guess would be somewhere around 3-4 minutes. That makes my bike time even better. This is the section where I could feel all of my training take effect.
Last year's biking time: 51:30
This year's biking time: 44:56
The Run:
Boy, do I hate to run. It felt absolutely horrible! Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike, but the run really sucked. Maybe I just need to get fitter, so that I don't feel so bad while running, but I can tell you that there was nothing fun about it today! My legs felt like lead, and my heart rate was through the roof - high 170's - low 180's. I ran the whole 3.2 miles completely in my anearobic zone. The good news is that I was 24 seconds faster than last time. Once again, this section included Transition 2, so I'm not exactly sure how fast my run time was.
Last year's run time: 46:34
This year's run time: 46:10
Last year's overall time: 1:43:15
This year's overall time: 1:36:13
And I improved my time in EVERY section from last year - the swim, the bike, the run, and the overall time!!!
So, that's about it. I am pleased with my swim time, because I know under the right circumstances, it would have been much better. I am thrilled with my bike time. And I am disappointed in my run time.
I am really going to have to work on running if I am going to continue to do triathlons!
But all in all, a very good day!
I am HAPPY!
Lynette, a strong and determined athlete
P.S. Oh, and a wonderful thing happened to my friend, Janlyn, today. She took 1st place in her age category (ages 55 - 59) with a time of 1:29.08. I was so proud of her, and it really made my day seeing her so happy!