Month: July 2015

Categories
Cycling Race Running Swimming Triathlon

Race Report – Mass State Triathlon

This was a first for me. I have never done the Mass State Triathlon even though it is one of the more popular races in the area. Having done the race I can see why it is popular, it has a lot to offer. The swim is in Lake Dennison and the water temps are usually low to mid 70s for the race. The bike is a pretty fast and flat course, a few rollers in it, but nothing that you can really call a climb. The run course is pretty flat as well, it does rise as you go out so on the way back you have that slight downhill and much of it is shaded. Finally there is the fact that my employer Neighborhood Health Plan is sponsoring the Max Performance triathlon series this year. Oh and lets not forget all the really cool swag!

The Swim

For the swim I had decided I was going to push a just a little more than usual because my friend Kristin Murray was also racing as part of a team. We had been talking some trash before the race. I knew she was probably going to beat me, but I just didn’t want her to beat me too badly. I started in the third wave of the day and moved up to the front of the group. The annoying thing with the swim is all of the triathletes that think they can swim and try to get up front. As usual the swim starts and all these guys start sprinting around me, within the first 400 yards they are pretty much all behind me. I end up coming out of the water 6th in the group and managed to pass quite a few of the  people in the first two groups. Kristin, did beat me, but only by a minute.

The Bike

I had a plan for the bike of holding 90% of FTP for the hour. I figured that would get me done in over 22 mph. Since I was never on the course and I heard it was flat I thought it would be a reasonable goal. I wasn’t able to hold the watts, at least not for average. The problem for me was the downhills. I think that I need to put different tires on my rims, the 21mm tires make me feel unstable. In the end I was able to finish at 22.2 mph. The bike remains a work in progress.

The Run

I didn’t have a plan for the run. Just go out and do the best I could given the conditions. Even though the run is mostly in the shade, it kind of felt like an oven with no breeze. I felt pretty good on the run, heading out it is slightly up hill so my pace was a little slower than I wanted. On the way back I managed to get down to a 7:15 pace and ended with an average of 7:33.

Overall

Felt pretty good with the overall result. The race is convenient so I would definitely consider doing it again. The race starts at 8 am and by 10:30 you are done. Unless you are staying around for awards you could get out of there pretty quickly. Even if you hang around it is still not an all day event. The race is well organized with lots of volunteers and lots of support on the course. Thank you Neighborhood Health Plan for sponsoring the race series!

Categories
Race Triathlon

Race Report – Patriot Half-Ironman

I think this is my fourth time doing this race. Coming into the race I was feeling pretty good about my level of fitness and my shot at breaking 5 hours. That was my goal. Sub 5 at a half-ironman distance event. I knew I could cruise the swim and still have a decent time of around 31 to 32 minutes. The bike was going to be the question mark though. In years past I was never really able to hold the Watts I wanted to and feel good coming off the bike. This would usually lead to me averaging around just over 20 mph. Anyway, here is my story of the race.

The Swim

This year was the first year I would experience the new swim start they implemented. It is a rolling start, where 3 athletes start every 10 seconds. It is still broken up into age groups, but it does help space out the swim start. I felt pretty comfortable the entire swim and kept my breathing under control. Nothing exciting happened and I ended up going 31:30. A pretty good start to the day. I was happy with that.

SWIM NOTE : My friend Jan beat me in the swim again.

The Bike

This is where the race became frustrating for me. The last time I did this race my goal was to hold 200 watts. I couldn’t do it, barely held 185 average in 2013.

To compare 2013 and 2015

Weight:      157        158
Avg Watts: 185        215
Max Watts: 397       502
NP:               195        222
Avg HR:       141        142
VI:                1.07        1.04
Time:          2:45:39   2:43:53

All this on the same exact bike. I barely picked up 2 minutes for pushing 30 Watts more. Obviously I really need to look at my bike setup and my position on the bike. That was just a huge disappointment to me. I knew after the first loop there was a problem when I only averaged 20.3 mph. I managed to finish at 20.5 mph, but at that point my goal of breaking 5 hours was pretty much shot.

The Run

The run was just a long run for me. My head wasn’t into it and I was thinking about what went wrong on the bike. My total time was 1:46:16 for average pace of 8:07. Not that great.

Overall

Overall I actually ended up with a PR by 14 seconds. 5:07:39. I’m happy that I was able to get a PR, but I was looking for about 10 minutes faster. Especially on the bike. I will do some testing with different positions over the next few weeks to see if I can figure out how to get the extra speed while maintaining the watts. I’m happy with the fact that I’m able to hold the power numbers, but I need to find out why I’m not getting the speed out of it.