Hyannis Sprint Triathlon
Very short and very sweet
Hyannis Sprint Triathlon Race Recap
Race Day
Pre-Race
Warm Up
Didn’t get the greatest warm up in. Around 625AM I went for a jog down the road, about 5 min out. Real easy, on the way back I did some various dynamic movements with the legs. Nothing really great as far as warmups go. Upon returning to the bike/transition area, I went to the bathroom quickly before getting the wetsuit on to warm up in the water.
Getting in the water I did a quick 75 out and back swim to the buoy line and then back to the beach. After that, started moving the arms around on land to get the shoulders and upper body warm and loose before the swim start. I had about 30 minutes left before the Spring swim would start.
Race
Swim
General
The swim was a wave start, 6 people at a time with about 10 seconds between waves. I was in the first 5 or so waves of the 20-49 age group section of people. Running into the water I attempted to get in front of people to avoid the bumps as we entered the water.
I ended up swimming faster than many people around me, and just kept moving through groups of people. No one passed me on the swim, and I was able to draft briefly off of one person, but that was short lived!
The swim ended very quickly, and I was out of the water. Coming out of the water, I was reallysucking air. My HR was mid 170s and I was significantly over exerted. Tried to bring the HR down on my run up the beach by doing very controlled breathing.
Nutrition
~15 minutes before starting the swim, I had a caffeinated Spring energy gel (Speednut).
Pacing
Focused on form, sighting, and going hard. Breathing only to one side so that I could push harder. This brought the HR up quite a bit, but I was able to maintain a competitive pace.
Mindset
Going into the swim, waiting in line with a fellow Zooter, Magnus. Was in a good headspace.
Intended to go hard on the swim and try to catch feet and draft.
Transition 1
Coming into T1 my heartrate was way too high. I was having a hard time bringing it down, but just kept going.
Didn’t have any issues getting the wetsuit off. Got a bit stuck on the timer chip, as I was afraid I would rip off the actual timing chip that was loose already.
Trying to put wet socks on was TOUGH. I was able to get them on, but they required a bit more focus and wiggle than when practiced dry.
Ran all the way down the length of transition with my cycling shoes on. This was a pain but the best I could do.
Bike
General
Starting out on the bike I was really sucking wind. My HR still had not come down and I was unsure what would happen if I didn’t get it under control. My only point of solace was that I knew I had run a full half marathon at this effort level, despite never having bike at this HR for such a period.
The bike was interesting, as I passed a large number of people. The bike also involved passing some cars that kept pulling onto the racecourse. In some instances, I actually had to pass the cars!
The back end of the bike, probably about the last 2-3 miles my calves started to feel like they might be cramping up a little. I didn’t pay much mind to this, and drank some additional G1M to get more sodium on board.
Nutrition
Sports drink; 1.5 scoops of G1M in about 20 Oz of water. Drank about half the bottle over the 10.3 miles.
Pacing
Hammer. Tried to keep watts below 300 when noticing they were above. When I went below 13/14 MPH I went into the upright position to work up the hill, I kept pedaling on almost all hills (unless I was above 33MPH)
Mindset
Just catch Magnus! (A fellow Team Zoot member that I met before the start of the race)
Keep the cadence up, and effort high.
Trying to bring HR down for the first few miles, albeit those efforts failed
Transition 2
I came into T2 like a rocket. I waited until the last second to dismount. Dismount was by un locking my right foot, and coasting into the dismount line at about 15mph, and then rapidly squeezing the brakes, and swinging my leg over while simultaneously unclicking my left foot. This allowed for a quick drop off the bike. My front tire did brake harder than the back, so the bike did nose dive a bit, lifting the back tire off the ground, but I had both feet on the ground at that point and there were no issues with safety or balance at that point. Ran into transition, made a very quick change over, and then ran out the other side! Tied back up with Magnus!
Run
General
Started the run with Magnus, and made some fun comments about age group competition with him. My calves were really beginning to cramp, and I needed to do something ASAP, so I had a gel. After getting the gel in, and continuing to battle the potential calf cramps, I was able to get into a rhythm. I dropped magnus after about ¾ a mile.
Nutrition
1 caffeinated spring energy gel, about 2-3 minutes into the run. (speed nut caffeinated)
At about 1.5 miles in there was an aid station where I took on some water, although I think I spit most of it out…
Pacing
First mile was pretty fast at a 6:16, and I attribute this to the flatness, and coming out of transition with Magnus. Goal was to run as fast as I possible could without dying.
It was a struggle to keep the pace up, and I had to play the hills to my advantage, as well as keep the cadence as high as I could. I spotted someone far off in the distance and just focused on them and tried to reel them in. This person ended up being Chris V., and I was determined to catch him.
Towards the back portion of the run, after I caught Chris I was worried that he or Magnus may try to do a last minute sprint towards the finish line. To avoid having to do a last minute sprint myself, I just kept turning up the pace each step. Going into the last quarter mile I just kept getting faster so that if anyone was trying to sprint, they would have to keep pouring on the gas to catch me every step they took. Although no one was behind me directly, this helped me secure a very aggressive finish.
Mindset
Just keep pressing, and it will be over soon. Lots of pain, and body was really trying to cramp first in the calves, and then in the core. Had to really control breathing to prevent cramps from happening in the abdomen.
Things I took into consideration
Placement of my transition zone (end of the first corral). Since spots were not predetermined, we could pick our own.
Where this was with respect to the water exit/transition entrance from the swim
How I would get to my bike; which side of the rack made the straightest line to the transition exit.
Setup of gear
Helmet and sunglasses on handlebars
Socks rolled and placed inside cycling shoes
Cycling shoes pre-set for minimal tightening, but easy slipping into
Running shoes in the back with the run belt over the top of them.