Sharpshooter Sprint Triathlon

August 15, 2009 I did the Sharpshooter Sprint Triathlon at Herb Parsons Lake. This was a shorter race so I really wanted to rev it up and go hard, the only problem was that the vacation took me away from the bike for about 3 weeks and I paid for it. here is the race report:

Showman Shooter Triathlon
Total Time = 1h 05m 29s
Overall Rank = 34/108
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 11/17

Pre-race routine:
Got up around 4:30, ate a banana and had a Dr. Pepper. Gathered my stuff, used the bathroom and headed out about 5:15 to race site.

Event warm-up:
Unloaded my gear and got my transition area set up, met up with a few guys I met from BT.com and some that I train with. I got in the water two different times, once for a longer warm-up swim and once to practice getting up the ramp. (Second time was really to pee, lines were really long at the bathrooms)

Swim
400 Meters-8 minutes 21 seconds

Comments:
The swim went smoothly. It started on a pier and I was worried about the diving in and almost went for the cannonball leap, but the boat with the photographer was sitting out there and thought I might have a cool picture, so I dove. The goggles stayed up and I felt like I was in a good pace. I made the first turn easily and then when I got to the 2nd buoy, I felt oddly alone out there, so much that I wondered if I had taken a wrong turn or something. It was weird.
Exiting the water, we had to go up a ramp which was something new for me, but they had people lending you a hand, so it actually went well.

What would you do differently?
Continue to work on speed in the water. It seems like more races are going to time trials nowadays.

T1
1 minute 5 seconds

Comments:
T1 was fine, except I dropped my goggles while running to the bike, and yes I stopped to pick them up (They were new goggles!) Got to the bike and got shoes on easily. I wanted to try and hop on my bike and then get into shoes, but it was up hill out of the park and did not want to risk falling over in front of everyone. Once I got clipped in, I was fine.

What would you do differently?
Not drop stuff!

Bike
12 Miles-35 Minutes 43 seconds- 18.5 miles per hour average

Comments:
Anyone mention there were a few hills on this course? It seemed to me that you were either going up a hill or getting ready to go up a hill on the bike. I had driven the course the day before and knew it was hilly, but my leggs were burning my mile
7. I had not been on my bike much in the last 3 weeks due to vacation and I could tell.

Was very frustrating to get passed on the bike and to see how easily they were working compared to me, I need a new bike.

What would you do differently?
more time on the bike and get a new bike.

T2
1 Minute

Comments:
T2 went ok. I got my shoes off and rode the right distance with feet on top of shoes, but had a hard time stopping the bike barefooted. The road was rough and my tenderfeet had a tough time stopping! Everything else went smooth, was happy with T2.
I was able to get my running shoes on and grab my racebelt, putting it on as I ran out of the transition area.

What would you do differently?
Toughen bottom of my feet up somehow!

Run
2 Mile Trail Run- 19 Minutes 22 seconds- 9 minute 41 second mile average

Comments:
At the time, I hated the trail run. I was glad when someone passed me so I knew I was heading the right direction. It was funny cause I could hear the music, then I turned and couldn't hear it anymore. It seemed like the first mile marker was really far away.

I am not used to running trails, so this made it tougher for me, as I am usually the guy that steps on a rock and twists an ankle. Thankfully I heard of no one doing that!

I was disappointed with my time and thought I was faster than my time showed.

What would you do differently?:
Push it harder. Think a new bike would also help my legs on the run.

Post race
Overall Time 1:05

Warm down:
Grabbed a Gatorade, walked around and cheered other runners on. I was able to get my stuff packed before the Showman racers came into to T2, so I cheered them on.

What limited your ability to perform faster?
Not biking for 3 weeks really hurt me bad on the bike.

Event comments:
I will definitely be back to do this race again.