Monday, September 15, 2008

Marshman Triathlon

I ran my last triathlon of the season yesterday, the Marshman Triathlon held at Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Pre-race

Got up at 4:00, ate a bowl of cereal, loaded my bike and took off for Downingtown around 4:30. The transition area was scheduled to open at 6:00, so I wanted to be early in case it was first come first served. Arrived at Marsh Creek around 5:45. Parking was a pretty good distance from the transition area, so I loaded everything in my bag and made my way to the starting area. Check-in was easy. Spots in the transition area were marked and luckily i got a primo spot located near the bike in and bike out area. It was also on the end of the rack, which gave me a little more room.

Swim

The water temperature was 75 degrees, so wetsuits were allowed. I decided to wear mine for two reasons 1) to gain a little advantage and 2) I bought the thing, so I wanted to get some use out of it. Start was in-water, and I was in the second wave, 5:00 minutes behind the first wave. Got off to a good start, but couldn't get a real good rhythm going after that, and seemed to be struggling more that I should have been. I was swimming straight though and rounded all the buoys close to the left side without having to swim in. Came out of the water a little disoriented as usual, but not too bad. had a long through the transition area, and was working my suit off on the go. Ended up on the wrong side of my rack and for a few moments could find my bike until I realised what I did. Got the suit off, changed into my bike attire and I was off.

Bike

The course is short, but hilly. I rode well, shifted at all the right times and was only passed by one person, which was somebody on the 20-25 age group who must have started late. I got in a few battles on the flats, but dropped everyone I was riding near on the hills.

Run

Got my legs under me fairly quickly, but there was a fairly large hill - the biggest hill yet that I have had to face in a triathlon. I lost time going up the hill, but so did everyone else. It was an out and back course, so I made up some ground/time going the other way. I wasn't passed by anyone on the run, but did manage to reel in a few competitors before the finish.

Results and Final Comments

* 48th/497 - top 10%; 6th in my age group.

* The top 6 places in my age group were only separated by around 6:00 minutes.

* the wetsuit helped me on the swim, but my transition was slower, so I guess I didn't really gain anything.

* I should have pushed on the bike a little more, or at least pushed a little bit more on the downhills. I was off the pace of those in front of me by around a minute to a minute and a half. I coasted a little more than I should have.

*Run time was 4th best in my age group, bike was 6th best and swim was 6th best at least among the top 6 in the group.

* I was happy with my performance, and happy with the organization of the race. Piranha Sports does a great job.

5 comments:

Van 1- Hall said...

Congrats fish! You're really placing well in these things! I'll let ya know how the dr.'s visit goes!

go annie said...

Woo hoo! Congratulations on a great swim, bike and ride. And way to go on placing 6th in your AG.

I can't imagine getting out of a wet-suit easily and hunting down your bike at the same time. Glad you found it quickly.

When is your half marathon in October? You know you've got to do another full again ;)

go annie said...

Hey, great job on getting 4th in your run too!

FishrCutB8 said...

So, you're kind of in to this triathlon thing, huh?

Bert said...

Nice all-round performance, Fish. Very consistent in all disciplines. You guys must be getting some real Fall weather by now, good for running!