Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Lessons Learned From First Race
Now that I have had a couple of days to reflect on my race, I feel I have learned a thing or two that I hope to apply next time I race in about a month.
Swim
I was not prepared for the chaos that was the swimming segment. It threw me for a loop and one that I never truly recovered. Next time I am going to do a couple of things differently.
Bike
Looking back I realize I didn't push myself nearly hard enough on the 20k course. The biggest blame for that comes from my forgetting to start my watch or reseting my bicycle computer before the race. I didn't really have a good idea how fast I was going. I was so focused on not going to hard, I didn't go nearly hard enough. This is a mistake that I will be able to rectify with some harder training efforts of the coming build phase and a timer to watch.
Run
All in all my run was the strongest part of my day. I ran a solid pace throughout. My only disappointment was my inability to push. I felt like I should have been able to run faster, but I had trouble breathing and started feeling nauseas. I had plenty of gas in the tank. The car just didn't want to go. Part of my build period will be inclusion of bricks and short runs after rides. I really need to make sure I can run after I swim and ride.
A stronger pace I can probably pick up another minute on my run time.
Transitions
My transitions were marred with two events. The first transition was slowed down by my inability to determine if I need to wear my number during the ride. Not only did I spend time deciding if I needed it, but I had to reach back down under my bucket to get it once I did. The second transition was broken up by my dancing around trying to keep my feet dry will putting on my shoes. Next time I am going to understand the rules or at least get a clarification so I don't have the same confusion. Secondly, I am going to come up with a better solution for changing shoes in the rain. If it doesn't rain then it won't be a problem.
I can definitely pick up another minute by smoothing out my transitions.
Overall
The big items for next time are the following.
Swim
I was not prepared for the chaos that was the swimming segment. It threw me for a loop and one that I never truly recovered. Next time I am going to do a couple of things differently.
- I am going to practice getting my head further out of the water when breathing so I don't take in water from splashing and waves. I swallowed way to much water the last race.
- I am going to work on short sprints followed by normal swimming so I can quickly pass people without falling to pieces.
- I am going to be more relaxed during the swim and stick to my stroke counts. Part of this will be to improve my breathing.
- I am going to warm up in the pool before the race. It will better prepare me to swim if I can get a bit of practice in before hand.
Bike
Looking back I realize I didn't push myself nearly hard enough on the 20k course. The biggest blame for that comes from my forgetting to start my watch or reseting my bicycle computer before the race. I didn't really have a good idea how fast I was going. I was so focused on not going to hard, I didn't go nearly hard enough. This is a mistake that I will be able to rectify with some harder training efforts of the coming build phase and a timer to watch.
- I am going to do a better job with my pre-race routine. Part of my problem was not really having any idea what the setup was going to be like. I understand the process now and it should go a lot smoother. I am thinking about making a todo list on my phone for the next race so I don't miss any steps. I am also going to spend time before heading to the race site to go over my routine in my head a few times.
- I am going to be more aggressive with passing on the course. I am just going to go around people in the way.
Run
All in all my run was the strongest part of my day. I ran a solid pace throughout. My only disappointment was my inability to push. I felt like I should have been able to run faster, but I had trouble breathing and started feeling nauseas. I had plenty of gas in the tank. The car just didn't want to go. Part of my build period will be inclusion of bricks and short runs after rides. I really need to make sure I can run after I swim and ride.
A stronger pace I can probably pick up another minute on my run time.
Transitions
My transitions were marred with two events. The first transition was slowed down by my inability to determine if I need to wear my number during the ride. Not only did I spend time deciding if I needed it, but I had to reach back down under my bucket to get it once I did. The second transition was broken up by my dancing around trying to keep my feet dry will putting on my shoes. Next time I am going to understand the rules or at least get a clarification so I don't have the same confusion. Secondly, I am going to come up with a better solution for changing shoes in the rain. If it doesn't rain then it won't be a problem.
I can definitely pick up another minute by smoothing out my transitions.
Overall
The big items for next time are the following.
- Improving my swim technique to better handle the chaos
- Better pre-race preparation
- Push harder in the bike and run
- Know the rules
Posted by at 8:19 PM in Racing
