Hockomock Sprint Triathlon Race Report

On July 18th I participated in the Hockomock Sprint Triathlon in Wrentham, MA – just down the road from my parents house.  This seemed to be a very beginner friendly race that was sponsored by the local YMCA.  Most of the bike course was a repeat of the Wrentham Duathlon back in April, including both of the significant hills from that course.  The race was a 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike (although Garmin indicated 8.25) and 5k run.  Weather was ideal with temperatures in the high 70s with little wind.

 

Water temperature was 77 degrees and marginal for a wetsuit.  Decided to take a practice swim and see what I thought, knowing that even a 1/4 mile swim will be faster with the wetsuit. 

Although completely unnecessary, I decided to go with the wetsuit.  Sure enough a bunch of guys emerged at the last minute wearing one as well, confirming my decision.

 

I lined up for the start as usual midpack and on the outside.  We started with ankles in the water and immediately had to get around this boating buoy.  I managed to trip over the cinder block it was tied to which was not fantastic feeling. 

The crowd at the beginning was tighter then I’ve seen so far and it took a few strokes to get going.  With the beginner friendly format of the race I should have pushed closer to the front.  I ended up getting stuck a little further outside then I wanted at the first turn.  Look at the carnage just 200 yards into the race – the number of people just floating around is unbelievable.

I had a pretty good swim and seemed to be leading in the guys behind the real strong swimmers again, similar to at Webster.  I ended up being 2nd fastest in my age group of 13 competitors with a time of 6:57 for the 440 yard course.  I was 30th fastest overall out of 201.

 

I split my T1 time from my bike using my Garmin, so the figure is approximate.  T1 included a fairly long 300 yard run from the water to the transition area.  Didn’t have my bike set for the correct gearing on the uphill start out of transition.

 

Was very familiar with the local roads on the bike course and tried to really gun it the whole way.  The first 2 miles out of transition are fairly flat and then there was a sustained climb in the 3rd mile.  Its then downhill to the 5 mile mark where there was a short, steep climb.  It was then rolling on the way back to transition.  Had a typical bike for me, passed a few more than I was passed by.  This is a good course for me, as the climbs suit me more than the average rider.  Bike time was 25:03 which was good for 19.8 mph and 3rd in my age group and 32nd overall.  I’m surprised that my swim overall was better than my bike.

 

My parents took these shots approaching T2:

T2 was again split using my Garmin time for the run, but at right on 1 min I think it was acceptable given that the timing mats were 50 yards from the transition box.

 

This run course was tough for me.  Right out of transition you got hit with a 1/4 mile long steep hill.  This just put me into a slow pace that was tough for me to get out of.  After the prior weeks 5k, I knew I had the ability to run much faster but found myself running at a 9min/mile pace.  I also am beginning to realize that I have a cramp that likes to present itself between 3/4 to 1 mile into the run.  This time I was able to fight through it.  Mile 2 was pretty steady with my pace slowing on every small incline.  By the time I got to Mile 3 I was starting to get my legs under me and accelerate.  I was increasing my pace all the way through Mile 3, and the gentle downhill was certainly helping.

 

Mile 1       9:07

Mile 2       9:10

Mile 3       8:33

Mile 3.12  6:50

 

These shots taken just before the 3 mile mark:

My run averaged 8:43 for the 5k, which put me midpack in my age group and 89th overall.

 

Overall I was very happy with my swim and bike times.  My run continues to let me down, but I am feel like I am beginning to understand how my body reacts on the run.  If I can get through the bad stretch at the 1 mile mark, I have the speed to turn in a good time overall.  I’ll continue to experiment with different breakfast foods and on course nutrition to see if I can find something that minimizes this cramping.

 

	Time	Distance	Pace	AG Place	%	Overall Place	%
# Entries				13		201
Swim	6:57	1/4 mile	1:35/100 yd	2	15%	30	15%
T1	2:26
Bike	25:03	8.25 miles	19.8 mph	3	23%	32	16%
T2	1:15
Run	27:15	3.12 miles	8:43/mile	7	54%	89	44%
Total	1:02:55			5	38%	45	22%