Comparisons and Take-Aways (a.k.a. A Detailed Case Study/Nerdy Analysis)
I thought it might be useful – in looking for take-aways from the Rev3 race (below), as I usually do – to draw some comparisons to Wildflower. Generally speaking, it is impossible to extrapolate meaningful conclusions by comparing two completely different races, on completely different courses, under completely different conditions, on completely different days. But there were more than a couple striking similarities between the two races, so a side-by-side comparison is not completely without merit. The strength of the field at Rev3, for example, was as steep or steeper than the field down in California. Further, it had an equally notorious bike course, which in turn greatly impacted the run and the way the race played out. Last, several of the top guys who finished on the podium at WF were also in the hunt here, providing a sort of measuring stick for my analysis (basically I’m just talking about Jesse Thomas and Jordan Rapp). But most importantly, two months and four races passed between my first pro outing at WF (it was really more of an amateur hour) and Rev3, my most recent attempt. It’s good to look for signs of progress when you can. It’s all just baby steps, after all.
I’ll warn you now: the rest of this post is going to be a bunch of boring analysis, number-fudging and mental massage. I suspect many of you won’t be into it. But it is a helpful exercise for me, so just let me have it. And since I was always going to do the comparison anyway, I figured I might as well share these thoughts with those of you who are interested in how an up-and-coming pro analyzes his results/rationalizes being happy about 15th place/makes himself feel better/is able to sleep at night.
The Swim
First, the qualitative comparison. When I compare this swim to Wildflower, I’m way, way better across the board. Water awareness, finding the right group to draft, knowing when to go it alone, open-water sighting, it’s all good. Well, not really good, but certainly better than it was. Strategy and experience are a HUGE part of triathlon swimming success. Nice to see I’ve improved in this area.
Quantitatively, my swim speed has similarly improved. I base that off of times in the pool in training, but also a comparison to Jesse and Jordan, who swim about the same. They exited the water together to begin their epic showdown at WF (and by that I mean within several seconds of one another), where they ultimately finished 1-2, respectively. Here at Rev3 they did the same thing. But on my end, while I came out of the water nearly 3.5 minutes down to them at WF, I was just a hair over 2 minutes in our most recent encounter, and that on a longer swim overall. All I have to say to that is booyah!
The Bike
The qualitative look at the bike is also hugely encouraging. At WF I basically made every mistake in the book, but here I made relatively few. Better pacing. Got the calories in easier. No rubbing brake pads. No broken bottle holders. I was able to ride to my fitness level, instead of being hampered by rookie mishaps.
This is definitely apples to oranges, but it is safe to say both the WF and Rev3 courses are very challenging. Some of the toughest in the sport, actually. Jesse and Jordan had some of the top bike times at each venue, and they were quite comparable to one another. Both clocked around a 2:17:30 down in Cali. Up here they both arrived at T2 after 2:16:45 on the bike, meaning they were about 45 seconds faster between the two races. My own efforts were 2:33:38 at WF and 2:29:50 at Rev3, showing nearly a four minute improvement. All this to say I surrendered three minutes less to The Aviator and The Rappstar at Rev3. After this unashamedly reckless quantitative comparison, I am left with little more to say than Booyah!
The Run
The run is influenced by many factors, but foremost among them is bike effort and pacing. So a qualitative improvement in this final discipline, I think, also substantiates the inferences I made in my bike analysis. This all because – when I finally started running at Rev3 – I felt way, way better than I did down in California. Kept a more even pace. Caught more dudes. Better nutrition plan. All signs of improved fitness, tactics, and race experience. So put that in your little pipe and smoke it.
Looking at the running splits is less meaningful. The WF run course is a hilly biatch, and it is short of the full 13.1 miles. In contrast, the Rev3 course is about as flat as it gets. Plus, race dynamics have a huge effect on run times, with lots of guys doing just enough to maintain their position, or shutting things down early because they know they aren’t going to win. Consequently, a quantitative comparison to other competitors, as I have done with the swim and bike, is completely unreliable. The one thing I can say is that I ran significantly faster at Rev3 than I did at WF, and I felt better doing it. This despite an intense cramp that cost me at least two minutes. So I think it’s safe to assume my running has improved. But by how much, I really have no idea.
Transitions
I need to work on them. I keep donating time to the top guys in both T1 and T2. Especially in T1. It’s bad.
Overall
The big picture is best of all. Many of the top pros (Thomas, Rapp, Matthews, et. al.) took longer to get around this track than they did down in California. Jesse was two minutes slower here at Rev3 than he was in his winning performance at WF. And this despite a similarly strong performance on a good day (that straight from the horse’s mouth). I was actually four minutes FASTER. And in an arguably tougher field, I moved up from 24th position at WF to 15th at Rev3. For all this, I give a final and resounding BOOYAH!
Of course, this has been a highly uncontrolled case study, with literally hundreds of external variables. The scientist in me is completely ashamed. But I think it’s safe to say things have been coming along. My fitness has certainly improved. And more importantly, my tactics and familiarity with the pro race format have come a long way. I’ve learned so much in two short months, and looking back on it now is quite rewarding. Hopefully things continue to trend in this direction over the coming years.
Thanks for tolerating my nerdy analysis. Big news on the horizon, concerning future plans. Enjoy the rest of July everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment