Peter Barnard Race Re-Cap

Green Member: Peter Barnard

Event: Blackland Triathlon

Location: Plano

Class (yours): M 45 - 49

Results: 1st place Age Group

Local Knowledge and Conditions: Have raced this event three years in a row, it's a great Labor Day event. Conditions were cooler with winds that strengthened to 12 mph during the race.

Pre-Race Strategy & Warm Up: Was intent on making up for disappointing run at Rockwall Tri. Ran for approx 15 minutes and swam approx 500 mts prior to race with some light stretching. Purpose or warm up is as much about warming the muscles as it is about opening the lungs. With the first event being the swim getting your breathing in order is important especially in a Sprint, being able to get in the water and be relaxed from the start generally means you exit the water in a better state and are able to really race through T1.

Psychology: Get into a solid pace and hold it all the way. I had a great run, my splits were 6:52 which more than made up for Rockwall which was what I was aiming for. When I came into T2 I was along side a fellow age grouper, as he had been seeded behind me on the swim I knew I would have to put time in on him in the run and I put my head down and went out fast. The combination of a fast T2 and a 6:30 minute first mile left him 40 seconds behind after the first mile. I made a point of concentrating on my pace, foot plant, breathing and keeping my shoulder relaxed. I pushed myself hard all the way to the end and that felt great.

Lessons Learned (Or Re-Learned): I received my first ever penalty for being outside the cones during the bike ride, lesson learned was that no matter how well you may think you know the course it is important to concentrate.

Future Goals (include skills executed well and skills needing improvement): Am happy with swim, T1 and T2 (although with T1 I am working on a more efficient method of mounting the bike). Will continue to push my training on the bike and run

Something funny that happened: Not funny but I received my first ever penalty. I was penalized 2 minutes for 'riding outside the cones'. I am not sure exactly where the infraction could have taken place as this was a clockwise loop course so would make little sense to be outside the cones especially as I have raced the course 2 previously and know it well. Have requested more information from the referee as to the exact location. I was very fortunate that even when the 2 minutes was added to my time I still got 1st place age group. I was disappointed that they added it to my run time as now looks like I ran 7:31 splits and not 6:52 and I do have my pride!