Cutting Edge Half Classic - Triathlon


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Effingham, Illinois
United States
Cutting Edge Triathlon
86?F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 37m 45s
Overall Rank = 4/141
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/10
Pre-race routine:

Went down to Champaign on Saturday so that we could stay the night at my Sister and her boyfriends place. Woke up at 3:50 and started getting ready. Ate a bagel with peanut butter on it and had some coffee as well. We were on the road by 4:40. It took us about an hour and ten minutes to get to the race site. We got there a lot later than I wanted. It was a rush for me to get things set up! I should have woken up earlier/left earlier but that's just the way it happens sometimes.
Event warmup:

I didn't get any kind of warm-up. By the time I got done waiting in line at the Port a potty I had to run to packet pickup and get my stuff then run back to transition area and get finished setting up. Was just pulling my wetsuit on when they announced transition would be closing! eeek! Hurried down to the shore for the pre-race meeting and gave my wife and kid each a kiss.
Swim
  • 26m 27s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 15s / 100 yards
Comments:

What can I say...Well I was bothered about not being able to get a warm-up in but, I am a swimmer by nature so things just kinda worked out on there own I guess. The first 150-200 yards were all weeds all the way to the top of the water. I started in about waste deep water and some people started on shore. There were quite a few on shore that jumped the gun and started early I noticed but oh well :P. Once I started going I had to fight through all the vegetation like everyone else was doing I'm sure. It was getting in your' face/hands/ankles you name it, it was there. After that though I didn't notice it anymore. I must have gotten ahead of the majority of people right away because I really didn't bump and slug with anyone so to speak. I guess they had to jump in and untangle one woman because she got all hung up in the weeds in the water. She finished though! Otherwise I found a pair of feet to draft on for a while then they started going faster than I wanted too so I let them go. I think my swim in general went excellent. I had some issues sighting(just need to do more of it) I kept pulling to the right about every 10 strokes or so. Had to correct myself several times which was frustrating to me but overall I think it went very well.
What would you do differently?:

Sight a little bit more. Otherwise I think it was one of my best swims yet. I got into an excellent pace and breathing was great.
Transition 1
  • 01m 1s
Comments:

This could have been a faster transition but I got there late and didn't get a good spot. Had to run quite a ways extra to make it to my bike and then over to the exit for bike out. Otherwise the wetsuit came off pretty decent and so did some of the weeds that were still stuck to me as well!
What would you do differently?:

Get a better spot. Otherwise I think it went pretty decent.
Bike
  • 2h 31m 58s
  • 56 miles
  • 22.18 mile/hr
Comments:

Well I came out of T1 and got going up to speed fairly quick. Shoes went of way better this time compared to my Tri a couple weeks back. Once I got out onto the main road I started hammering it for a couple minutes then I saw my HR and backed off some. I was around 168 and knew I had to get that back down to 160 or below. I passed a woman fairly quickly that was part of a relay team and then I was alone until about 8-10 miles where I was passed by a guy. He asked me how many were ahead of us and I told him 3-4/ I wasn't sure. Well a minute or so later we saw the first place guy going the opposite way and he was about 4 minutes ahead of me at that time. Otherwise that was it and so I found out I was in third! Holy Cow! I had a good tailwind/crosswind going west but when we turned for the south loop it was all headwind and probably 12-15 mph it seemed. It wasn't nuts or anything so I just grinned and bared it knowing everyone else had to deal with it as well. The second lap of the course the wind had picked up a bit more and I could tell I needed to go a tad slower otherwise I would probably blow up on the run.(good thing too). I was only passed by two guys the entire time on the bike so I was in fourth place coming into T2.
What would you do differently?:

Drink more! I found out this once I started the run. I got thirsty toward the end of the bike and negated getting refills for either of my bottles. I am just going to get another cage/saddle cages for my bike so I can carry 1-2 more bottles.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Almost forgot to get my feet ontop of my shoes! Otherwise I got off the bike and started running pretty good into T2. Again had to run quite a ways but no big deal in the long run. Sat down and put my socks/shoes on and decided to for go my running visor since it hurts my head on long runs. Grabbed an extra gel out of my race bag and took off out of T2.
What would you do differently?:

Have my water bottle filled up and ready to go. I didn't have time to get it filled due to arriving to late.
Run
  • 1h 37m 29s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

Well I didn't blow up but I came very very close! I now know what all the veterans and pro's out there mean when they say it's 90% mental. It really is. I have never been on a run where I had to mentally push myself to keep going like this one. I started off running the first mile at like a 6:49 pace I believe. Second one was right around 7 minutes. I was trying to get my HR down because it was around 168 and I slowed down some but it didn't feel right to be going that slow so I just went with it for the time being. They had water/aid stations every mile which was a life saver! I took in water at every station and took Gatorade twice. When you got off the main highway/road onto the north bound road it turned to gravel with some decent hills! Also while on this road and running north it was hot and you couldn't feel the breeze at all. The sun came out right before the bike was done and it really started to get humid out. Either way I made it back towards the transition area and saw my sister starting her first lap of the run. We gave each other a high five and off she went. My goal was to catch her on the my second lap. Once I was about 1.75 miles into the second lap the 5th place guy passed me finally. He was running great! I told him good job but it might have came out as "asldf blob". I was no longer sweating at this point and was really digging down deep into the pain cave to continue running. Good thing I did. The guy who had been in second on the bike and the first to pass me was walking up ahead. I passed him and was back in fourth. Woot! At the 10.1 mile aid station I decided I needed to walk through it so I did. I took about three glasses of water and splashed some water and drank some. I started running again and never stopped again. With about two miles to go I finally caught my sister who was having a hard time with it. She was walking up a hill and I told her just to keep going and she said awesome job little brother so I kept on going! I got an adrenaline boost with about 1.5 miles to go and brought it home pretty good I think. Like I said this was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life so far but I think if I would have drank more on the bike I would have had a much better run experience. IM Wisconsin here I come...
What would you do differently?:

Drink more on the bike and have my Nathan water bottle loaded up with some extra salt tablets as well. I never cramped up though!
Post race
Warm down:

Had to dump a whole bottle of water on myself after crossing the line I was so hot! Drank another and then had some Gatorade. Eventually I ate a couple sandwiches they were providing and waited for my sister to finish. I was fourth overall though and was stoked!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not drinking enough on the bike I think. Maybe even to hard on the bike but I think it was more of a hydration issue than anything else.

Event comments:

They put on one hell of a race here. The amount of volunteers that were there was awesome. They had two different aid stations on the bike course and then every mile of the run. They announce your' name and where you are from when you cross the line which was cool. Got to meet trigal38 who came over and talked to me a couple minutes after I crossed. Hi Dina! Otherwise I thought that I would definitely come back and do this course again. It has a very deceiving run course after a flat bike but don't let it fool you! Thanks to my wife, kiddo, and brother-in-law for supporting myself and the sister through this race!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-12-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:27 | 2112 yards | 01m 15s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/10
Overall: 5/141
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Sleeveless
Course: Two loop squarish/triangular type of course. The weeds in the shallower sections were insane. On the second lap you had to stop and yell out your' bib number so they could record you.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:01
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:31:58 | 56 miles | 22.18 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/10
Overall: 9/141
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: A two loop "T" shaped course. Pretty flat for the most part except when going south and coming back north it had some decent hills but nothing I would consider major...it's central Illinois for crying out loud!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 96
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:37:29 | 13.1 miles | 07m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/10
Overall: 11/141
Performance: Below average
168ish...
Course: Two loop out and back course with some decent hills right in the middle. No shade whatsoever it seemed.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5