Cedar Creek Triathlon - Triathlon


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Olathe, Kansas
United States
Cedar Creek Triathlon
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 01m 14s
Overall Rank = 12/296
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 2/29
Pre-race routine:

Went to Chiefs preseason game the night before, didn't pack gear until I got back from that. Finally went to sleep around 1:30 or so. Got up at 4:45, started coffee, took a wakeup shower, got dressed and headed out for the 30 minute drive.

Arrived at transition about 6:10. Team Banana Hammocks were there in full force. I love the neon yellow, it can be seen from quite a distance. Having fun in Triathlon is what it's all about. Went to pick up my timing chip and to body marking. My friend Amy was supposed to race but she has been under the weather the last few days so I had the volunteer write her name above my number. The RD decided to have an Elite wave, I wasn't sure of the criteria but I was told I could go off with them and was able to move my bike over to the front near the bike exit.
Event warmup:

My warmup consisted of a jog to the portapotty. Water was too warm for wetsuits so no fast swim for me today. Since it was only supposed to be 400m I decided to skip the skinsuit as well.
Swim
  • 08m 10s
  • 437 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Went out with the elite wave, I was MOP in this group, especially sans wetsuit. There was probably around 20 of us, I didn't count how many but this was a small lake and we had 6 turn buoys to go around. The first buoy was hectic but the fish pulled away by the time we hit the second one. I drank a bit of water in the first 100m or so and it took me a while to feel like I was strong in the water. After the 3rd buoy there was the long stretech on the back for at least 200m or so and I was able to shorten the distance between myself and the pack. I was still well over a minute and a half behind the leaders. Looked at my watch once out of the water, over 8 minutes!!!! Later found out swim was long.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. Rounding buoys was good, just swam to my current ability.
Transition 1
  • 01m
Comments:

Got to my bike in a timely manner but had trouble with left bike shoe. Back of shoe folder in so had to pull it off then put it on again. Same thing with the right. Slow T1 compared to leaders. Fastest was like 20 seconds! I had sunglasses but skipped those. Glad I did, others said theirs fogged up.
What would you do differently?:

I dunno, practice putting bike shoes on with wet feet?
Bike
  • 28m 52s
  • 11 miles
  • 22.86 mile/hr
Comments:

Coming out of transition you go right to some climbing. Right away there's a climb of a half mile averaging around 4.5% grade. That's actually the toughest climb of the ride, the rest are just annoying little rollers where you can't average 25 mph....I was well behind the leaders, two or three for which I new for sure I wouldn't catch. I just tried to stay aero and pick off riders one at a time. The Duathlon also started at the same time as us so a few of those riders were out there as well. After riding with some road bike racers I've learned some bike handling skills, still a lot to learn but geez, I had to slow way down on a couple of the turns due to riders in front of me. A couple guys were moving at about the same pace as me on the flat portions so I knew they could ride fast but their turns.....

There's a really sharp turn for the second loop and when I came up to it there was a rider in the grass picking up his bike. He must have been going too fast into that turn. That turn you also had riders merging in from later waves so you had to be alert.

I finally caught up to Pete and Kevin, who were drafting each other by the way ahem but that was a half mile before the finish. I was hoping to have caught up to them earlier on which would have been an indication of a killer bike split. In this case it was a solid bike split for me but not a killer bike split.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, rode to my current ability.
Transition 2
  • 00m 38s
What would you do differently?:

Good transition for me. With the fast guys doing it in 20 seconds there must be something I can do. Maybe they just run faster.
Run
  • 22m 37s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

Run started good, I felt relatively strong going up that first climb even though legs were still tight from the bike. The course flattens out a bit after that climb so my HR was getting back to a sustainable rate. There's two 1-mile loops a half mile from the start so there's plenty of opportunities to see where those behind and in front of you are. I was 2nd in AG coming out of T2 and I was behind Kevin in my AG and I knew I wouldn't catch him. I didn't take any water with me on the bike and I think I took water twice on the run. It was nice and cool. A young lady went cruising by me on the last loop and I was unable to catch back up. I saw her at the finish and asked if she was in the elite wave, she said no and that she messed up and only did one loop of the run! Bummer! The last 1/2 mile of the run is down that hill you first run up so it's a fast finish.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was actually a pretty good run for me given my lack of run volume this summer.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked over to the snack table after receiving my finisher medal and got some chocolate milk and yogurt. I love it when they have chocolate milk at the finish line. Talked to the bunch (Team Banana Hammocks) and cheered on our other teammates.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm a random trainer, the list is long......

Event comments:

This was a very good race, it was the second year and I believe there was a 33% jump in participation from last year so kudos to the RD and race staff. The Banana Hammocks got a lot of attention at this race, gee I wonder why....bright yellow speedos and support crews all wearing bright yellow as well.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2015-08-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:10 | 437 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/29
Overall: 26/296
Performance: Average
Suit: TTT Team 2 piece team kit
Course: Rectangular swim in a small lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:00
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:28:52 | 11 miles | 22.86 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/29
Overall: 5/296
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Short route with a repeating loop of about 3.2 miles with a few solid climbs. Elevation gain was somewhere between 400 and 475 feet depending on who's device you were looking at. The biggest climb starts right out of transition with a 100 foot or so climb over 0.4 miles.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:38
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:22:37 | 03.1 miles | 07m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/29
Overall: 32/296
Performance: Good
Course: A semi out and back with two one mile loops. The same 1/2 mile climb from the bike starts the run course, 100 feet of climbing in the first 1/2 mile. All on asphalt roads.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5