Iowa Games Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Ogden, Iowa
United States
Iowa Games
68F / 20C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 03m 29s
Overall Rank = 8/295
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/17
Pre-race routine:

This was event #3 in my fun filled training weekend. I had biked a century the previous morning and run a hard 10k the night before. This was basically a test to see how my legs held up. Upon waking up they were a little tight, but not as bad as I thought they'd be.

I drove to the race site in pouring rain. Oh goody another wet triathlon! I parked my bike in one of the middle racks right next to one of my friends from our training group. I chatted with him and Joe (Bter CPT K, whom I met for the first time today) to pass the time.
Event warmup:

I decided it would be in my best interests to warm up in the water a bit since I hadn't swam for over a week. I swam the whole course and the water felt great. I was good to go.
Swim
  • 06m 59s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

I positioned myself in the second row, hoping to get on the feet of some of the faster swimmers. That didn't work out so well as there was quite a bit of contact at the start and I couldn't get clear. At one point some guy started climbing up my back, which is fine because I expect that sort of thing to happen. Then I felt a palm on the small of my back and the a-hole shoved me straight down. I was pretty much vertical in the water at that point, but I managed to get going again. Try that again, d-bag, and I'm kicking as hard as I can. Sure enough a couple of seconds later the hand was pushing on my back again. My feet connected with something solid, more than once, and he let up. See you later.

The swim cleared up after that. I rounded the turnaround without incident, surprised at how many people I was passing after the first couple hundred yards. Do people really gas themselves that much in a 440 yard swim? Maybe I just had that rough of a start. Anyway, I made it to the boat ramp and headed into transition
What would you do differently?:

Kick harder!
Transition 1
  • 00m 29s
Comments:

Small transition + no wetsuit = Speedy
What would you do differently?:

Nuttin
Bike
  • 34m 25s
  • 13 miles
  • 22.66 mile/hr
Comments:

So about a hundred yards from the mount line is a hill. I've complained about this hill before and I'll complain about it again today. It's not that it's all that big, it's just the positioning of it. You can't use the downhill on the way back because of the dismount line. What a waste!

Anywho, some goofball passed me at the crest of the hill, but then he struggled to get his feet in his shoes and I took off and never saw him again. Time to catch some swimmers!

I tried to gauge how my legs felt in the early miles. I could tell they weren't all there, but I pushed as hard as I could regardless. The roads were wet and it may have still been raining but I don't really remember. I caught a lot of people on the way to the turnaround, including most of the "elites" that started in the first wave.

As I approached the turnaround I started counting heads coming back the other way. One.....two......uhhh....really? I'm in third? A brief deluded vision of reaching the podium danced through my head. Hold on, Neal, the fast old dudes (35+) started in the wave behind you. Don't get ahead of yourself.

There was a slight headwind on the way back and I could feel my legs start to falter a little bit. I was passed not once, but twice with about a mile left to go to transition. The second guy was in my age group. Grrr! I kept him in my sights until we were back in.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Solid ride all things considered
Transition 2
  • 00m 22s
Comments:

Small transition + flying dismount = Speedy
What would you do differently?:

Not accidentally pick up my goggles along the way (more on this in the run section)
Run
  • 21m 12s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

I pass over the timing mat, throw on my visor, and as I start to put on my race number belt I realize I accidentally grabbed my goggles at the same time. Fudge! Maybe after not swimming for a week I subconsciously wanted to go for another dip

I wasn't sure what to do so in my confused state I backtracked to the timing mat (careful not cross it again and mess up my results) where there was a volunteer to ask what to do. She said to just toss them on the ground where I could find them afterward. Well that sounds logical. Bye, bye goggles. Okay, off we go a second time. How much time did that cost me? 10, 20 seconds? Oh well, let's run.

At that point in time I could still see the guy in my age group in front of me and I had visions of running him down. After the first mile when we hit the first turnaround area I could tell that wasn't going to happen. If anything, he was widening the gap.

Okay, consolation goal: don't let anyone pass you. I estimated the nearest competitor was at least 30 seconds behind me at that point. I continued to push and coming off the second turnaround point I saw that the guy behind me was gaining. Crud!

He passed me before the long hill about a half mile from the finish line. I held on for the last little bit and finally crossed, pretty spent for a sprint race
What would you do differently?:

Not grab my goggles on accident. I was only 5 seconds off of 7th and 25 seconds off of 6th. This may have been the difference.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, ate some food, watched people finish. Quick side story that is a point of comedy for family and friends. Former Iowa Hawkeye and stud NFL kick returner Tim Dwight competes in this tri every year. I was finishing my post race food when he crossed the finish line some 8 minutes after me. I'm not sure why, but it's just fun to say I beat Tim Dwight at an athletic contest of some sort.

I waited around for the awards. I was given "1st" in my age group due to the fact that the guy who beat me was 3rd overall. Darn, I was hoping for a clean age group win before aging up next year.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm pretty sure that if I had not ridden a century and run a 10k the day before I would have moved up a few spots in the overall placing. All in all I am pleased with the finish (my best in a tri so far) and extremely happy with how my body responded. The weekend was quite a confidence booster for IMWI.

Event comments:

This is a low cost, no frills race, but with top notch support. They have done a good job every year I've done the race


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Last updated: 2010-06-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:59 | 440 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/17
Overall: 34/295
Performance: Average
Suit: Zoot Trisuit
Course: Out and back
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:29
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:34:25 | 13 miles | 22.66 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/17
Overall: 8/295
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Out and back, mostly flat, with a useless hill at the beginning.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:22
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
00:21:12 | 03.1 miles | 06m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/17
Overall: 24/295
Performance: Average
Course: Weird loop(?) along the park with 2 out and back sections
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3