Jackson County Triathlon - TriathlonLong Course


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Lee's Summit, Missouri
United States
KLM
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 51m 27s
Overall Rank = 20/253
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 3/19
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30, got my gear together, aired up tires, made a PB&J sandwhich and rode over to Franks house. I told my masters swim mates that they should put a relay together so they did, TWO teams. We drove to the lake, only 20 minute drive, nice when races are close. I had to use the Port-a-Potty right when we got there, checked that one off my list.

Got a nice transition spot right next to the bike exit/entrance. Found out it was wetsuit legal but I opted to only wear the bottoms (like that I have a 2-piece). The guys to the right and left of me had wetsuits so I wanted to even the playing field a little. Headed down to the beach.
Event warmup:

Didn't really warm up other than stretching. Chatted with Bob and Steve who were the swimmers for the two relay teams. WHile watching the first two waves I noticed the swim looked AWEFULLY short. It was supposed to be a 1000 yard swim with two 500 yard laps with a run on the beach in between. Bot mentioned the first group was running on the beach in under 4 minutes.

When the RD came up to talk to us I told him the swim looks short. He said you can get a little drive with he currents etc. but man, it looked excessively short.
Swim
  • 07m 41s
  • 1094 yards
  • 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

Yep, I knew the swim course was short. There's no way I could swim two 500 yard loops with a run on the beach in 7:41. The swim may have only been half that. At a pace of 1:32/100 yards a 500 yard swim would take about 7:41 so my guess is the swim distance was between 500 and 600 yards. The two swimmers from the relay teams are much faster than me in the pool. I was expecting to be minutes behind them. I came out of the water at the same exact time as Steve and Bob was only 11 secnods ahead of me. Neither had wetsuits so looks like my DeSoto bottoms gave me an edge.

The water was smooth, virtually no chop, a pretty good swim for me. I was right on with the turn bouys. There was a little incidental contact but par for the course.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. I should have gone out a little faster given the short distance but I wasn't sure as it just looked short.
Transition 1
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

Typical T1 for me. A little extra time getting the wetsuit off due to the bulky timing chip holder.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, haven't taken T1 101 yet.
Bike
  • 1h 01m 33s
  • 23.53 miles
  • 22.94 mile/hr
Comments:

Great bike ride for me. I went out fast, off the saddle as I left the park entering traffice on the main road. Settled into an aero position and just rode. Nothing fancy, just friggin' rode. There were about 600 or so in the race so lots on the bike course. Roads were blocked off to traffic so lots of space to pass.

There were a few mountain bikes out there doing the long course, tough going up those two clmbs with big knobby tires.

I passed Frank, relay team 1 5 minutes into toe bike. Passed Kaylee, relay team 2, about 5 minutes later. Going in I thought it would be close between myself and the relay teams because in a 1,000 yard pool swim, Bob and Steve would beat me by at least 3-4 minutes. With my DeSoto bottoms and the swim being excessively short there was virtually no ground to make up other than T1 time.

My favorite moment was on a flat, maybe sightly downhill section where I coasted past a TT carbon bike with wheel covers. I pedaled hard while catching up to him, then took a breather in an aero position and moved past him while he was till pedaling. Lovin' the aerobars.

Last year I did the sprint on the same exact course, just one lap instead of two and I averaged 20.3 mph. This year I do TWO laps averaging almost 23 mph, so yeah, bike has improved a bit :)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. I rode to the best of my ability.
Transition 2
  • 01m 33s
Comments:

My transition spot was right by the T2 entrance. Helmet off, shoes on, took a drink of water. I forgot my aero bottle so only had one in the cage but it wasn't too hot so I was O.K. on hydration. I did forget gels for the bike ride so I made sure and took 2 with me for the run. Since my bike was right at the transition bike entrance I had to run the entire length to the run exit. Much easier with running shoes than bike shoes.

Oh yeah, forgot to put on my race belt with bib.
What would you do differently?:

Put race belt on to follow the "rules". Not sure what I'd do differently, maybe when I take T2 101 I'll find out.
Run
  • 38m 53s
  • 5 miles
  • 07m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

Coming out of transition there was a water station which was nice. I felt as though I was going out too fast so I slowed down a little because my last race was tough the last half and I didn't want that to happen again. I really wanted to run sub 8 minutes miles this time. Last time was like 8:22 pace.

On two water stations I took some gatorade and water and dumped half the water over my head as it was getting warm. I really paced myself, not going out too fast. Got the the turnaround feeling pretty good. Saw our two relay runners, Brandon and Pete. Finally it sank in that there was no way they would run me down so I knew I was having a good race. I knew Pete would run sub 7's and I knew I would need a 5 minute cushion starting the run.

I ended up averaging 7:47 so I was pretty happy with my time, especially with the effort put forth on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. With the added focus on the bike this year my run has suffered. I need to run more than 2-3 times a week. Also need to add in some speedwork.
Post race
Warm down:

Not really a warm down. After they took my timing chip I grabbed a bottle of water and went back near the run course finish to meet up with 4 of the relay members so we could cheer on our two runners.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My weakness used to be cycling. Now it's running. I think I'll sign up for another April marathon, that will keep me running. This time I'll make sure and do some speed work.

Event comments:

I enjoy these races regardless of the amount of "fluff". KLM races don't have awards ceremonies, finishers medals etc. but I only paid $140 for 3 races. I was a little dissapointed in how short the swim distance was. Looking at the results I figure this cost me 4 to 5 places overall, one in age group.




Last updated: 2011-04-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:41 | 1094 yards | 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/19
Overall: 14/253
Performance: Good
Suit: DeSoto T1 bottoms only, tri compression top
Course: Trapezoidal, two laps with about a 50 yd run on the beach between each laps.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:50
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:01:33 | 23.53 miles | 22.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/19
Overall: 17/253
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Mostly on main roads just outside of park, some residential. Two laps, mostly flat with two gradual climbs each lap. Both were a little over a mile long with average grades of 1.5 to 1.7%.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:33
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:38:53 | 05 miles | 07m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/19
Overall: 71/253
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back on trails. Nice to have a run on something softer than pavement or ashphalt. There were water stations at each mile.
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3