Elkhart Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint


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Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
United States
Elkhart Lake Multisports
71F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 24m 34s
Overall Rank = 107/322
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 3/10
Pre-race routine:

Alright, this was my first race ever, but all things considered I had a great time and I think I did pretty well.

Caught at least one hour of sleep, had half a box of supreme pizza (old army carbo-loading method for PT tests, what the heck, right?) had a PB&J, and made it out to transition just before 5:30. Chatted with a few people from my triathlon club, had an energy gel, threw on my wetsuit and jumped in the water.
Event warmup:

Swam out to the first buoy and back twice.
Swim
  • 09m
  • 437 yards
  • 02m 04s / 100 yards
Comments:

Had a nice easy swim. It was a time trial start, two people every three seconds. I just waded out until it was deep enough to swim. I wasn't being very aggressive at all, just going through the motions. Got a into a nice rhythm for freestyle, and generally tried to avoid people. I kept running into people that were backstroking or treading water, however, from what I kept hearing there were A LOT of people doing it. I just moved a little and swam on.
What would you do differently?:

Now that I've got the hang of it, I'll be a little more aggressive and go for speed, and maybe try and get more out front. Additionally, I noticed that my sighting technique seemed to stop me completely at times, so I need to practice in open water more. Plenty of opportunities to do that over the summer.
Transition 1
  • 03m 6s
Comments:

Got to knee high water and waded out. Got out of my wetsuit with little trouble. My cap and goggles actually made it into my wetsuit sleeve this time. Transition entrance was a bit of a jog from the beach, but I took it easy to keep the heart rate down. Got my legs out of the suit pretty easily. Thank you BodyGlide. I wasn't going to try any cool-guy flying mounts my first go around, so I just ran with my shoes on and mounted "the old-fashioned way" after the mount line.

Also, as I was running into transition I had noticed the rack over from me had collapsed, causing a good number of bikes to be in a pile. I hope they have that fixed next year.
What would you do differently?:

I was really trying to take my time and make sure that everything was good to go (chin-strap buckled, shoes on right feet, helmet not on backwards, among other embarrassing things that I've heard about happening to people). Next time I'll probably be a little faster getting out of transition now that I believe I've got the hang of it.
Bike
  • 44m 15s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 16.85 mile/hr
Comments:

I think I performed pretty well here. I was passing quite a few people and the rolling hills of the course were pretty easily handled.

I did have one embarrassing incident about 30 minutes into the bike. As an afterthought I hastily duct taped a gel to the top tube of my bike thinking I could use the extra nutrition at about that time. However, I hastily taped the **** out of it, causing me to have to coast for a good 3 minutes trying to wrestle my gol-darn clif shot off of my top tube. When I finally got it loose, I had applied such force that it shot off the bike and landed behind me, with a race marshal staring me down menacingly. I ended up getting off the bike to go back and get it. (I like to think I would have gotten it whether anybody saw me or not... integrity, right?)
What would you do differently?:

Don't abuse the power of duct tape to adhere gels to top tube. Use electrical, taped more lightly, or maybe just throw it in the back of my jersey at transition. I suppose race day is not the time to experiment. Lesson learned.

Additionally, I was being a little cautious here too. I probably could have passed some people but chose to stay behind them for a while anyway. I think I could have pushed it a little harder and still been okay.
Transition 2
  • 02m 59s
Comments:

Got to the mount-line, unclipped and ran with my shoes on back to transition. Re-racked my bike, got my bike shoes off and managed to get my pre-rolled socks on pretty easily despite the sweat. Got my hat and race number on, and off I went.
What would you do differently?:

Again, I was being really careful to make sure I had everything squared away before taking off. Race belt, bike was racked right, etc. Once I get the hang of things and transitions are second nature I think I can shave some time off.
Run
  • 25m 12s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt like I still had some gas left over from the swim and bike so the run felt pretty good. I was putting a lot of thought into cadence and pace. The course had a really big hill right in the middle of it, and a lot of people were walking but thankfully I never felt the need. As soon as I rounded the corner towards the finish and heard the crowd and music, I got pretty motivated and turned up the heat. What a great feeling to cross the finish!
What would you do differently?:

Pick up the pace a little. I think I could have pushed it a little harder throughout.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, had some light stretching, half a banana, a bagel, and waited for the rest of my group to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of experience. I think with some more transition practice and some swim coaching (as well as continuing training) I could rock this.

Event comments:

For my first race I think I did pretty good. I was actually surprised that I managed to finish 3rd out of 10 in my age group, but sure enough they called me up for an award. Looking at the results online it looks like I actually finished 4th out of 11, but the guy who got 1st overall was in my age group so I guess they dropped it down to the next three guys. I'll take it. :)

Big thanks to all the Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team who help newbies like me make it to the start and finish line. Awesome group of folks.




Last updated: 2012-06-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:00 | 437 yards | 02m 04s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/322
Performance: Good
Suit: Full-Sleeve Wetsuit over Tri Shorts/Top
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 03:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:44:15 | 12.43 miles | 16.85 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/322
Performance: Average
Wind: Some with gusts
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:59
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:25:12 | 03.11 miles | 08m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/322
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5