Border Wars Triathlon - Triathlon


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Alton, Illinois
United States
RaceMaker Productions
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 47m 16s
Overall Rank = 112/345
Age Group = 3539
Age Group Rank = 13/41
Pre-race routine:

Well this was the last race of the season. We decided to make a short family trip out of it.

The week leading up to the race was sort of difficult (taper week). First of all, on Monday (of taper week) the KC Royals started playing in the playoffs for the first time in 30 years. They played on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Each game went 12 innings (with the latter two starting on the West coast). These were LATE and caused me to lose plenty of sleep.

Our first night in Alton, my son Lucas decided not to sleep. We had an awful night of rest and I woke up with a scratchy throat. So much for the "night before, the night before" being the most important time of rest.

On race day, I woke up before the alarm and got ready. I took a cab to the race site. It was a two transition event, so on race day the only thing to set up was T2 which included running shoes, race belt and sunglasses. That took all of 30 seconds. Then, I went and rested and waited for my trolley.

After arriving at the swim start/T1, I got everything in order and made sure the bike was ready. It was a very cold morning so I spent plenty of time moving around and trying to stay warm.
Event warmup:

I did not warm up. The water temp was reported to be 72 degrees. I observed a lady enter the water to warm up and based on her expression, I was immediately skeptical of the 72 degrees. I opted to hang out and wait for the swim start.
Swim
  • 40m 5s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 54s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well this was interesting. I was swimming for the first time in my new Blue Seventy long sleeve wetsuit. I was milling around in transition and headed toward the swim start when I realized there were people entering the water already. It was only about 30 seconds before my wave left. I had no time to panic or be nervous. However, as soon as I hit the water, it was like a million needles in my skin. It was by far the coldest water I had ever been in. NO WHERE close to 70 degrees.

I started to swim and immediately my left goggle filled with water. I got out the first 100M and turned the corner and stopped and messed with the goggles. Over the next 500M, I kept stopping, emptying, trying to get a good seal. I've never had this problem. In fact, normally I would just shut my eye and ignore the goggle filling. However, the water was so cold that it felt like my eyeball was freezing. It created major issues. I alternated between freestyle, tarzan and breaststroke as I attempted to acclimate to the water and get my goggles sealed. Eventually, about halfway through the swim I was able to settle in and just swim.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not sure there is much I could have done differently. I wasn't prepared for the cold, and I don't know how I could have been.

Evidently, the Army corp released some water from the reservoir the night before and the warm water drained off. This left the cold/deep water there.

It was a bad swim, but it was almost entirely due to the cold water, I feel.
Transition 1
  • 06m 41s
Comments:

Due to the cold, I knew this was be a very slow transition. I took the time to dry off (using a t-shirt) my feet to put socks on (I usually ride without socks) and also my arms to apply arm warmers. These took a while to get on. I put my shoes on and walked/jogged with my bike to the mounting line.

Also, because our stuff would be transported to the finish line, I took time to stuff everything (wetsuit, etc) into a plastic bag and duffle bag.

Due to the time it took, I did not apply sunscreen. This was a risk, as it was quite overcast. I did end up getting pretty burned, but not too badly.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was ok based on conditions. The air temperature was in the 40s, so it was still pretty chilly.
Bike
  • 2h 46m 55s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.13 mile/hr
Comments:

Overall, a good bike leg.

I was quite cold, but warmed up pretty well and was not as miserable as I feared. I used my arm warmer to sop up tons of snot that I was draining (due to cold weather and sickness).

I glanced at my watch and waiting until 9am before eating drinking anything (about 15 minutes) and used the clock to eat/drink at intervals. I used the Shiv's fuselage, a BTA bottle and my rear bottle. I did not need an additional bottle for exchange. I had the fuselage pre-mixed with Nuun tabs and then added plain water as needed and dropped Nuun tabs when filling. I did not premix the other bottles because I wanted the option of plain water (instead of sports drink) if needed. I also had 4 Gus packed in the fuel cell and used each of them at intervals.
What would you do differently?:

Overall, it was a pretty good bike. I think I may have went a bit harder than I should have and I felt it on the run. But not by much and as fitness improves, hopefully my ability to pace will improve.

At one point, a long line of motorcyclists passed by. At the end of the line was a red minivan. This van buzzed me so closely, I really felt I was going to be hit. They honked and did it intentionally. Evidently, they buzzed quite a few other cyclists. This scared me, and then made me mad. As a result, I lost my cool and started mashing. I don't know why...but I was furious and rode much harder than I needed to. It took me about 10 minutes to cool down. I think that was a mistake but am unsure if that contributed to my slow-down on the run.

Transition 2
  • 02m 21s
Comments:

T2 went smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

none. I could have found my spot a bit quicker.
Run
  • 2h 11m 12s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I started off the run and could not feel my feet. They were numb from the cold and 56 miles on the bike. There was a small hill going up to the path but otherwise it was flat.

At the first mile, my watch split showed 8:08. Too fast for me. I knew I needed to slow it way down. I was hoping to finish in about 2 hours and a pace of about 9:15 or so. The 2nd mile showed 8-twenty something...again...slow down. By mile 4-5 I was down to about mid-nines. At this point, I was starting to fatigue. I was eager to get to the turnaround point. I ate a banana and alternated water/Heed. At mile 8, my pace was down to 10 min. Uh oh. Too slow. I didn't want to push too hard, but knew my pace was dropping off. By mile 10 I was hurting and was just telling myself (just an easy 5K left). I knew I was still on pace for an improvement over NOLA, but it was going from "big" improvement to "marginal" improvement.

As I approached the finish, I started looking for my family. I saw a blonde little girl running down and hill and at first thought it was Lily. Not her. As I got closer, I was looking for my wife's red shirt and soon spotted the "SUFFER!" flag being held up for me. There they are. I tried to smile at my son (they give me a hard time about my stone face) but not sure it worked.
What would you do differently?:

I think my pacing was just off. I felt I was in good running condition and thought I could reverse split and have some stronger miles late, however I must have overestimated my run fitness off the bike. Next time, I will have to focus on some longer miles off the bike. Overall, it is still an improvement over NOLA and I am satisfied with the effort.
Post race
Warm down:

I was finished. I was hurting. Bad. I couldn't really stand, but didn't want to collapse either, as I didn't want a trip to the medical tent. I took a bottle of water and found a place at the amphitheater to sit down. I took about 10 minutes to decompress and get my bearings. My wife urged me to sit in the shade. I moved, but quickly moved back to the sun. It was about 70 degrees, but I was chilled. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped up. Soon, I went to the chiropractor tent where they did some light soft tissue work.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Pacing and overall fitness

Event comments:

This was a GREAT event. It was a 1st time event, and they pulled it off well. Great SWAG, great spirit. It was organized and even with some changes, they communicated well. The post race had a good atmosphere and BBQ for participants It was not a WTC event, but it felt every bit as professional and felt like the athletes were treated quite well. I would not hesitate to do this one again, however a midwest race in October is a bit of a crapshoot as far as weather.




Last updated: 2014-05-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:05 | 2112 yards | 01m 54s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/345
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full Sleeve Blue Seventy
Course: 100M out before turning left and making a long loop, before returning to the beach via the same 100M stretch.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 58F / 14C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 06:41
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:46:55 | 56 miles | 20.13 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/345
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: The course was basically a large, flat loop around country roads in W. Alton.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:21
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
02:11:12 | 13.1 miles | 10m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/345
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back on a running trail/path. Elevated above riverside. A few points had closed gates designed to force cyclists to dismount and walk between.
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