Topeka Tinman Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Topeka, Kansas
United States
Silverback Enterprises
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 15m 7s
Overall Rank = 9/118
Age Group = 35-39M
Age Group Rank = 2/12
Pre-race routine:

I do this race primarily for a chance to see and hang out with family, especially now that my parents now live in Topeka. So I had planned on making a small weekend of it, like last year when the whole family came out and then we returned to my parent's house to swim in the kiddie pool, bbq and hang out. But a cousin of mine was getting married this same weekend and that put a wet blanket on my preconceived plans since everyone was going to be out of town. However, my parents offered up their house for me to stay at the night before saving me an hours drive early on race morning.

Breakfast was the normal routine, including force feeding myself by chasing every piece of solid food with coffee so that I could swallow it and not gag it back up. My body just doesn't want food at 4 am. I was on site plenty early to pick up my packet and to get things going. I'm not sure how they assigned numbers but I ended getting an assigned transition spot just next to Jayhox/Patrick.
Event warmup:

None. I did wade into the lake to let some water into my wetsuit. I had barely been wearing it for 5 minutes and I was already getting warm. The water helped somewhat.
Swim
  • 14m 4s
  • 914 yards
  • 01m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

They announced first thing in the morning that they could not find a water temperature to make it wetsuit legal, but about 30 minutes later they came back to announce that it indeed would be wetsuit legal after some more hunting around. Race morning was already in the mid/upper 70s and I was getting pretty warm in my suit. I lined up as the furthest on the far right in the second wave, 39 & under men, and at the start I was quite easily up front leading the way. In fact, I was still leading as I approached the first turn buoy I started wonder where Jeff was at, he's usually ahead of me at this point. But no sooner had I had that thought he began creeping on by me. I stayed on his feet for a bit but I was on my own before long.

The second half I began to feel I bit worn down in the water. Not so much tired but more starting to feel the effects of being a little too warm in the water. Aside from that I was still moving well. The water was like glass despite the bits of human traffic I was swimming around. As I approached the swim exit I was already anticipating a painful T1.
Transition 1
  • 02m 31s
Comments:

Oh boy. Out of the water and up the hill to T1. My breathing is extra hard and so my heart rate is high. I actually feel pretty terrible. Transition felt slow and sloth-like. Not sure where the improvements are to be made here. My issue probably stems from the condition in which I exied the water.

3/12
22/118
Bike
  • 55m
  • 19.5 miles
  • 21.27 mile/hr
Comments:

Coming out of T1 I was going hard but I was also trying to regain some composure as my breathing and HR were sky high. Leaving the park I mostly had my head down, focused on going fast and catching two guys up ahead. However, I completely missed the left hand turn out of the park. I passed a guy just before the turn and once I was by him I passed the turn left signage. I didn't blow by the turn too much but it was still a stupid error and it showed my lack of awareness. I was so focused on the little bubble around me that I didn't bother to look up ahead.

It took me longer than I wanted to pass the guy again. The first few miles outside the park have a terrible chip seal suface, at least for biking. On top of that you're biking up a false flat and into the wind. I very much welcomed getting off that surface and making the turn out of the wind. After that, for the most, part it was a fairly quiet ride. I think I got passed twice, but it was mostly lonely riding. I was drinking every drop of the EFS I had on my bike. It was getting hot and I was going to need every ounce of liquid and electrolyte I could get. The ride back in was much more fun with a long, slow decline and a tailwind. It made me almost forget I was riding on chip seal again.
What would you do differently?:

Stay focused coming out of transition, despite how tired you are. I'll miss fewer turns that way.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

A good T2.

2/12
13/118
Run
  • 1h 02m 46s
  • 7.52 miles
  • 08m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

I left T2 with a smile, moslty because my uncle was by the exit making some smart remark to me. The smile didn't last too long. I knew pretty quickly that my current pace wasn't going to last. I passed an older AG'er after a half mile and that was the last person I would see for the next six miles. I take that back, I could see Jesse Funk in the distance but he was running like it was 55 degrees outside and there was no way I was going to catch him.

I made it to the ball park (mile 1.5) where I caved and stopped to walk. There was a hill, my heart was already pounding through my chest, and my face was radiating heat. I picked it up again as I crossed the dam letting the wind help cool me down. I looked longingly at the people tubing in the water, cruising around in their boats. I, however, had more work to do but things weren't improving. No, they were getting worse. I just couldn't maintain the pace I wanted, so I power walked it a bunch - up hills and through the shade. It became more frequent and disheartening. I took solace in that I didn't have to do this for 13.1 miles.

With about two miles left I got over my frustration over my running performace and just enjoyed myself out there. I carried a better attitude. I was now sharing the course with Sprint course racers, so I had quick words of encouragement with those out there. An 80 year old racer joked with me and asked if I had a rope to pull him to the finish. With less than a mile to go I had built up enough reserves and cooled down just enough to power myself to a respectable-like finish.
What would you do differently?:

Not suck at running in the heat.
Post race
Warm down:

Found some shade and layed down, waiting for my heart to stop beating through my face. Inhaled a 16oz bottle of water like I was shot gunning a beer.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The run was obviously the biggest let down. I was really hoping to break 7 min/mi on this course this year and I fell far off that. Maybe There is more work to be done in getting ready for the heat or maybe this goal isn't realistic for me during this time of the year and on this course.

Event comments:

Much improved production over 2014 and back on track from years past. For whatever reason participation was down this year. Perhaps on a related note, from an organizers perspective, the food was lacking. I didn't need cold breakfast burritos from Sonic. I'm fine with bananas and orange slices (milk and yogurt are good too). The PBR during the awards was great though.




Last updated: 2014-12-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:04 | 914 yards | 01m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/12
Overall: 5/118
Performance: Good
Suit: Full-Sleeved
Course: Rectangular, counter-clockwise single loop.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:31
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:55:00 | 19.5 miles | 21.27 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/12
Overall: 8/118
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Mostly rectangular course. About 7 miles worth of chip seal roads at the beginning and the end out sode of the park. Flat with some rolling hills.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:48
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
01:02:46 | 07.52 miles | 08m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/12
Overall: 18/118
Performance: Below average
Course: Counter clockwise loop around Lake Shawnee. Flat for about 4 miles. Rolling hills on the back end.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4