Border Wars Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Alton, Illinois
United States
RaceMaker Productions
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 00m 35s
Overall Rank = 149/400
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 17/41
Pre-race routine:

Since this race had a split transition area, I first set up my T2 by laying out shoes, visor, race belt, etc.
I had a nutrition bar early and then a banana on the bus ride over to T1.
The morning was very chilly so I quickly got my wetsuit on, but kept a jacket on until the last minute.
Event warmup:

We weren't allowed in the water before the start, so I did some jumping jacks and just walked around to get some blood flowing.
Swim
  • 35m 50s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

The water was ridiculously cold. The day before they measured the temp at 72, but we had a very cold night and the shallow water cooled quickly. Sadly, they didn't inform us of the new temp until about 10 minutes to start.
Hitting that water was an extreme shock to the body! I actually forgot to put my goggles down and didn't start my watch, so I had a rough first 100 or so. I actually thought about dropping out because my forehead, fingers and toes were hurting from the cold. However, I kept plugging through and actually ended up with one of my best swim times ever!

I think one drawback was the space between buoys. It actually made it very difficult to sight because they were few and far between and there weren't really any good landmarks to sight off of.
What would you do differently?:

Make sure that the goggles are down and do a better job sighting.
Transition 1
  • 07m 58s
Comments:

This was weird because you had to completely clean up your T1 before leaving on the bike. This caused some delays.
Also, I honestly came out of the water in a daze because of the cold temps. My feet were completely numb and I had trouble running into T1.
So my T1 sucked because of taking time to ensure everything was bagged up, my own confusion and messing with my watch to try and get it reset after screwing up the swim
What would you do differently?:

Just need to be faster coming through. I doubt I'll ever be one of those guys who can hop on his bike and put shoes on, but I could still be more organized and quicker coming through
Bike
  • 3h 12m 3s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.50 mile/hr
Comments:

The course is actually very nice and not too challenging. Almost no hills and not very technical so you can pretty much go.
The downside is that you have to pedal for the entire 56 miles, and my legs were clearly feeling it by the last 15 or so. Coupled with the headwind, I had a bad stretch from mile 35 on.

What would you do differently?:

Still working on the bike leg
Transition 2
  • 03m 57s
Comments:

For me, I did pretty well in T2. Took a little extra time to scarf down a bonk breaker bar and drink some extra fluid.
Sadly, there was no bathroom in T2 and the volunteers told me that I would have to leave the area to pee. I made the decision to just start running and find a spot on the course.
What would you do differently?:

I think I did alright. I need to buy some quick laces for my shoes, because I spent unnecessary time tying them
Run
  • 2h 00m 46s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

The over-exertion on the bike really affected my run. I began to run out of gas about 9 miles in and really struggled to bring it home.
Sadly, because of my early watch mishaps, I had no idea where I was in terms of overall time. If I had known how close to a sub 6 that I was, I bet I could have found a few seconds out there somewhere.
Post race
Warm down:

Post-race stretches to loosen calves and hamstrings

What limited your ability to perform faster:

early cold, late day heat is a bad combination.

Over-pedaled on the bike which caused me to run out of gas towards the end of the run

Event comments:

For an inaugural race, I thought they did a great job. Some minor tweaks to make it better next year, but I would definitely recommend this race!

Don't let the "flat" course description fool you, this actually turned out to be a very tough race!




Last updated: 2015-03-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:50 | 2112 yards | 01m 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/41
Overall: 68/400
Performance: Good
Suit: Sleeveless Wetsuit
Course: A loop through one of the spillways off the Mississippi river near the locks in Alton. The water was low so there were some portions that people could actually stand up if they wanted.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 55F / 13C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 07:58
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
03:12:03 | 56 miles | 17.50 mile/hr
Age Group: 28/41
Overall: 239/400
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind
Course: Very flat out and back. Wind was non-existent on the way out, but battled a fairly decent headwind on the way back in. Fairly well supported, but lacked a good variety of drink and/or food options. The downside of a flat course is no break from pedaling....
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 03:57
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:00:46 | 13.1 miles | 09m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/41
Overall: 114/400
Performance: Average
Course: Fairly flat with some hills. You run along the levee so there are some short, steep hills when the path crosses a roadway. The course is pretty much a straight line out and back, well supported. The downside was the pedestrian gates that you had to wind through at the roadway crossings.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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