LeMars Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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LeMars, Iowa
United States
YMCA
50sF / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 06m 11s
Overall Rank = 17/108
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 5/23
Pre-race routine:

Up early for cereal, coke zero, and chocolate chip cookies (couldn't resist). Then I got my son up, cleaned up, dressed, and ready to go watch the race with Grandma and Grandpa. Made sure the bike tires had air, and rode down to the event from my folks' house. Set up transition.
Event warmup:

Jogged a few blocks, then froze barefooted for a half an hour in the pool area.
Swim
  • 05m 15s
  • 300 yards
  • 01m 45s / 100 yards
Comments:

Snake swim in the heated outdoor pool, with thin rope lane dividers that don't cut the chop. Seeded start by projected times, I swam five seconds faster than predicted.
What would you do differently?:

Someday I'll get some swim lessons, and learn flip-turns.
Transition 1
  • 02m 9s
Comments:

I don't have tri shoes, so I put my bike shoes on after putting on socks and before running with the bike. I'm too much of a weenie with the cold temps, so I put on a longsleeve shirt over my top. This was, as suspected, a struggle with a wet torso and certainly cost me time.
What would you do differently?:

Toughen up and skip the overshirt.
Bike
  • 36m 19s
  • 11 miles
  • 18.17 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike is my worst of the three disciplines. This is because I haven't really trained on the bike. In fact, due to various personal and family health concerns over the last few months, I'd actually only rode my bike once since doing the Hy-Vee Triathlon in June. The one ride was last week to see if the bike was actually in functioning shape. I did do some indoor exercise bike, which helped.

During the bike, I had some trouble with gears. I need to tune-up my front derailuer as it would sometimes refuse to shift for 10-20s at a time.
What would you do differently?:

Actually train. Avoid freak health problems. Tune-up bike.
Transition 2
  • 00m 53s
Comments:

What's the deal with the volunteer yelling at people if they ran during T2? It's not a walkathon, I'm done with the bike and I'm heading to the run course!
Run
  • 21m 32s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt strong during the run. I like running, probably because my times don't seem to suffer much when I don't train.
What would you do differently?:

I need hills and interval work.
Post race
Warm down:

After meeting up with my folks and my son, I took a slow bike ride back to the house to get cleaned up. Then off to Pizza Ranch Buffet. I skipped the post-race awards and grill-out.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

See multiple comments above.

Event comments:

I had a good time, and there are a terrific number of volunteers helping with this small race. Thanks to all of them, as they did a great job. Since this trip doubles as a visit to the grandparents' house for my son, I'll likely be back year-to-year when work schedule allows.




Last updated: 2008-02-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:15 | 300 yards | 01m 45s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 24/108
Performance: Average
Suit: DeSoto TriShorts, Underarmour top
Course: Snake swim in the heated outdoor pool.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:09
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:36:19 | 11 miles | 18.17 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 28/108
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Hilly out-and-back in the countryside.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:53
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:21:32 | 03.1 miles | 06m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 10/108
Performance: Good
Course: Moderately hilly through residential areas.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
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] 4