Chain of Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Alexandria, Minnesota
United States
Pickle Events
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 06m 27s
Overall Rank = 9/165
Age Group = 20-29
Age Group Rank = 1/19
Pre-race routine:

Arrived at the school at ~6:45 to find that there were only about 6 bikes in the transition area (great!), but that I was missing some important items. Made a trip to Wal-Mart *shudder* for a new helmet and sun glasses. Arrived back at the school realizing that I didn't have my race belt and my floor pump. *headdesk* I finished setting up my transition area while the wife checked out of the hotel. Ate a clif bar, drank some weak coffee, attended the pre-race meeting. The wife found me and brought me some real food: a bagel with peanut butter, and a crunchy banana.
Event warmup:

Ran some stairs near the foyer of the school to break a sweat then stretched before my heat was called. When my lane opened up in the pool I did a lap and stretched a little more.
Swim
  • 08m 54s
  • 600 yards
  • 01m 29s / 100 yards
Comments:

3 of us in the lane. We talked about our paces and decided I would start first. Sarah said my first 100 was at about 1:12 - very fast for me, though it didn't feel that fast. I did slow down a bit after that. 1/3 to 1/2 the way through, the guy behind me passed and I hung on to his feet. I think I was actually able to feel a draft off him. At times, I felt like I wanted to go around him, but I didn't feel strong enough where I would likely be able to keep a pace strong enough to stay ahead. We wound up all staying right together the whole time - good guys to swim with.

I was swimming hard enough that I was only able to do flip-turns for about 1/3 of the swim, and before too long I couldn't keep up the bilateral breathing.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, really. It was a good swim.
Transition 1
  • 00m 54s
Comments:

I felt it was just warm enough (or not so cold, rather) that I could get by on the bike with just the tri suit so I wouldn't have to spend time putting on any other layers. It was a good transition, though socks took a few moments longer than I would have liked.

I got on the bike pretty easily, but I was pretty wobbly on the bike getting my feet into my shoes and it probably took me longer to get up to speed than it should have.
What would you do differently?:

Practice those transitions
Bike
  • 36m 3s
  • 12.5 miles
  • 20.80 mile/hr
Comments:

It was as windy this year as it was rainy last year. Wow. On hwy 29, the wind blowing off that lake was pretty cold - very strong cross wind pushing me around a bit. Turning off of 29 and climbing a little hill I started to warm up. The trail was once again the fastest part of the course. I was cruising along at 27-28 mph and was passed by someone going a few miles per hour faster. Had some gu ~4 miles into the ride.

Turning onto hwy 27 was awful. Slowed from the mid 20s mph to about 14. On the trail I was cool to be sure, but shortly after I turned onto 27, I was getting cold. A few more people on tri bikes passed me, and I worked to keep one of them only ~100 yards in front of me as we all battled that biting wind.

Turning back onto McKay, the wind was better, but I was cold and struggled a bit getting out of the bike shoes and wound up slowing down more than I would have liked.

Overall I passed about as many people as passed me, but I think the people I passed were from the previous heat and I got passed by people in my heat. It was a difficult ride to be sure.
What would you do differently?:

Not much aside from practice getting into and out of the bike shoes.
Transition 2
  • 00m 31s
Comments:

Excellent transition for me. No problems at all.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 20m 6s
  • 2.8 miles
  • 07m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

The run hurt almost the whole time. I was battling either stomach cramps, or having swallowed too much air from the water bottle or something. It felt like a slow run, but I was able to fall into a pace without too much difficulty. I slowly picked up the pace a little bit, but I did not feel good at all. I passed a few, but had about as many pass me as I passed.

I was watching as people in my heat caught up and passed me. About 1/2 mile before the end Dave and another guy passed me and pulled away slowly. About 1/4 mile later I was feeling just a little more energy and picked up the pace and passed them once again ~100 yards before the end, but they then sprinted by me shortly before the finish. There was nothing I could do but watch.

Very hard and uncomfortable run.
What would you do differently?:

My running training has not been good. Train more, train better.
Post race
Warm down:

Collapsed. Didn't feel well. Tried to eat some fruit and drink some heed, but stomach didn't feel good and heed is nasty. Eventually started to move around. Tore down the transition area and later ate some fruit.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

As stated above, my training hasn't been the greatest this spring. It's been inconsistent and undisciplined. Using a plan would have helped a lot... as would have been better weather for outdoor training this spring.

Event comments:

Girls staffing the drink station were sitting in a car keeping warm. I don't know if they had run out of water or were just cold and lazy. The rest of the race was great though. Great volunteers, good route. I can't wait for next year.




Last updated: 2008-05-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:54 | 600 yards | 01m 29s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/19
Overall: 10/165
Performance: Good
Suit: 2-piece tri suit
Course: 8-lane pool with 2 to 3 per lane.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:54
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:36:03 | 12.5 miles | 20.80 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/19
Overall: 7/165
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: "Clockwise" loop on county roads and a closed paved trail. Much of it was very open and exposed. Very strong cross wind for the first couple miles and a brutal head wind the last five miles or so - felt like riding through peanut butter
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:31
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:06 | 02.8 miles | 07m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/19
Overall: 22/165
Performance: Below average
BT lists the run as 3 miles, but there's no way that is right. They said during the pre-race meeting that it was about 2.8 miles.
Course: City streets, a paved trail, as well as gravel road and grass. NO WATER at the turn-around. Wasn't happy about that.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5