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Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Buffalo, Minnesota
United States
Buffalo Triathlon
50F / 10C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 16m 6s
Overall Rank = 24/373
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 7/78
Pre-race routine:

Met Tom and Kevin in Scandia at 5:30 for the ride to Buffalo. Arrived at a decent hour. Got my packet and stuff and headed to the rack area. A bunch of people in the elite rack were pointed in the direction of the transition exit so I grabbed a spot on the opposite side...no biggee I thought. After a minute some punk teenager arrived on the other side and asked "who's bike is this?". He had claimed a picnic sized spot on the other side from me and my rear wheel was to the right of all his stuff but he freaked out cuz he thought I was too close to him. I calmy told him to "chill out" several times even though I really wanted to just slap the little brat. Wasn't worth the hassle so I moved farther down the rack. I got some satisfaction later on the run when I saw him heading out for his first half while I was going back in to the finish. We looked at each other and I know he recognized me but he was in such agony that I didn't have the heart to say anything...little prick.
Event warmup:

Took the bike out for a spin. Everything seemed fine...found out later it wasn't. Chatted with BT'ers Ben (benihana) and Jeff (leapdog) in transition.
Swim
  • 26m 19s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 36s / 100 yards
Comments:

Even though I was slow, I was actually more pleased with my swim leg on this race than my bike and run...pretty sad. Heck, anytime I can get in the top 1/3 of a swim for my AG I'm happy. I could feel my sciatica starting to act up about halfway thru the swim, which was unusual.

I raced elite wave, so my results weren't in the AG results, but I figured out from my time where I would have placed and went with that for the unofficial AG ranks. Results had 10 year groupings for AG
What would you do differently?:

Not much - pleased with the effort
Transition 1
  • 03m 7s
Comments:

Really took my time in T1 due to the inclement weather (cool, wind, drizzle). Decided to put armwarmers on and a bike vest to guard against the wind. Probably my slowest T1 time in history but no bigee.
Bike
  • 1h 05m 59s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Never felt like I had much zing in the legs today. Had done a lot of garden work the past few days and my legs were trashed from that. About halfway thru the bike leg I could hear my rear brake pad rubbing a bit. I really didn't want to stop to mess with it so I kept going - really was distracting to hear it. Could feel the sciatica the last 3 miles..kind of seized-up my left ass cheek a little and it cut down on the power I could generate out of the leg. So, I was surprised I ranked so high overall and AG on the bike despite a so-so effort. Bike split was 3 minutes slower than last year on the same course.

Buffalo is starting to become a somewhat dangerous race. The Oly and sprint races share much of the course. The last 3 miles of the bike course were pretty dicey due to the much slower sprint racers joining the Oly course to the finish. The last 1/4 mile was totally congested and I had to wait longer than I wanted to in order to get out of my shoes and ride with my feet on top.
Transition 2
  • 01m 8s
Comments:

uneventful
Run
  • 39m 35s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

Wow, my feet felt like ice cubes after that chilly swim and bike. Never got any feeling into them until about 2 miles into the run. Felt like the effort was pretty decent but couldn't get into that last gear.

The congestion on the run course between T2 and the sprint turnaround was crazy. Had to do a lot of dodging of people as I passed people on the left and right. Had to be careful passing on the right because bikers were returning on the last part of their bike leg on the same part of the course. Had to watch out passing on the left due to sprint racers returning to the finish. Once you got past the sprint turnaround spot things got quiet.

I met Tom as he was making his return from the turnaround to the finish and knew how much I was down to him timewise (he put 2+ minutes on me on the swim). I knew there wasn't enough real estate to catch him so I kind of throttled back a little bit and figured I'd save the mental effort for IM CDA in 2 weeks.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked straight from the finish line to my transition area to get dry and put some warm clothes on. Pic below shows how we were dressed more for March than June weather. Chatted a bit with Bryan (mndiver) after the race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Legs had no zing today but good little bout of intensity as I wrap things up for IM CDA in 2 weeks.

Event comments:

Hard to rate this race. The venue itself is awesome but the overlap of the sprint and Oly courses is starting to get dangerous with 1,500 people. I've enjoyed this race the past 3 years but will have to think hard about whether I want to do it in 2010.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-05-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:19 | 1640 yards | 01m 36s / 100yards
Age Group: 22/78
Overall: 94/373
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Kind of a weird-shaped triangle, much different than past years.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:07
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:05:59 | 24.85 miles | 22.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/78
Overall: 13/373
Performance: Below average
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:08
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:39:35 | 06.21 miles | 06m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/78
Overall: 20/373
Performance: Below average
Course: An out and back along the lake with a small cul du sac in and out stick inserted on the return leg.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2009-06-08 8:49 AM

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Pro
4675
20002000500100252525
Wisconsin near the Twin Cities metro
Subject: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance


2009-06-08 9:06 AM
in reply to: #2201566

Iron Donkey
38643
50005000500050005000500050002000100050010025
, Wisconsin
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

Boy, when someone pizzes you off, dude.

Whether you don't define these as possible speedy races, to me, they are some fine, quick times! 

Hmmmmm, don't like the sound of that bike route, either.  Not safe.

2009-06-08 9:07 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Champion
10018
50005000
, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

Are you warmed up yet?   That was some crazy June weather...  I was looking at results and wondered if you ever think about ditching the Elite wave so you can win your AG.  I would be tempted!

Nice race considering the sciatica, gardening, etc.  Good luck at CDA!

2009-06-08 9:17 AM
in reply to: #2201637

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Pro
4675
20002000500100252525
Wisconsin near the Twin Cities metro
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

BikerGrrrl - 2009-06-08 9:07 AM

Are you warmed up yet?   That was some crazy June weather...  I was looking at results and wondered if you ever think about ditching the Elite wave so you can win your AG.  I would be tempted!

Nice race considering the sciatica, gardening, etc.  Good luck at CDA!

I did race AG at Buffalo a couple years ago and won it...got a nice HR monitor out of the deal, which I sold

2009-06-08 9:18 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Coach
10487
50005000100100100100252525
Boston, MA
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
it seems we did the same race just on different states

Congrats on another solid performance!
2009-06-08 9:48 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Master
1651
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Breckenridge, CO
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Nice job overcoming pain and the brake rub. Amazing run split even throttled back!


2009-06-08 10:03 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Expert
1277
1000100100252525
St. Paul, MN
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

That's one heckuva race, there.  Very nice times, your run especially.  Holy cow.

2009-06-08 10:32 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Master
2346
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Dayton, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

Strong race as always! Good work!

2009-06-08 1:31 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Pro
4828
2000200050010010010025
The Land of Ice and Snow
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
You rock. Period.
2009-06-08 3:54 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Master
1376
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Chicago
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

Nice job.  See you in CDA. 

2009-06-08 3:58 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Extreme Veteran
552
5002525
Minnetonka Beach, MN
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Nice job!  and thanks for the comments on running about a year ago... sure you don't remember, but they hit home and I am running comfortably and much faster now!  Best of luck at CdA!!!


2009-06-08 7:03 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Master
1671
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West Bend, WI
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance

SO- you didnt pr a race- hmmm... you OK?

2009-06-09 9:17 AM
in reply to: #2201566

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Elite
2515
2000500
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Once again, awesome racing, Jim. Just another ho-hum 2:16 OLY.

Kick some butt in CdA. We'll be rooting you on from a distance.
2009-06-09 2:12 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Champion
9600
500020002000500100
Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Great job Jim! I hate racing in the cold too.
2009-06-09 5:39 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Expert
622
500100
Conifer, Colorado
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
I don't like running with numb feet either, but anytime you crack 40 minutes in an OLY that is pretty darn fast. BTW, Alaina said you were a sucky swimmer... she is a liar. : )
2009-06-10 9:02 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Pro
4541
2000200050025
A farming town in MN
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Incredible pace!  Nothing I would ever consider slow. 

Tough racing in cold weather, but way to race smart.  Save it for IMCdA!  Enjoy taper...


2009-06-11 2:52 PM
in reply to: #2201566

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Expert
1148
100010025
NW Suburbs, Illinois
Subject: RE: Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Great race.  Good prep, too for CdA methinks.  Its hard to run with frozen feet...this I have learned
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