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One Last Tri - TriathlonSprint


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White Bear Lake, Minnesota
United States
White Bear Lake Raquet and Swim
60F / 16C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 34m 10s
Overall Rank = 24/31
Age Group = 30-39 F
Age Group Rank = 3/5
Pre-race routine:

Drove the 35 miles to the site. Arrived at about 7:00 am for 8:00 race. Transition opened at 6:30, but there were only 31 people in the race, so space wasn't going to be a problem. I had picked up my race packet the day before, so there was no real need to arrive any earlier. Racked the bike, set up the rest of transition gear inside (due to rain), got body marked, and waited.
Event warmup:

About 200 yds in the pool - not much. We couldn't get in the pool until just before the race.
Swim
  • 11m 6s
  • 600 yards
  • 01m 51s / 100 yards
Comments:

Not sure what was going on with this swim. It was a little tough navigating around one of the swimmers as she was all over the lane, but not too bad. It was nice that they had lap counters for us.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. I felt good in the water, so I'm surprised at this pace.

I think a good chunk (like, at least a full minute, if not more) of T1 time was actually included in the swim time, because there NO WAY my T1 was only 0:37, as indicated in the results.
Transition 1
  • 00m 37s
Comments:

Grrrrr There were two waves in this race separated by 15 minutes. So when I got out of the pool, I went to my T area to get the bike gear on. The T area basically was just along the edge of the pool, and the swimmers for wave 2 were all just generally milling about waiting for their start time. That's all good and well, but GET OUT OF THE WAY! grrrr Anyway, the indoor part transition was otherwise fine. Cap and goggles off, socks, shoes and helmet on, and out the door to fetch the bike.

Then we get outside, where it's been raining for the last 12 hours or so. Did I mention the bike racks are in the grass and not on pavement? What a mess. Shoes were soaked before I even reached my bike. We had to run the bikes out to the sidewalk and then mount, and it was pretty much muddy grass the whole way.
What would you do differently?:

There wasn't a lot any of us could do to help this much. The whole transition area was pretty bad.
Bike
  • 48m 43s
  • 13 miles
  • 16.01 mile/hr
Comments:

This course was nice and flat, which was great. There were volunteers at just about every intersection, which was also great. That said, the road surface on the loop around Otter Lake was just about the worst I've ever ridden on; pot holes, huge road cracks, etc., just very rough. Getting to and from the lake was ok, but that loop was horrendous.

Overall, not a terrible ride. I got passed quite a bit at first, but then passed a couple people at the end. Just tried to keep a consistent pace and save something for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Pick a gear and stick with it. I shift too much.
Transition 2
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

Ok, I know I'm being a huge whiner here, but the transition area in this race truly left a lot to be desired. We were supposed to use the same sidewalk back in to the bike rack area that we used to get out, but the problem was that now there were runners coming out of that sidewalk. So, I decide that I'll stay on the road and just ride along parallel to the sidewalk as not to mow down the runners. There was, at one point, and orange dismount line in the grass, but it is no longer visible from the road due to the rain and mud. So I cruise right past it, hit the brakes and nearly fishtail out of control, regain control and ask the nearest volunteer "Where is the orange line??" She says, "Back there." I inform her that it is no longer visible from the road, and the sidewalk is too narrow (5 feet) to accommodate both bikers and runners safely. She says "Oh, ok." Yeah, ok. So I lift the bike over the curb and run it back to the bike racks. (My sister who was there spectating said that about 5 people did the same exact thing I did.)

Anyway, I finally get to the rack, and go back inside to change shoes and socks. I decided to spend the extra few seconds changing socks and I'm very glad I did. My bike socks were totally soaked. Grabbed the number belt and headed back out. Managed to navigate the grass/mud path out to the sidewalk and was on my way.
What would you do differently?:

Look more carefully for the orange line. Slow down more before hand given the wet roads.
Run
  • 31m 40s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, there was no danger of overheating on this run, which was a nice change of pace for me! One big advantage of the rainy weather, anyway! It actually stopped raining about halfway through the run. Pretty good run, I guess. I actually passed someone near the end, so that was good. The always bothersome IT band reared it's ugly head at about the half way point again, but not as badly as in the last race.

Of course, the amusing thing is that this is a good run pace for me, but was dead last in my age group. Typical. :)
What would you do differently?:

Push harder at the end.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and drank some water. Stretched the IT band.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The weather. The very poor layout of the transition area.

Event comments:

Well, not DFL as I feared, anyway. :)

This is a very small race, so I understand that it's not going to be the most formal atmosphere, which is fine. However, the transition area was so poorly planned that it was very hard to have an really enjoyable race. It was not conveniently located and was borderline unsafe in its setup. I don't understand why we couldn't have used a section of the huge parking lot...??

Anyway, it was an ok race overall. It was my first pool swim, so I have one of those under my belt now. It was also a nice flat course, which I always like! :)




Last updated: 2005-08-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:06 | 600 yards | 01m 51s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/5
Overall: 10/31
Performance: Below average
Suit: Two piece tri suit
Course: 600 yds in pool; 3 swimmers per lane, staggered by 10 seconds at the start.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:37
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:48:43 | 13 miles | 16.01 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/5
Overall: 24/31
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Ride about 3 miles to Otter Lake, one loop around the lake, and then back to the club.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:04
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:40 | 03.11 miles | 10m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/5
Overall: 28/31
Performance: Good
Course: Flat course through side streets around the club.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2005-09-26 10:21 AM

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Master
2346
200010010010025
Dayton, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: One Last Tri
Pictures in album, since I couldn't get them to upload to the race report.

Edited by kelpeng 2005-09-26 10:32 AM


2005-09-28 2:50 PM
in reply to: #253484

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Champion
19812
50005000500020002000500100100100
MA
Subject: RE: One Last Tri

Nice race....sad it was poorly planned with so few people it could have been awesome!! The weather negatively impacted the transtion area.

You did great...nice times all around...I'd love to swim and run that fast!!

Any you were worried you might be DFL..not a chance.

Go team Cranberry!!

2005-09-29 8:09 AM
in reply to: #255585

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Master
2346
200010010010025
Dayton, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: RE: One Last Tri
Thanks Kathy!
2005-09-29 10:43 PM
in reply to: #253484


38
25
Subject: RE: One Last Tri
Ya I was in this race too...overall not very impressed at all...They stuck me in the second wave, and I lapped the people in my lane 3 times which sucked, than out on the bike course the volunteers pointed me in the wrong direction so there is an extra 4 miles, than the run was eventless...but they did adjust me time to my cyclometer and averaged it out to the 13 miles for the bike, so that was ok...finished in 1:11...overall did ok...yes i agree i dont know why they didnt use the parking lot, that would of made alot more sense...oh well there is always next year...mabey ill see ya next year in the races...
2005-09-30 8:02 AM
in reply to: #256690

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Master
2346
200010010010025
Dayton, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: RE: One Last Tri

Yeah, 1:11 overall--I'd say you did ok. LOL Congratulations!

I'm not sure if I'd do that race again or not. Maybe as a low pressure end of the season race again like this year, who knows! If they'd move that T area out to the parking lot, it would make a big difference. Anyway, great job!

2005-09-30 9:39 AM
in reply to: #256785


38
25
Subject: RE: One Last Tri
Thanks and good job to you too!!!


2005-10-02 5:45 PM
in reply to: #253484

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Extreme Veteran
506
500
Twin Cities, MN
Subject: RE: One Last Tri

Sounds like some aspects of the day left a bit to be desired, but it also sounds like a low pressure way to round out the season!  I may think twice before doing this race next year, though!

kris

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