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Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course - TriathlonShort Course


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Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States
Life Time Fitness
90+F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 32m 43s
Overall Rank = 113/937
Age Group = M 45-49
Age Group Rank = 12/47
Pre-race routine:

Had a hard time getting to sleep last night. Was hot, and the air conditioner in the house we're staying in had a difficult time keeping up.

Got up at 5am for to get dressed, take care of my pre-race shave ritual and meet up at Steve's house at 6am to meet up with the gang and get to the race - about a 30 minute drive.

Had a glass of juice, a gatoraide, and Peanut butter and Honey Sandwich. for breakfast. Tried to get a lot of fluids in because the forecast was for HOT!!!! (It was!)

Got to the venue, and there was a THRONG of people -- roughly 2600 -- who were there trying to get body marked, timing chips activated, and transition area's set up. Was a zoo- but -pretty organized dispite the large number of participants.

They kicked us out of the transition zone at 7:30 so as to be ready for the professionals who would be starting the race at 8:00 am. Went down to the beach to watch the pro women and pro men start the swim -- was amazing. My scheduled start time wasn't until 10:00 am -- so we had plenty of time to watch the pro's (infact the pro olympic race was OVER before I ever got wet!!!

Set up a group "meeting" point and relaxed in the shade until about 9:00am. We relaxed and enjoyed visiting. Was great to spend time with my old Minnesota friends.

Event warmup:

About 9:15 started the trek to the "designated" swim warm up area. Swam a couple hundred yards really easy. Took some "sport beans" and a clif bar for nutrition before the race, as well as continue to take other fluids.

Water was warm. Wetsuit Optional. 82 degrees. Felt wonderful.
Swim
  • 15m 22s
  • 704 yards
  • 02m 11s / 100 yards
Comments:

I've been really nervous about OWS without wetsuit, but this was not bad, in fact I was far more comfortable than I expected to be. I felt really good the entire swim, with only a couple of minor sighting problems. At the turnaround the smaller bouys got closer together on either side of the "main" turn bouy, and I sighted off of the wrong one for just a few yards. Corrected myself with few problems.

Researched the temperatures at the race with the weather service when I got home. Temperature at the MSP airport (About 1 mile away) at 9:53 am (my approximate start time) was 90 degrees with 42% humidity and a 64 dewpoint.

This race, while started in waves was somewhat of a time trial start as well. Each age group wave lined up in race number order, and you were started on 3 second intervals. This really helped to reduce the "kick/get kick" problems that usually occur in wave starts. That really helped keep me moving well.

Biggest problem with this swim is that as I got about 150 yards out from the finish, there was quite a large group of slower swimmers that I was overtaking, and dodging them and trying to keep my pace up was impacted quite a bit. I probably lost 30 seconds or so trying to get through that. As I approached the shore, I saw people standing up and running into shore. I stood up as well, but I should have probably swum in another 20 yards or so before standing up. Might have been able to shave a couple more seconds off the swim.

Breathing went very well, was very relaxed on this swim -- EXTREMELY pleased with my swim overall. Stood up and looked at my watch and it showed 15:00 minutes and I got really excited. I knew I had swum well and consistent, but I was extremely pleased with my time!
What would you do differently?:

Start swimming as early after water entry as possible. Also, continue swimming until hands touch the bottom. I watched the pro's doing this and I'm sure I could save some time doing that!

Continue to stay relaxed (which I did) and swim faster!
Transition 1
  • 02m 56s
Comments:

Transition are was HUGE! Was about 200 yards from water exit to where my bike was racked. This ate into my transition a bit.

Did forget to put sunglasses on, which while not a big thing would have been nice to have.

Overall the transition went well. Just a BIG transition area to work through which cost me some time
What would you do differently?:

Go to learn how to better mount the bike in a hurry. Run harder inside transition!

Change faster!
Bike
  • 46m 18s
  • 15 miles
  • 19.44 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt REALLY good on the bike today, but was disappointed with my overall pace. For most of the ride, I felt like I was going much faster.

This course was beautiful. I really liked it, but there were LOTS of winding turns, and a couple pretty sharp ones as well, which made keeping speed up a little more challenging. Many people were calling it a challenging course. I really liked it. I was pushing pretty hard on most of the ride. My speed at the front half of the course was consistently well above 20 mph.

I took time - encourgaged others as I passed them- made a point of thanking the police officials and volunteers along the course as well as the specators. I was having a GREAT time. It was SO fun.

There was one man in my AG who started about a minute in front of me on the swim, who I caught on the bike. He passed me later on the bike, and we played "tag" for pretty much the rest of the race. I ultimately passed him about a mile into the run and beat him, but was a good motivator. I was always watching for AG'er and when I'd see one, I'd push hard to pass them. That was always fun, and kept me motivated to push hard. I got passed by a couple of AG'ers, and I would try to catch back up to them. On several occassions I did! (YES!!!)

Toward the end of the bike course the wind ( a HOT one I might add) came up and was directly into my face. This, combined with a couple of the hills slowed me down pretty good the last couple of miles of the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not a lot. I could push a bit harder, but knowing the heat and the fact I had a 3 mile run still to complete, I held back a bit.
Transition 2
  • 02m 42s
Comments:

Long run through transition with the bike again. This slowed somewhat and I was starting to feel the heat.

FOR THE RECORD: I finally got yannkz for my running shoes -- this helped a bit on time today!
What would you do differently?:

Got to get bike shoes that will make it easier to get my foot in and out of so I can get out of the shoes while still on the bike.
Run
  • 25m 23s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

Per Weather Service, temperature at ~ start of my run (10:53am) was 95 degrees, 33% humidity and 62 degree dewpoint! Basically HOT!!!

This run was VERY tough, given the weather conditions. I don't usually run very well in heat, but I did better than most coping with it today, so I'm pleased.

Started out at what felt like a comfortable 7:45 pace and held it pretty well for most of the first mile. Passing AG'ers right and left, particularly in miles 2 and three. Caught the guy I was pl;aying tag with about 1.2 miles in and didn't see him again after that. Got to the Cedar Street Bridge, and it was HOT -- 4 lanes of asphault and NO SHADE -- Really started to sap the energy here. On the last 2 miles in one place the fire department had a truck out spraying water over the course and in another area they did the same -- sure felt good. They even had volunteers with water buckets thouwing water on the runners if they wanted it -- WAS WONDERFUL!

Pace started to fall off about a mile and a quarter into the run, and slowly continued falling throughout the remainder of the run. By mile 2 I had fallen from 7:46 pace to 8:15 pace. By Mile 3, I was down to 9:00 pace. I'm not pleased with that, but given the weather, I can accept it. The heat was clearly affecting everyone badly, becasue I managed to squeek out 8th place in AG on the run with an 8:28 average pace!

Saw the finish line. My wife and my friends wife were there cheering me in. Gave them high five's as I went past. Went accross the line and withgreat excitement took the COLD WET TOWEL they were passing out when we came in!
What would you do differently?:

Hard to say what I'd do different. Maybe try to run faster at the end .. The heat was the biggest factor on my run. 96 degrees at the finish! Was very hot!



Post race
Warm down:

Walked it off. Didn't really warm down, other than to grab some water and a poweraide.

Found the massage tent. Wait was short so got my legs massaged! Felt wonderful. Bumped into Rabkaman in teh massage tent -- He did good, with the exception of a wipe out on the bike.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The biggest issue today was completely out of my control. That being the heat! That was my biggest limiter. I should have pushed a bit harder on the run, but it was killer hot!

I was prepared for this race, and my results show it. Of the 7 buddies I had running the race today, I beat all of them but one, and that one only beat me by about 2 minutes. In the other races I've run with them, I've always been the last to finish, so that was HUGE for me.

Event comments:

As you can guess from my RR, I'm extremely pleased with my results today! My goal, before I got here and knew what the heat was going to be was 1:35. When I saw the forecast, I was sure I'd be doing good to get a 1:45, so to come in at 1:32:43 was a HUGE accomplishment for me. With better transitions and a faster run, I could have probabaly shaved another couple minutes off the my time. But I'm NOT complaining!

Definately looking forward to coming back to this race next year! Was lots of fun to be in this large of a race, and to get to watch the pro's. Great time to spend with my friends.

Course is a challenging one, but not intimidating. Well laid out, extremely well marked, with LOTS of volunteers there to assist. Body marking and Chip activation could have been a bit more organized, but wasn't too bad given the numbers they had to mark.

The other issue that pulled the rating down was the entry fee. A very expensive race ($150.00) to run for a sprint distance or even an oly distance. No regrets though! It was a great experience, and was even more fun to come back to Minnesota where we lived for nearly 9 years to see friends and enjoy ourselves.




Last updated: 2006-02-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:22 | 704 yards | 02m 11s / 100yards
Age Group: 18/47
Overall: 317/937
Performance: Good
Suit: Just my Javelin Tri Suit
Course: Basically a V shaped out and back course. VERY well marked with a line of smaller bouys connected to the large turn point bouys.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 82F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:56
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:46:18 | 15 miles | 19.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 14/47
Overall: 113/937
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Large loop typ course on winding roads through VERY nice park and neighborhoods. Some hills -- lots of gradual ones (you know -- the decieving kind) and a couple of short but somewhat steep ones about 2/3's of the way through the course.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:42
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:23 | 03 miles | 08m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/47
Overall: 109/937
Performance: Average
Mile 1: 7:46 Mile 2: 8:15 Mile 3: 9:00
Course: Loop around Lake Nokomis. Some gentle hills, but mostly flat. Some shady area -- which helped a lot -- but some small sections on the road that were REALLY hot.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2006-07-16 11:19 AM

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Expert
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Tremonton, Utah
Subject: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course


2006-07-16 11:20 AM
in reply to: #483832

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Expert
1157
10001002525
Tremonton, Utah
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Race report posted!
2006-07-16 12:11 PM
in reply to: #483832

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molto veloce mama
9311
500020002000100100100
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
awesome race report. the top female pro said the heat sapped her energy too. sounds like you had a good race despite the conditions!
2006-07-16 12:31 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Expert
1070
10002525
North Carolina
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Those are some really good Age Group Splits. Sounds like you had a great time and all that swimming has paid off. Keep it up and congrats!!!!
2006-07-16 1:08 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Master
1506
1000500
Minnesota
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Awesome job!
2006-07-16 6:25 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Master
1901
1000500100100100100
Central, IL
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Cool!  I mean HOT!  I mean...you know what I mean!   Good job.


2006-07-16 6:29 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Veteran
219
100100
Centreville, MD
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

Brett - that was a fantastic performance, especially in those conditions.  I'm sitting here at my computer sweating just thinking about hitting the run at 90+ degrees!  Job well done....you should be proud.  Also, major kudos for getting the Yankz prior to this race - weren't they awesome?!

Congratulations on a great performance!

2006-07-16 6:58 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Regular
62
2525
Draper, Utah
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

Nice job Brett!  You did awesome!  I don't think I could have kept up with you on the run in that kind of heat...  Sounds brutal!  Our race on Sat. wasn't nearly that bad, but it was still toasty (~80-85 degrees, but dry). 

Glad to hear you kicked all of your MN buddie's tails  (except one) and had fun.  You should feel great about your results-you've definitely earned them.  I'm still amazed at how far you've come in just a short period.  Honestly, I'm glad I wasn't racing against you at Echo.  You probably would have left me in your dust (your swim pace wasn't far off of mine this time).

Guess we'll have to chat when you get back and we can exchange race details!  Drive safe and I'll see you soon!

2006-07-16 10:17 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Elite
2515
2000500
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

Great race!  I can't believe you were able to hit the run that hard given the heat.  It sure sucked every bit of will from me.  Major kudos to you on that.

Cheers!

Tom



Edited by Matchman 2006-07-16 10:18 PM
2006-07-17 12:39 AM
in reply to: #484243

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Expert
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Austin, TX
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Great race! It sounds like you had the experience that you were looking for, particularly in beating your old training buddies

It sounds like the heat was pretty bad. But under the conditions, you kicked butt! Congrats. I'm hoping to see much more of that in the near future.
2006-07-17 8:58 AM
in reply to: #483832

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T1
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
Great job, especially considering the heat! How great that your family was there as well!

Keep up the good work! You are becoming quite the triathlete!


2006-07-19 9:37 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Extreme Veteran
475
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Blaine, MN
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course
hey bretty .nice RR... you did very well.. you really rocked on the run.. 8th in AG.. thats phenomenal...   congrats once again...
2006-07-27 11:50 AM
in reply to: #483832

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Crystal Lake, IL
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

Great job Brett.  Sorry I'm so late in reading this, but thanks for a great RR too.  Well done!

The swimming thing - yes, I've learned my lesson too.  In my sprint I noticed the exit was on an extremely sharp dropoff and I passed several people because I swam until my hands touched, popped up and out.  On my OWS it was a much shallower exit and I stupidly stood up way too soon.  I should have swam until I could have pulled myself along the bottom.  Took me forever to get out of the water, cramping and dizziness issues aside.

 

2006-07-27 1:11 PM
in reply to: #483832

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Expert
707
500100100
Kansas
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

It's nice beating up on friends.... seriously..... good job by the way

2006-07-27 1:58 PM
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Master
1557
10005002525
Maine
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Short Course

Great work in crazy hot conditions. Top 1/4 of your age group - not too shabby!

 

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