Pleasant Prairie Triathlon - International Race - TriathlonOlympic


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Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
United States
JMC Partners
80sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 27m 1s
Overall Rank = 107/630
Age Group = 24-29
Age Group Rank = 6/18
Pre-race routine:

Race prep for this was an absolute mess. I had a ton of last minute things to do, compounded with the face that some family was in town, I didn't get to pack for the race until friday night. I got a new set of race wheels, which were tubular, and I didn't get a chance to even take a practice ride on them before the race. That made me nervous, somewhat. I forgot so much stuff it was ridiculous, including my race belt and some water bottles.

Also, I think I blew out the speakers in the car on the ride out...

Got to the RecPlex to rack my bike and check in. WHY DO PEOPLE MUMBLE ALL THE TIME?!? I was trying to find my way around, and people would mumble something, and I'd be like "WHAT?" then they would walk away. Finally got to the RecPlex, couldn't check my bike in unless I had a number, so I had to walk into the fieldhouse with my bike. Got to check in, got my junk, was walking out when someone yelled "SIR, PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR BIKE INSIDE NEXT TIME!!!!" Yeah ok, NEXT TIME...I might remember what you said.

Got a transition spot and racked my bike. I went back into the expo to try to find a race number belt. No luck, they are all sold out. Oy. Well, I know that there are some outlet malls on the way to the hotel, so I will just stop by and pick up some shoelaces and use that for a belt.

So, I stop by the Under Armour outlet, walk in and ask some clueless high school kid if they had shoelaces. I swear to God that was the dumbest look I have ever seen anyone give me. NO SHOELACES!?!? By now I am cussing pretty badly. I drive over to the Nike Outlet, which is a freakin' monkey house. They had shoelaces. Thank God. It was at that point that I realized I didn't BRING ANY SOCKS!!! I picked some up and it took me 15 minutes to check out....

Finally got that debacle over with, and met my man 2Goggs at the "LAH KEENTA INN". We kicked it for a bit and met the Crownys for dinner at Famous Dave's. mmmm..... The rest of the evening was a lot of fun and relaxing hangin out with these good people.
Event warmup:

Tony and I woke up, packed up and headed out. We got to the event parking at about 5:20. We go to get in line for the shuttle, and it's a FREAKIN mile long... Transition closes at 6, and my wave goes at 6:30. I am nervous. Someone makes the announcement that they will keep transition open until everyone gets there. Oh good.

We don't get to transition until about 6:15 or so, and I find out that they are not delaying the start! SH*T. I got NO TIME. I quick throw everything at my bike, grab my wetsuit and run to the start. I arrive just at my wave is staging, throw on my wetsuit, get my cap and goggles on, and the gun goes off.

This is going to be good.
Swim
  • 27m 55s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

I don't even want to talk about this. It was THE definition of "all over the place". If you want the gory details, ask Mrs. Crowny. She saw it all from the shore.
What would you do differently?:

Not be a pathetic sighter.
Transition 1
  • 03m 8s
Comments:

This is where I lost a bunch of time. I still had everything sitting in my bag, I never even had a chance to set everything up on my bike, so I had to pull my shoes out, put them on, helmet, glasses, hearing aid, etc...

I was running like a bat outta hell at this point.
Bike
  • 1h 06m 37s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.38 mile/hr
Comments:

At about mile 4, I realized another thing I forgot. MY WATER BOTTLE!! Oh snap... this ain't good. I got a case of cotton mouth something bad. I made it to about mile 20 when there was an aid station. I was so happy to see it, I went super slow through it and managed to down 2 cups before getting going again...

My mantra for the race was a Lemond quote. "It never gets easier. You just get faster." I had to keep telling myself that even though I was hurting, I was still going faster.

Other than that whole situation, I am pretty happy with how this turned out. There were some nasty headwinds in the back stretch of each loop. The wheels were MAGNIFICENT! I opted for the 404 front instead of the deep dish, which turned out to be a good decision, as there were some tough crosswinds at one point. I am really diggin' the ride of tubulars. Worked out really well for the first ride!
What would you do differently?:

Remember my water bottle?
Transition 2
  • 01m 28s
Comments:

This was a little better, could have been under a minute had I been able to set up my shoes, but I had to pull those out of my bag, too.
Run
  • 47m 54s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

YESS!!!!! I finally nailed down a run!!!!! My overall finish goal was to beat 2:30, and when I exited transition I looked at my watch and knew immediately that I was going to have to keep it together on the run to beat that goal.

To deal with the cramping issues, Amy suggested that maybe I try loading up on endurolytes the day before, as well as taking them before and during the race.

So, I gave that a shot. I took three doses of enduros on saturday, one dose pre-race, and one dose in T2. I really did the trick. My legs felt fatigued, but I never had a single issue with cramps. Not during the swim, bike, or the run. I guess that was it, I was just underestimating how much I really lost in the heat.

It got hot on the run, no shade, no breeze. I slowed down a bit during each water station and took water or gatorade at every one except for the last one. Then I kicked it! Crossed the finish and I knew I had the PR. By a long shot.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing! I finally nailed it down and know what I need to do for future races.
Post race
Warm down:

Got water and immediately went back to the finish to watch the final stretch of the Goggs/Crowny showdown. Watched those guys cross the finish, and hung out with them for a while. We eventually got our stuff and made out way back to the parking area.

I think my favorite part of the whole weekend may have been the lunch at Perkins afterwards with Tony and the Crowny's! Mmmmmm chicken fried steak biscuits and gravy....

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My pre-race prep was absolutely shoddy. I was not mentally prepared for this race at all, and was in a bad state of mind for a while during the race. I finally got it together and focused for the second half.

I did pretty well in the heat, but I need to work on getting acclimated to the heat better, especially with Redman coming up.

Event comments:

It was well run with the exception of the shuttles. Was it worth the near $100 entry fee? Maybe... Not sure I will be back next year unless there is a large Donkey contingent again!




Last updated: 2009-06-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:55 | 1640 yards | 01m 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 0/630
Performance: Bad
Suit: Orca Sleeveless
Course: Clockwise triangle
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 03:08
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:06:37 | 24.85 miles | 22.38 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 0/630
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind
Course: 2 Loop
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:28
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:47:54 | 06.21 miles | 07m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 0/630
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4