Kansas City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Kansas City, Missouri
United States
United Multisport
71F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 23m 22s
Overall Rank = 57/360
Age Group = 30-34M
Age Group Rank = 12/54
Pre-race routine:

The day kind of started out the night before. I tried to get to bed early, but the tornado sirens started going off around 11:00 pm and I was trying to stay awake and and follow the weather reports until I could make sure we were in the clear. My wife and I both failed at this as we both kept falling asleep with the TV on and the storms blowing through.

Regardless, I got up at 4:15 am, made myself some coffee, and toasted a bagel with some honey dripped on it for breakfast (I've found that I can choke a bagel down much more easily this way instead of PB). Then I headed out the door an hour later. Arrived at park and received a solid parking spot before setting up shop at my assigned transition spot. I chilled out for a bit while I munched on some GU Chomps and a Nutrigrain Bar, washed down with some Gatorade.
Event warmup:

A few yards of swimming in the lake to acclimate myself with the water temperature. A little chilly. My first thought was that I wished my wetsuit came equipped with gloves because my hands were ice cold. But hey, once they go numb, what do I have to worry about?
Swim
  • 22m 42s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 23s / 100 yards
Comments:

So, I'm in the second wave, the first following the elite wave, which is 30-44 men's age groups. I've positioned myself right up front at the water line so that I can have some clear water in front of me to swim in. Before the start the race director comes up and mentions that he'll announce one minute left until the start, then 30 secs, then 15 secs, and finally the airhorn will go off. After the 15 sec announcement everyone is standing there, relatively calm, when out of no where some moron behind me shoves me forward with his forearm. I almost fall forward into the water. I straighten myself out and then give him a quick "what the heck is wrong with you" glance. The start was imminent, so I didn't have too much time to dwell on this idiocy otherwise it may have riled me up some.

I got out to a quick start with little contact. I was red-lining it for the first few hundred yards to make sure I got clear of the masses before I settled down into a pace that I could maintain until the swim finish. Almost immediately my goggles fogged up, so I knew sighting was going to be a challenge, particularly swimming into the rising sun. But I've also finally concluded that I have absolutely sub-par sighting skills when it comes to OWS. Potential drafters beware, I will not lead you to the promise land that is the triathlon swim finish. My only saving grace was that I had two bodies just off to my left that I drafted/followed the whole length of the swim. Both were matching my pace, so I was in luck.

The swim out seemed to take forever but was relatively smooth. The trip back home on the other hand was a tad choppy as we a diagonal wind coming into us. But I caught a good breathing rhythm and I cruised back into the beach still riding in with my two swim pacers. On the way in I had too pee, but despite all of my focus this was not happening for me, not at the pace I was going. Anyway, my fingers hit sand and up the beach to T1 I go.
What would you do differently?:

Nada. Perhaps remember to rub a layer of baby shampoo on my goggles to ward off any goggle fogging.

2010: 23:28
2011: 22:42

14th OA coming out of the water.
Transition 1
  • 01m 49s
Comments:

My transition spot: right by the swim exit + The bike exit: at the other end of transition = long run with bike.

Wetsuit came off easily enough. Had difficulty getting my helmet on. Fidgeted with this for too long. Strap adjuster in the back needed to be loosened.
What would you do differently?:

Before race, make sure helmet is race ready to be thrown on my head.
Very average T1 time, relatively speaking. Disappointing.

2010: 1:47
2011: 1:49

18th OA coming out of T1. Lost 4 spots.
Bike
  • 1h 13m 36s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.26 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike. Oh, what can say? There was really nothing of note that occurred here. I didn't drop my chain on the long hill climb (like I did twice last year) so I had that going for me. There was a decent wind coming out of the south, but nothing too horrible. We were riding behind trees and neighborhoods going into it, so it didn't seem too bad. It did make for a pretty sweet tailwind on the long, flat straightaway heading north. Also, I set my bike computer the night before, and for some reason it had trouble reading any speeds over 30 mph. Slightly annoying. Should've went with the Garmin instead.

I have no hard splits to back this up, but I suspect that I was faster on the second loop just based on my speeds though the tougher sections of the course. Perhaps due to holding back on the first loop to see how I felt and how I would handle racing on the bike, particularly on the uphills.
What would you do differently?:

I need more work on handling turns and corners. Pretty slow and non-aggressive today. Took things a little cautiously.

2010: 1:14:03
2011: 1:13:36

78th OA after the bike. Eighteenth to 78th. Ouch, but not unusual.
Transition 2
  • 01m 14s
Comments:

After some practice this spring, I'm finally comfortable slipping my feet out of my shoes before reaching transition. No flying dismount as the dismount line was a little crowded. I felt good about my T2 time. But again, like T1, very average time overall and this disappoints me.

2010: 1:18
2011: 1:14

78th OA after T2. No positions lost.
What would you do differently?:

Be faster.
Run
  • 44m
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

Just focused on keeping calm and holding everything steady for the whole run. I was trying to avoid my usual habit of tearing out of transition too fast for my own good. There were a few fellas that did this and they blew right by me at the start, but I passed them right back a mile down the road. Course was a little wet and sloppy in spots from the rain the night before, but nothing worth making a fuss about. Overall, all I can say about the run was that I was consistent. I put my head down and I just ran. It was too hard to tell which fellas were in my age group since sprint course and long course folks were intermingled, so I just went about my business. I did have some flashes of hamstring cramps appear briefly, but they held off for the race. This fact alone almost makes this a good run by itself. I walked one aid station, but only to make sure liquids went down my throat and not down my shirt. At the end I kicked into high gear and finished strong.
What would you do differently?:

Start my final kick and push to the finish earlier. I think I had little bit left in the tank at the end that would've allowed for a faster time. Otherwise, nothing. Pleased with this run.

2010: 47:54
2011: 44:00

57th Overall finish. Gained/made up 21 spots on the run. Did not get passed by anyone who was behind me off the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

Picked up some food, then I remembered I really had to pee and had to since the end of the swim. This was the first time I needed to pee and tried to while racing. But despite all of my concentration, I just couldn't make it happen during the race. So we took care of that issue. Then I sat around, chatted and ate bit. Then headed home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

In short nothing.
However, I'm becoming more and more convinced my bike is limiting me. Despite my aero set up, and my time spent in the saddle, my triple-crank road bike doesn't seem be allowing me to be competitive as I could be. Trust me, I know I still have work to do and room to improve on the bike, but I'm under the impression that based on my competition and what they ride I'm missing out on some free speed and that they hold a competitive advantage over me.

Event comments:

Well run. Solid volunteers. Good course. Awesome finishers medal (this year's medal is double the size of last year's). The entire race day event went smoothly. Pre-race communication has some room for improvement. Website was out of date for a while, despite early email blasts to sign up for the event. The bike course changed a couple of times without any notification.




Last updated: 2011-03-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:42 | 1640 yards | 01m 23s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/54
Overall: 14/360
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex Full-Sleeved
Course: Counter-clockwise rectangle.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:49
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:13:36 | 24.85 miles | 20.26 mile/hr
Age Group: 34/54
Overall: 173/360
Performance: Average
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: 2 Loop course. Some long, flat straight-aways, some neighborhoods, and one long hill.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:14
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:44:00 | 06.21 miles | 07m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/54
Overall: 46/360
Performance: Good
Course: 2 loop course. Mostly compacted dirt/gravel trail. Some paved road.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 5