Sullivan Civic Center Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Sullivan, Illinois
United States
Sullivan Civic Center
58F / 14C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 16m 56s
Overall Rank = 71/261
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 12/28
Pre-race routine:

Got up early, about 6:30, and woke up Beth. I heard Danny and Stef wake up too. I went downstairs and got the coffee going. Then I logged onto the internet and checked out the weather. Didn't look good. According to the weather.com, the rain was supposed to start at about 11. Oh boy.

Anyway, Beth made a great breakfast, oatmeal with raisins, dried cherries and honey. YUM!.

We got the car packed up, the bikes on top and left about 8:15. Halfway down the street we had to stop because I couldn't remember putting my Garmin in the bag. It was in there. I'm so paranoid sometimes.

Got to Sullivan right at 11:00. Fortunately, the sun was out and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Huh.

Stef and I checked in, got chipped and marked and then proceeded to get our transition area set up and then changed into our race gear.
Event warmup:

Stef and I took a quick run so she could figure out where she needed to go out of T2. I then dropped her off and did a quick loop around the lake with some strides thrown in to blow the cob webs out of the legs from the ride down.

Then got into the pool to do some laps. Unfortunately, as I was walking into the pool, my goggles broke. DOH! 2goggs, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know!!! I walked up to Beth with the WTF look on my face. She tells me to go check and see if there are any at lost and found that I can borrow. What a great idea. And sure enough, they did. And they worked just fine. Fortunately.
Swim
  • 07m 41s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 45s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim was not good. I was really disappointed in it. I couldn't get in a groove. I caught the lady in front of me within the first 100m. Finally passed her on the first wide lane. But I just could not get my groove on. So I started pulling at a decent pace and tried get going. Caught up to another guy, near the end, and he was struggling. Passed him in the final lane and got out of the pool at about the same time I did last year. Oh well.
What would you do differently?:

Place myself higher in the swim. I finished higher than my placement, again, so next year I'll put myself up higher to see if I can push myself a little more.
Transition 1
  • 00m 50s
Comments:

Transition was great. I've never had a transition that fast. I flew through it. Definitely helped that I didn't have a wet suit, but still flew through it. Got the shoes on and ran with the bike to the gate. Through the gate and hopped onto the bike all in one go. It was great. Except for loosing the GU packet after about 15 pedal strokes out. Oh well. :)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It went perfectly.
Bike
  • 42m 6s
  • 13.4 miles
  • 19.10 mile/hr
Comments:

So off on the ride I go. Tighten up the shoes, tuck in and I didn't get out of aero for the rest of the ride. Turn East to the first long stretch and feel a pretty good side wind. Look at my HR and it is a bit too high. 175! So I spend the next few miles trying to spin it down and really focus on keeping a good breathing pattern going and a decent cadence.

Kept going and only got passed by a total of maybe 5 guys. Two of them were much higher placed than me and actually were on their second lap of the outside loop.

I really felt good once I got my HR under control and kept it in the 160's. That's better. Made the first turn North and WHAMMO the wind. Slowed me down to about 16mph. MORE T.I.T.S. Kept thinking that. Anyway, turned back East again to start the second loop and picked up the speed again to try to make up for it.

Made the last turn West to start heading back into town and really started to feel good. Couldn't believe how quick this was going, compared to last year. Amazing what a good bike will do for your ride.

Got back into town and had a few short stints going North again. I really have to get better at riding. That will come, though.
What would you do differently?:

T.I.T.S. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

I thought my T1 was good. This was even better. Feet were out of the shoes coming into T2 and it made a HUGE difference. I was 2nd in my AG and 51st overall in this. Felt really good. Everything laid out right helped and so did all the experience last year.

Ran with my belt and number in my hand and put it on during the run instead of trying to do it in T2. My biggest worry were my calves which were a bit tight from pushing on the ride. Will I have repeat of my calf issue of last year? I hoped not.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Felt great.
Run
  • 25m 27s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

So this run was much better than last year. I was really nervous coming out of T2 because of my calves. Last year, I cramped up something awful out of the shoot. This year I was tight. Repeat? NOPE! I got about a 1/2 mile into the run and the tightness was gone. Alright. Let's go!

I took off and caught up to a few people. Only got passed by 1 guy and he was flying. Overall the run felt so much better than last year. And it went so much faster too. In hindsight, I probably could have pushed it a bit harder. Kept a great turnover for me kept pushing ahead. Next thing I know, I'm out of the woods, onto the road and going around the lake. I see Beth and she gives me the "well?" look. I give her two thumbs up and a big grin. She smiles back and knows I'm having a good race.

I can see John (Team Javelin, met him before and remembered him from last year, he is also on BT sometimes) and think, I'm going to catch him? (He flew by me on the bike) Pass a few more around the lake, including a young lady that was burning up the swim. I realize I'm a 1/2 a mile from the finish and pick up the pace just a bit. I'm getting closer to John. Let's see if I can do it.

Nope, he finishes about 30 second ahead of me. Still, the run felt great. I hadn't even looked at my watch the entire run to see my pace. Just went off of feel. I look at it now and am happy. Sub 8:15 pace. I also look at my total time 1:16:56. Not the sub 1:15 I was shooting for, but it is still a big step in the right direction.
What would you do differently?:

More speed work. I now know I can run faster. It really wasn't till this race that I could figure it out.
Post race
Warm down:

Beth was there at the finish and I showed her my time. Knocked off almost 15 minutes from last year. I knew I wouldn't place but I still was happy with the over all time. Got my water, and quick grabbed some food to replenish what I just got rid of during the race.

Beth and I walked over to a picnic table that she had been holding onto and then she went to get the food for the picnic while I ate. She came back and we started to get set up for Stef to finish. The wind was starting to pick up and I was starting to cool off. I ran back to the car to grab my jersey and then over to T2 to watch Stef come in.

Got there just in time to see her pull in with a big ole grin on her face. She looked really good. Danny, Sarah and I ran around to the other side and caught her coming out of the shoot onto the run. Smiling.

Danny and I then went into the woods, caught her on the run a few more times, she finally popped out onto the road and around the lake. I jogged over to the other side and then started to run/walk with her the remaining 1/2 mile into the finish. I'm so proud of her. She did a great job.

So my warm down was a bunch of walking around and running. It was fun!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This is only my second year. I'm still learning. Still building base. Still working on speed. Still getting a better idea of what I need to do in a race. But I'm getting better.

#1 limiter, though is T.I.T.S. That will be resolved this year, though.

Event comments:

It really is a great tune up race for the season or a great race for Beginners. It is so well organized, the swim is short, the ride is not too tough (with or without the wind) and the run is nice. Just a really well put on race. I will probably do it again, next year, just to keep going back. I like it. It has a good home feeling to it.




Last updated: 2007-12-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:41 | 440 yards | 01m 45s / 100yards
Age Group: 12/28
Overall: 69/261
Performance: Below average
Pool swim. And the water was WARM!
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:50
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:42:06 | 13.4 miles | 19.10 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/28
Overall: 79/261
Performance: Good
Had a hard time getting my HR down.
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Big loop out. Fortunately the wind was out of the North and most of the course was East and West.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:27 | 03.1 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 16/28
Overall: 100/261
Performance: Good
Maintained a great HR this time.
Course: Loop into the woods and then around the lake.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3