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Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Angola, Indiana
United States
TRI FORT Triathletes
68F / 20C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 14m 35s
Overall Rank = 2/82
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I got up at 5:45 and took my time getting ready. It was kind of a late start race for what I have become used to but I'll take it.
Similar to normal breakfast but I had to mix it up a little because we didn't have any of my normal, ritual food. Toast with Nutella and honey and a poptart for a little extra filling.
Event warmup:

This was shorter than it should have been because I was talking to several people that I have gotten to know through the triathlon scene. I rode only about 1.5 miles and ran about a half mile then got back the transition area to get ready for the meeting and race start.
Swim
  • 19m 18s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 11s / 100 yards
Comments:

The first 1/3 of the first lap was taken kind of slow. I didn't have an opportunity to get a swim WU in and with the week at home building the porch I though I should take a little bit of time to set up my rhythm.
To set myself up for this, I got on the heels of someone else and drafted him for this section of the first loop. About half way through this portion I began to either speed up or he slowed down. I decided this was the point I needed to take it up a notch.
I stayed right against the rope for the whole swim portion and I didn't need to do a lot of sighting. I was out in front of the main pack enough that I didn't need to fight for this position after the first 150 yards. The water was clear enough that I could see the rope from about 7-8 feet away.
What would you do differently?:

I really think I performed better than I thought I was going to given the lack of WU and planning throughout the week.
Transition 1
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

I used a little different protocol for my own transition. I hit the lap button on my watch at the beach because there was long run up to the transition area and I like to see a time closer to my actual swim time rather than including my run into transition.
This TA was .2 miles away according to Garmin too. Quite a long run up regardless of the real distance.
What would you do differently?:

This was a good transition. I wouldn't really change anything other than actually practicing them. Last night I had totally dry runs where I went through the physical motions of removing goggles, cap, wetsuit............
Bike
  • 1h 08m 16s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 21.84 mile/hr
Comments:

I went out very hard! From the time I left transition to about 5 miles in, I was pegging the HR monitor. I saw most of these miles at a HR that was not sustainable for the duration. I had to do some serious discussion with myself to back my effort down into a safe zone.
About 4-5 miles in, I decided to take my gel. I tore it from the duck tape on the top tube and promptly dropped it. Great I thought! I decided that my Heed was going to be my only calories on the bike and tried to drink most of it. I finished it with about 1 mile left on the bike.
The hills were definitely something that challenged me. There were a lot of them but none were huge. I had to work on my effort for these and I would say I didn't choose good gearing for many of these hills. In those cases I was going a little to easy and spinning to soon by gearing down to quickly.
The great thing about this ride was that I could see the pacing motorcycle for almost the entire ride, so I knew I was close to the front. This is what kept me from dropping my effort too much and probably drove me to work as hard as I could. At most points on the course I could tell I was in the top 3-4 positions but I was never certain exactly what position.
I was passed twice during the last 3-4 miles. One of the guys I was able to hold close, not more than 200 yards away and I reeled him back in to about 75 yards before the T2. The second guy passed me with about 1.5 miles left and he barely passed the other guy before heading into T2.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was a well executed bike leg. Not because I was so good, rather because I was pushing myself early and without restraint from the start. Knowing I was close to the front of the pack drove me to maintain a more hard pace. I became more and more unwilling to give up any positions the deeper into the ride I got.
Transition 2
  • 00m 35s
Comments:

I had my shoes off as I rode into the dismount area and when I threw my leg over my bike one of my shoes came off the pedal and landed a few feet away. This really didn't cause any really issues because it landed pretty close to the path I was moving. It actually would have appeared as a mistake on the bike leg but it was really a transition mistake.
At the most it cost me 2 seconds, nothing major.
What would you do differently?:

Another good transition really. Everything seemed to go well.
I guess the practice of physically walking through everything made a pretty solid difference after all. I never would have thought it would have made a significant difference. I am pleased I took the time to do this practice session.
Run
  • 46m 19s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

There were so many short hills that there was little time to recover. At some points I thought I was running uphill for a couple of miles. My HR was pretty high and my legs were screaming for relief for almost all of this segment.
The first mile I allowed myself to to relax a little before trying to pin my ears back. The first mile was the fastest but it had a very long downhill in the first couple of hundred yards and I allowed my legs to carry me down for the most part.
The rest of the run course was really difficult to run because of the rolling nature of the course. I remember at mile 2 thinking I didn't know if I could finish this race running the whole thing. I kept pushing through the pain and later the (mile5.5) side stitches from the level of effort I was putting out.
Once on the course, I passed the guy (Pat) that passed me in the last 1.5 miles of the bike (I followed him out of T2 about 10 seconds behind him). He later told me he wasn't even going to try to keep up with my pace and that I "dropped him like a bad habit." I wasn't so sure about that then and I am still not confident it was "like a bad habit."
At about mile 2.5-3 I passed the cyclist that passed me first on the bike. He was the one I held close to me. I was much slower approaching him than the other but once I passed him he was gone and he told me later he just didn't have the power to get up the hills to hold me close. Obviously these guys helped my personal confidence in my ability but I'll keep this close to me because I don't have that much confidence in what I can do all of the time. I think for some reason this race was a nearly perfect one for me and others this season won't go as well.
What would you do differently?:

I am not certain I had the ability to do much more on this leg. I felt like I was on the red line for all but the first mile. Had I ran faster I still wouldn't have placed higher at all. The 1st place overall finisher came in more than 9 minutes faster than me. WOW!!!!!!!
Post race
Warm down:

I was to trashed to do any kind of warm down. The stitch had started to get worse and I couldn't get any breath for about 5 minutes after finishing.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I might have been able to perform a little better with better nutrition throughout the week and especially the last 2 days leading up the the race. I may have been able to shave a very small amount of time off but it wouldn't have been much.
I think today was just the planet alignment for me. I feel like I was outside and above my normal performance levels.

Event comments:

The RD put together a VERY challenging course. I loved the effort I had to put out today. I guess my mantra on race day is: "If it doesn't hurt, you didn't race hard enough." And this race hurt, so hats off to the RD for a well organized and developed race.
Results: http://www.teamtrifort.com/images/2012_images/POKAGON_2012_TRI_OLYM...




Last updated: 2012-05-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:18 | 1640 yards | 01m 11s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/82
Performance: Good
Suit: Neo Sport full
Course: This was a 2 lap course in shallow water. Much of the swim was in water that appeared to be shallow enough to have stood up.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:08:16 | 24.85 miles | 21.84 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/82
Performance: Good
Avg HR: 157 bpm Max HR: 169 bpm HIgh average for the bike. Several times I had to talk to myself and remind myself that this was a 25 mile section of the race and I had to run 6+ miles afterward. I had my HR pegged a number of times during the first 5 miles.
Wind: Some
Course: This was a relatively hilly course wlong county roads that were wither chip and sealed or good asphalt. The road conditions were typical of my normal training rides. Average HR for the first 5 miles was 160. 5 BPM above the target of 155.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:35
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:46:19 | 06.21 miles | 07m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/82
Performance:
Avg HR: 160 bpm Max HR: 168 bpm Solid HR effort for this race.
Course: Holy crap!!!! A LOT of rolling hills!!!!! This course was on the trails through the state park. Very scenic but brutal for this flat lander.
Keeping cool Average 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? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2012-05-19 10:05 PM

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Master
3486
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Fort Wayne
Subject: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course


2012-05-20 8:08 AM
in reply to: #4218667

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Extreme Veteran
424
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Urbana, MD
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course

Great job Dirk!! I'm just going to repeat what you told me - now we expect you to place OA at every other tri this season!

John

2012-05-20 11:04 AM
in reply to: #4218667

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Elite
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far northern CA
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course

Great paces for a flatlander on a hilly course! Tongue out

Congrats on 2nd place overall!  That's an incredible achievement!!!

2012-05-20 12:43 PM
in reply to: #4218667

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Expert
1249
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MI
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course
Wow!  Nice effort, Dirk!  I think for some reason other races this season *will* go as well for you.
2012-05-20 12:58 PM
in reply to: #4218667

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Expert
1183
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Fort Wayne, IN
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course
Nice job Dirk.  I'm impressed with your run.  It was nice to meet you at the race.
2012-05-20 3:31 PM
in reply to: #4218667

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Extreme Veteran
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South Lake Tahoe, Ca.
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course

Way to go Dirk!!!

Nice bike segment. Way to hammer it out.



2012-05-20 4:24 PM
in reply to: #4218667

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Master
2563
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University Park, MD
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course

Wow, nice result! And fantastic swim split.

2012-05-21 5:29 AM
in reply to: #4218667

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Expert
1439
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Tallahassee
Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course
Very Impressive...GREAT swim!!!  GREAT everything!!!  thanks for posting.
2012-05-21 9:55 AM
in reply to: #4218667

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Subject: RE: Pokagon Triathlon - Olympic Course
So glad I was there to witness your 2nd place overall win, Dirk! Way to keep it from me until after they said your name. I can't believe I even went to look at the results and didn't look at yours. Silly me. Any ways...CONGRATULATIONS! You flew through that course! This was the start of a great tri season for you!
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