BikeSource Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Olathe, Kansas
United States
Johnson County Park and Recreation District
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 00m 39s
Overall Rank = 5/124
Age Group = 30-34M
Age Group Rank = 1/18
Pre-race routine:

I signed up for this local race for two reasons: I wanted to shake off some of the triathlon racing rust in preparation for the next upcoming races, and I was tired of just training - I needed something to remind me why I was doing all of this work. So I was going to treat this as a short and intense training day. This race has such a low key, no pressure atmosphere and is great for a first tri (it was mine three years ago). I woke up at 5:00 am and went about my usual race morning breakfast of coffee and oatmeal while checking out the local news and weather. Looks like it was going to be an absolutely awesome day for a race weather-wise.
Event warmup:

Set up transition and then did a half mile jog. Then milled around with some friends before walking over to the marina.
Swim
  • 06m 45s
  • 587 yards
  • 01m 09s / 100 yards
Comments:

I donned my full sleeved wetsuit for this. Not out of necessity (the water was very comfortable) but for the practice of removing it transition during a race. The horn went off and I took off fast. I had no one around me and no other fast fishes to swim with, so I was on my own with no one to draft off of. I perhaps took off a little to hard and fast because my heart rate and breathing were spiking. Once I was certain I was clear of everyone I had to really concentrate on settling down, catching my breath, and finding a nice swim pace to settle into. The wetsuit really wore down my shoulders, which kinda gets me thinking about looking into a sleeveless suit. On the home stretch I caught up with the back of the girl's wave, but I didn't have to much trouble navigating around them. Eventually my fingertips hit sand. I stood up in a dizzying fashion, oriented myself, and then took off up the beach to T1.
What would you do differently?:

Start closer to the buoy line. I started wide to avoid any chaos, but there was none. Could've saved a few seconds here.
Transition 1
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

Well, I guess this why I did this race, to practice transitions. This was a pretty crappy transition. The wetsuit didn't exactly slip off my ankles. When I went to lift my bike off the rack my transition bag, which was sitting under my back tire, was preventing me from unracking my bike. It was too bulky to allow it. I could've shook it loose, but I didn't want to knock someones bike off, so I had to get to the other side of the rack and pull the bike out from the opposite direction. In addition to that I could not get clipped in fast enough. Soooo slooow. I guess this why I did this race, so avoid repeating mistakes. Lessons learned. 37th out of 120.
What would you do differently?:

Position transition bag differently.
Bike
  • 32m 40s
  • 11.5 miles
  • 21.12 mile/hr
Comments:

I always enjoy myself when I race this bike course. Not sure why. Maybe it's just because of the course layout, or because you get to ride by the spectators three times. Whatever it is I was having fun on the bike. The only thing that detracted from it was the inexperienced athletes riding waaay too far left or set up in blocking positions, particularly when they weren't even passing someone. As I approached one rider, who was biking near the median and not passing anyone, I yelled "on you're left." He just gave me an acknowledgement wave and held his position. I blame this and the other rider's behavior on mostly inexperience or lack of knowledge and bike etiquette. I didn't let any of this bother me and more or less just dealt with it.
What would you do differently?:

Nada.
Transition 2
  • 01m 1s
Comments:

I didn't do my flying dismount primarily because of my uncomfortableness with swinging my leg over the back of the saddle and dismounting. I had this mastered on my old bike but I've just been too unpredictable with my dismounts on this bike in practice to feel confident enough to do it here today. Overall a very average T2. I'm going to be a little slower than some because I slip on socks, but there is still room to improve. 42nd/120
What would you do differently?:

Practice more beforehand.
Run
  • 18m 17s
  • 3 miles
  • 06m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

I always enjoy the run, even when I'm in some amount of pain. There is just something free about no longer being constrained to a bike. At this point I realized that I had only gotten passed once since the race began, and that was coming out of T2, so I knew if I could catch that one guy I would be in the lead (amongst the 30-39M). I caught him a half mile into the run and then continued to motor on. I kept my pace even for the entire course and used a few of the duathlete runners ahead as targets to chase after. Myself and a few others measured the course a tad short, so not sure what was going on there (it's been correct in previous years).
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Slow walk towards the food and drink, and then over to my family and friends where we cheered on some others out there that we knew.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Non-efficient transitions.

Event comments:

Nice, small, and well-organized race. Although the race temps can be fickle year to year with it being mid-May I would recommend as a good first triathlon.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-04-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:45 | 587 yards | 01m 09s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/18
Overall: 1/124
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex, Full-sleeved
Course: Counter clockwise rectangle. No wind, calm waters.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:58
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:32:40 | 11.5 miles | 21.12 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/18
Overall: 16/124
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Three loop course. Mostly flat with one decent climb.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 89
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:01
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:18:17 | 03 miles | 06m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/18
Overall: 4/124
Performance: Good
Course: Loop course through the park.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5