Pleasant Prairie Triathlon - International Race - TriathlonOlympic


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Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
United States
JMC Partners
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 32m 41s
Overall Rank = 130/661
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 23/96
Pre-race routine:

Started on Saturday, since that is when we had to rack our bikes. The first time "the warrior" has every had to sleep outside. Although, if she was mad at me for that, she definitely wasn't thrilled with me on race day (more on that later). Got the goodie bag, and it was great, dri-fit shirt, really nice bag, then went to the race talk. My wife, two kids and me then went to lunch and hit the outlet malls. Later we had dinner with the BT'ers (Thanks Cindy/Mark for setting that up!). Great time meeting everyone.

Race morning, I met Hangloose and we rode together to the shuttle bus. I didn't sleep well, but he slept worse. We were in the top 50 for arrivals, which gave us extra time to do some race planning...which benefited us by repositioning our bikes. It also was nice to hear the announcer yell, the water is now 77 degrees!, which meant we could wear our wetsuits.
Event warmup:

No real warmup, other than a 150m swim right before the start. It was nice to get in the water, practice taking off the wetsuit. The water was actually warmer than the air at that point.
Swim
  • 25m 30s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 42s / 100 meters
Comments:

This was a great swim for me. I got out in front at the start and really went after it for the first 200m. Then I settled in and went after it for the last 200m. I found a pair of feet after the first buoy, and used those for the whole backside stretch. He was sighting great, so I didn't worry about it. I lost him after that, but really felt great out in the lake.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I was shocked when I looked at my watch. I knew I was having a great swim, but was expecting around 27min. 5th in my age group of 96, very exciting.
Transition 1
  • 01m 23s
Comments:

First time in race w/ wetsuit, and getting it off wasn't much trouble. Also, my first time hopping on the bike with the shoes in the pedals. It went very smoothly, but took more time than I wanted strapping in once on the bike. I had practiced this about 20 times during the week, so I was hoping for a great T1 and got it. I was actually 1st in my age group!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I moved up to 4th in the age group at this point, then I gradually started losing that position throughout the rest of the race.
Bike
  • 1h 12m 22s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Overall a great ride. I thought my race was over at about mile 2-3. I was getting passed while drinking, looked over my shoulder, vered to the right and my front tire caught the shoulder gravel. That was it, it happened fast, but next thing I know I was in the ditch. I picked up the bike, quickly got it back on the road. Watched all the bikers pass me by. Checked out the bike, looked OK, so I mounted it, clipped in and started to pedal. Well, I forgot to check if the chain was on, so I tipped over again (stop laughing - its not funny). PUt the chain back on, cussed myself out for the stupidity, and picked up my pace. This whole event seemed like it took an hour to me, but was actually about 2 minutes. I know this b/c my speedometer had me at 21mph, and about 2 minutes of missing time compared to actual. My knees were scrapped up, and so was my shoulder, but nothing to bad. I actually thought my race was over when it first happened, so I used it as positive motivation to just make up the time (plus I knew hangloose was probably right behind me!)

I really had a great ride, with the crash exception. I felt strong on the hills and into the wind and really kept a great pace. My quads were a little more taxed than I wanted them for the run, but the top of my knee (pain from crash) was what was bothering me the most.
What would you do differently?:

Stay on the road :)
Transition 2
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

Pretty good transition. Could have been much better if I was able to get my left foot out of the shoe before dismount (whoops). Had to stop at dismount line, b/c everyone else did. Actually, I was 5th in the age group for T2..good stuff.
What would you do differently?:

Just keep practicing the dismount and make sure I scout how much time I have to get the shoes off before the dismount.
Run
  • 52m 12s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

My quads were sore from the bike, but my right leg was sore from my crash. It was like running with a charlie horse just above the knee. I also had stomach cramps in the middle of the run (part of the reason for the slow down). Take away mile 4 and my splits were right where I wanted them to be. I am happy with the run, considering my legs never felt good, and I hadn't done this distance before.

My wife and kids were at the finish line with the kids. I had told her that Hangloose was going to surprise his wife by getting shirts for the kids. She took that information, and surprised me, by getting my kids shirts, and she also had one on, too. You will see in the pictures, once I get them. I crossed the finish line with the two oldest ones. Very cool. My wife was super for the race. She knew how much it meant to me, and made it a great event, with as little stress as possible while traveling with kids.
What would you do differently?:

Need to work on my run pacing and more importantly my run training. I was in the bottom half on the run (age group), so obviously the off season is going to see more running from the Schmize.
Post race
Warm down:

Watched the other BT'ers finish. Hangloose came in, and yes, he looked VERY disorientated. He stumbled around the medical tent, but started to come back to life after about 20 minutes of talking. Met up with the other BTers. Gatorade, water, banannas and talking with the other BT'ers that had finished their races.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Obviously the crash, overall pacing on bike and run. May need to re-evaluate my bike fit, just from the standpoint of where my legs were sore.

Event comments:

Definitely will do this race again. The people, volunteers, and entire race is very professional.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2006-06-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:30 | 1500 meters | 01m 42s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/96
Overall: 73/661
Performance: Good
Suit: Yes
Course: Triangle around the lake
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:23
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:12:22 | 24.85 miles | 20.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 28/96
Overall: 142/661
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Course had some rolling hills, and a few big hills, but all and all was relatively flat.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:16
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:52:12 | 06.21 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 57/96
Overall: 300/661
Performance: Average
Here is how I had my splits: Mile 1: 8:04 Mile 2-3: 17:05 Mile 4: 9:05 (wish I had this one back, just kind of lost rhythm and slowed down) Mile 5: 8:02 Mile 6: 8:06 Last .21: 1:50
Course: Very flat course.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5]
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5