Cornman Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

i wanted to get the swim going a little bit but it is always hard to gage open water swims. i felt like i went out too fast on this one. i saw tj for a few meters and then he took off, good to see you, cake you later.
the second half was weak, my arms felt a little dead. i don't know why the swim feels so bad.
anyway, i was in the very first heat so it felt good being the second guy out of the water of the entire race ;) later, i see that i had the fifth fastest swim time, so i guess it couldn't have been all that bad.

gut it out a little more, maybe conserve a little in the beginning. swim two seconds faster so that i would have the third fastest swim ;)

got out and got all my stuff. again, not having to put on a jersey when you are wet is a real advantage. i ran with the bike and jumped on after the "mount line" (he he) and..my shoe fell out of the pedal. several mental swears and i had to jump to the side (more like crashed to the side) and i got the shoe back into the clip. the tape came off the shoe so i had to individually pull the straps over. i had trouble with t1 last year, i don't know what this race has against my bike shoes. finally got going, a little embarassing. i think the time came off my bike split since i was over the mat already.

tighten up my pedals. if i had money, get some triathlon bike shoes.

after the shoe thing, i got going. i wanted to crack 20 mph on this course and with all the hills it would not be an easy task. i jumped out of the saddle for the giant hill, there is nothing else you can do but try to end the pain early. i had brought some water (because of the heat), some diluted gatorade, diluted gels, and some electrolytes. i don't have a spedometer on the tri bike, i don't know if i want one. the bike felt slow, but speed doesn't matter. for the HIM i'll have hr data. anyway, hills just kept coming. sipping on the water and gatorade. i think i'll invest in a bento box and maybe an aerobottle for the him, just to make things easier. went into town not knowing if i was fast or slow. being out ahead of everyone is nice, you don't have to worry about illegal drafting and you get done with the course before most people. on the way back to the park i saw the parade of bikes of everyone else. headwind on the way back. i choked down the electrolytes (maybe some nunu tables for the next sprint) and continuted on. i didn't drink near as much of my gatorade as last time.
only got passed by four guys and they all had disc wheels. made me feel good about myself.

better nutrition orgainzation. trained on more long hills. smiled.

a little worried about t2 since t1 didn't go so well. but i jumped off the bike with no problem. legs felt like jell-o and got all my stuff off. ran out of transistion before i saw the nearest person ride into it.

nothing really, good t2.

i have said that the run is the swimmer's worst nightmare. at least on this course it is no picnic for the runner's either. i started on the run with negative thoughts and just felt like worthless crap. i never thought i agressively went after the run. i just felt like i was phoning it in and that i was just hopping that no one was going to pass me. i need to get those thoughts out of my head, while it wasn't a stellar run, no one passed me.
the giant hill was just that, giant. i felt like i was going to be on it forever. heat wasn't beating down so much as it was everywhere. like running through a hot thick fog. going down the hill was no thrill either, i had to hit the brakes, otherwise i would have broken something falling down the hill.
like i said, this was not a stellar run. i wasn't mentally in it. i'm kinda disappointed in myself. i thought i was made of stronger stuff.
anyway, i guess it was good enough, because no one came to get me. thankfully, no runners showed up at the end.

train on more hills, with cement shoes, at noon on a 90° day, in winter gear.
mentally prepare myself more for the challenge i always have on the run.

walked around a bit, bathed in water. i got over to transistion just in time to see rach come in off the bike. i got my stuff out and got the camera to take over to the run course. got some picutres of rach and joel. packed up rach's stuff. not a big warm-down, just lots of walking. still hot.

oh! and technically i got second in my age group with tj (eagleman champ) getting first. but since he won the whole race, he is not up for double awards meaning i got bumped up to first in my age group! i'll take it!


lack of sleep, lack of mental preparation.


this is a great race in iowa. there are not a ton of participants and the volunteers are great, friendly, and very helpful! the course is very challenging and makes it even better when you cross that finish line. tons of goodies (shirt, towel, water, post-race meal, door prizes) that make this tri well worth the entry fee.