Holiday Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Brooklyn, Iowa
United States
Holiday Lake Owners Association
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 33m 20s
Overall Rank = 13/110
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/6
Pre-race routine:

Oh boy, you are in for a long report! Got up at about 4:30 after not getting to bed until midnight the night before, ate a bowl of oatmeal and drank some Powerade, packed up and drove the 1 hr 30 min from Waterloo to the race site. Wasn't paying too much attention and missed a turn on the way, adding 10 minutes to the trip. Got to Holiday Lake and found no signs directing athletes to the transition area, so I guessed and went right. Wrong answer! Turned around and finally found transition and where I assumed we were supposed to park (no signs again). Picked up my packet, set up the transition area, which was pretty wet from the rain falling, and got marked. Took care of what I had brewing and drank some more Powerade. Got the wetsuit on and headed down to the lake for the pre-race briefing.
Event warmup:

Swam 100 yards or so about 5 minutes before the start. Then the start was delayed 10 minutes for some late arrivers. Swam another 100 or so.
Swim
  • 11m 36s
  • 600 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first race of the season, so I wasn't expecting a brilliant effort in the swim. The course was supposed to be straight out and back, but turned into more of a dog-leg due to wind and current and the buoys not being anchored well. Start wasn't too bad, don't think I was really even kicked or punched at all. I have to say I absolutely suck at navigation, if I could swim straight, I would have probably have shaved 2 minutes off this time. I was all over the place that much! Felt strong otherwise, breathing was good, pull was good, just need to get better at navigation.
What would you do differently?:

Practice, practice, practice navigation. Maybe do some open-water swims in my training.
Transition 1
  • 02m 45s
Comments:

Wetsuit fits very tight probably about a half size small, so I always struggle to get it off. For shorter races I should probably just not wear it, it probably costs me more time.
What would you do differently?:

Dunno, maybe skip the wetsuit, or find a better lubricant to help with getting it off.
Bike
  • 50m 22s
  • 18 miles
  • 21.44 mile/hr
Comments:

I enjoyed this bike course, it featured just enough rolling hills to be challenging but not too bad for the first race of the year. Lots of long downhills were pretty fun. Felt good and hydrated well, though it was cool so this probably wasn't much of an issue. The auction being held on the course was though, as I was held up behind a slow moving truck for 20-30" coming back in. Not a big deal though, just slowed me down a bit.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 2
  • 01m 38s
Comments:

My transitions are a big weakness, I just seem to be slow always, though I think this one was padded by the fact that I had to run through wet grass with bike shoes on (since I'm not comfortable with the whole jump off the bike thing). Need to get some yankz so I don't have to tie my shoes.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure.
Run
  • 27m 1s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 07m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

This was a tough course, started with a very steep, long hill out of transition and did not let off from there. It was pretty much continuous steep rolling hills with no recovery opportunity. Pretty pleased with my performance given I haven't done much running recently.
What would you do differently?:

Run a little more, more hill training.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and stretched a bit, talked to some folks, had some of what little post-race food they had, packed up and took off, not knowing I had won my age group due to an error with the timing chip (my chip time was assigned to someone else on the results they had printed).

Event comments:

For a first time race, there is definitely some room for improvement, particularly in organization and getting things going on time. Nice course though and a good challenge, especially the run.




Last updated: 2009-07-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:36 | 600 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 19/110
Performance: Below average
Suit: Vortex VX2
Course: "Straight" out and back. I say "straight" because the buoys drifted pretty significantly due to wind/current.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:45
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:50:22 | 18 miles | 21.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/6
Overall: 7/110
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Out and back with some decent sized rolling hills. Pretty scenic for Iowa. Nice bke course. Open to traffic and this was somewhat of an issue due to an auction being held just off the course with many vehicles parked along the side of the road.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 94
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:38
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:27:01 | 03.5 miles | 07m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/6
Overall: 18/110
Performance: Good
Course: Long steep rolling hills throughout on so-so paved roads around the lake. Definitely one of the more difficult sprint courses I have run.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2