2009 Council Bluffs Black Squirrel Triathlon - Triathlon


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Council Bluffs, Iowa
United States
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 06m 42s
Overall Rank = 69/149
Age Group = Male 30-34
Age Group Rank = 15/21
Pre-race routine:

Running late, hurry through transition set up, swim for 1min, GO! Seemed to work out ok :)
Event warmup:

Just swam for a minute. Made sure the goggles, ear plugs and swim cap would be ok. No worries.
Swim
  • 18m 42s
  • 1000 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had a good swim, minus the initial dunking and mouthful of water about 3 strokes into it ;). I started right behind Slickster, and stayed on his feet most of the way out to the turnaround. I lost him just befor the last bouy, and noticed everyone was swimming around a white lake bouy AND the turnaround bouy. I ducked inbetween the two, and avoided the crowd. Also found some clean open swimming for most of the way back in. Overall a really good swim for me.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe start a little closer to the front. Otherwise, it was good.
Transition 1
  • 00m 53s
Comments:

TOP 10 T1 Time! 9th, is still top 10! Awe Yeah!!!!

Swim cap was tough to get off. My hair was mostly dry under it, and that kinda hurt! I was also kinda shakey. Not sure why, maybe too much caffine that morning (normally don't drink coffee, oops).
I jumped on the bike, got my feet in, but didn't really get going very fast. Again, the shakey feeling I had was throwing me off a bit.
What would you do differently?:

Skip the coffee, and suck down a good fruit juice instead.
Bike
  • 55m 28s
  • 19 miles
  • 20.55 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike went ok. I came out of the water about a minute ahead of Slickster. He caught me at the beginning of lap 2 on the bike. We were togather from here on, until the last mile of the run.

Negative thoughts were going through my mind. No idea why, but I was just in a negative mood about everything. Focusing on the smallest crap. Couldn't shake it.
What would you do differently?:

Ride, don't think.
Transition 2
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

I came off the bike fine, but my toes were completely numb! I think it was the cool weather and well vented shoes. I also put on socks after the bike. This really held me up. I have not ran farther than 4mi without socks, and didn't want to risk it on race day.
What would you do differently?:

Skip the socks, and run a few longer training runs sockless.
Run
  • 50m 11s
  • 5.65 miles
  • 08m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

Negative thoughts continued to roll through my mind. Slickster beat my out of transition, but I could see him. I pushed and caught him in the first 1/2mi. He kept me motivated and running until the last mile. I just "had to" walk. I walked for about 5sec, ran and started to catch back up, felt hopeless, walked, ran, walked..... With about 1/2mi left, a guy catches up to me and says something like "come on buddy, let's do this!" I was like "OK!". So we chatted, his encouragement probably cut 30sec off my run, and he even had me at a full on sprint the last 100yds, leaving him in the dust. I gave him a big thank you and a high five at the end. Good experiance!!
What would you do differently?:

Keep running with Slickster that last mile. Not be a baby. Run harder. Eat less. My AG run rank was 20 of 21. I really need to get faster on the run for next year!


Still calling this a good run, since it was pretty darn fast for me.

Post race
Warm down:

Walked around catching my breath for a few minutes. The finishing spring kicked my butt! Eventually got some orange slices, a banana and a water. Got a couple pictures with Slickster, and chatted with kklems for a bit. Tried to stretch a little.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The fat around my torso.

Event comments:

With a little work, this could be an awesome race. Get the distances spot on for an Olympic event. Advertise more, and get more volunteers. Maybe even get it USAT sanctioned. The setting is good, the course is good, so the potential is there.




Last updated: 2009-08-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:42 | 1000 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 8/21
Overall: 53/149
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Out and back from beach.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:53
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:55:28 | 19 miles | 20.55 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/21
Overall: 52/149
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: FLAT! Nice fast course consisting of 3 laps around the perimiter of the lake. Traffic control was adequate, but the turn to go back into transition was not marked, other than spectators gathered there. It confused me....probably just me.... From what I have heard, the reroute of the bike course is vastly improved from previous years.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:25
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:50:11 | 05.65 miles | 08m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/21
Overall: 108/149
Performance: Good
Course: Labled over 6mi, I mapped it out, and it is just over 5.5mi. Come on Race Director, with all the modern tools, there is no excuse for inaccurate race lengths!
Keeping cool Average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4