Jackson County Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My wave waded out into the water to get ready for the start and I made sure to situate myself at the front of the pack. I was confident enough by now with my swimming abilities in open water in a race that I didn't feel I needed to be shy about attacking this leg of the race. Before the start I gave a heads up to the guy to my left that a handful of swimmers from the first long course wave missed/almost missed rounding the first buoy. He appreciated the heads up but we both agreed that the sun shouldn't be a factor in sighting and we had a nice straight shot to the buoy. Plus we had a kayak leading the way for us.

Once the horn went off I took off quickly. I had shot of adrenaline that went off in me and I was really pushing it. Me and the guy I was talking to at the start were both at the FOP of our wave and we were going stroke for stroke with each other. This was great as he caused me to push myself and not relax as we moved further away from shore. Once we both rounded the first buoy (which he did better than me since he had an inside position) I couldn't see the next buoy; both of us were swimming directly towards the sun. I knew that this wasn't right so made a hard left angle adjustment and righted my body towards the next buoy. My swim buddy must have noticed this too but somehow he was able to make a smoother correction and I now found myself a body length behind him.

For the rest of swim I followed him and let him lead me through the swimmers that we had caught up to from the previous wave. I never let too much distance get between us, nor did I do much to catch up with him either. Once we approached the shore I waited to feel sand and then started to run. Again, like my last race, it seemed as if I started running too early as I was really having to do some high knee kicks to get the legs moving through the water. Surprisingly, there were a lot of swimmers making there way for the shore line much earlier than I did as I was swimming past them as they were walking/wading towards shore.

Nothing. Be more efficient at rounding the buoys.

As I ran up the beach towards the transition area I saw my wife, her parents, and her brother's family all cheering me on. It was nice to have a cheering section. Once I got to my spot, which was right on the border separating the transition area and the spectators, I noticed that my supporting group had followed me over and was right there watching me, literally four feet away. This was weird. I suddenly became subconscious about each move I was making. As they watched each move I made I felt less focused about what I was doing.

Nothing. Set up transition in an area more removed from spectators.

Decent bike ride. The whole ride I felt like I was on an island. There weren't many short course bikers out on the road yet, it didn't seem like I was coming across any of the long course bikers, and it seemed like I was riding through the MOP/BOP duathletes. I didn't get passed by anyone, but I don't feel that meant much in relation to where I was to everyone else. Regardless, I tried to keep a decent race pace the whole time and steal some speed where I could.

At first glance I was slightly disappointed in my overall bike pace, but considering there were two long, slow hill climbs that seemed to last f-o-r-e-v-e-r (one at beginning and one at the end) I'll take it. I ingested very little water on the bike. I tried take some sips but it didn't go down smoothly, I wanted to choke it back up - not sure what was going on there, good thing this race was only a sprint. I also had some concern about my legs coming off the bike as they felt heavy the whole ride. Perhaps I was doing a little mashing of the pedals at times? I was hoping they would be OK for the run.

(By the way, no having to dismount and walk your bike over the bridge this year).

Train more hills!

Arrived at my transition spot with my cheering section standing right there again. They were very supportive, but again I couldn't completely focus with them watching my every move. This may have caused me to fumble around with my shoes. I decided to remove my bike shoes inside T2 instead of the bike. This cost me as I really struggled get my left shoe off. WTF! Why isn't it coming off! Pull, pull, loosen velco straps more. Finally, I got it, whew. It seemed like I tugged on that thing forever. Then it was socks, shoes, a quick grab of the visor and race belt and go.

I slowly jog out of transition. Not because I wanted to take it easy, but because I suddenly had a weird feeling come over me that I was running the wrong way. The short course runs towards the north . . . but I have to run towards the south exit. I panicked. Should I be running towards the opposite north exit near the bike entrance? . . . no that doesn't make sense. I scanned the area for help and found a volunteer to confirm I was indeed running in the correct direction.

Again, practice removing shoes at dismount.

As soon as I started the run my breathing became very heavy and loud. There was no way I was going to sneak up on anyone. I was concerned about my heavy breathing, but only to a point. I did a mental check over and determined that I was, relatively speaking, just fine and continued at my race pace. Other than using the mile markers and my digital watch, I had a hard time determining how fast I was going. Because I wasn't sure if my performance was deteriorating, if I was running fast, or if I just thought I was running fast because my breathing rate was so high. Regardless, I plugged along doing what my body would let it.

After the first mile I settled down some and became somewhat of a chatter box. I tried to throw out words of encouragement to everyone I ran by. I had a lot thrown my way too. Very cool. I love being apart of this sport.

Towards the home stretch, just as I was starting to begin my final kick, I got a nasty side stitch. Super. I told myself to push through it anyways, no holding back this close to the finish. As I came towards the finishers chute I saw my wife and her family cheering me on. Thanks guys!

Nothing.

Upon crossing the finished line and stopping to have my chip removed my side stitch instantly vanished but I immediately had a feeling come over me that I was going to hurl. I walked over to a trash receptacle where a few teenage looking girls were sitting nearby. I apologized in advance to them for disgusting things they may hear/see. Luckily that feeling went away and everything stayed put.

After that I grabbed a drink and a banana and went and chatted with the family. Also cheered on Emily as she finished her race.


Not much. Some distractions in transition and some very small rough areas scattered throughout the race that can only be smoothed out with more experience and training.


Much has been said about KLM and their race management, mostly negative. I have read many a race report from fellow BT'ers and found that many of the gripes seemed legitimate. With all the rants I've read about KLM I was skeptical about how this race would go.

Based on the race today, I thought they did an excellent job. There were volunteers everywhere. The bike and run course was well marked (not sure about the long course run). Every single intersection on the bike course was manned with volunteers/police officers. Sufficient aid/water stations. At the swim start the race director (I assume) went over with everyone the nuances of the course and he did it multiple times to ensure that everyone was aware and knew what he/she was doing. Overall, there was great support. I tried to thank every volunteer I passed by.

Of the races that this group puts on I think the size of this race help contribute to its success. They are probably more motivated to put on a successful race here, where more people are exposed to them (relatively speaking), than say at a smaller Midwest Mayhem. They could improve the ho-hum post-race atmosphere. I understand their reasoning for doing away with post race awards, but I still don't know if I agree with it. Also, leading up to the race (the electronic communication, packet pick-up) there was somewhat of an impersonal, almost rude feeling I got from this group, though I'm not sure if I can put my finger on what it was that made it seem like this. As a new participant to KLM races I didn't get a welcoming feel (this does not include the race day experience).

With that said, until I have a bad KLM race day experience I will refrain from joining any KLM boycott.