Trinona Battle for the Bluff - International Course - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Winona, Minnesota
United States
Trinona, LLC
68F / 20C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 38m 34s
Overall Rank = 87/245
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 17/39
Pre-race routine:

This is my "C" race of the year. It is also the first triathlon of the season for me. Ironman Wisconsin is the "A" race. Since I have been doing so much training I was itching for a race so i was super excited for this race.

Breakfast: Peanut butter and Agave toast(3 slices), Fresh fruit, and Coffee!
Event warmup:

What I did:
10 min on bike to make sure it was in good shape. 10 minute run. I wanted to get in at least a 15 min swim warmup but it was closer to 10 and kind of rushed.

What I wanted to do:
30 on the bike
15-20 min run
15 min swim right before wave start.
Swim
  • 28m 48s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

First race ever while wearing a wetsuit.
I only swam in the suit once before raceday. I know this was not the best plan but timing was messed up with delivery and returns of wrong sized suit.

I had a plan… but I messed up the plan race day morning. I wanted to wait to put on my suit due to the time between transition closing and my wave start. It was 1 hour and 16 minutes between the two. I accidently left my wrist watch on and used my time poorly between the race meeting and my swim warm up. I was running to the swim start as the were counting down the start. I was the last one in the water of my wave.

Oh yeah even with all of that... I PR'ed the swim!

As for the Swim:
It felt good. I tried to take it easy the first 1/3 and just find my rhythm. It was super easy to sight off of Sugar Loaf Bluff, it was directly above and behind the first turn buoy… this is very helpful since my wave was wearing the same colored swim caps as the turn buoy. The first turn was to the right then a straight shot to the second turn buoy. I was still trying to take it easy during this section. It was the longest leg (distance wise) of the swim. I was sighting well using the bluffs to the north of Winona as a reference for the second turn. At what I thought was the midway point I started to pick up the pace. I thought I was going too slowly so I started to push it. I think this is mostly due wearing the wetsuit and the lack of sensation of moving through the water. After a few minutes I realized I was working too hard to keep this pace so I slowed down a bit. After the last turn buoy it is a straight shot to the beach and swim finish arch. The sun was directly above the swim exit so it was hard to see and hard to sight but lucky I wore my tinted goggles. Bumped into a few of the fast swimmers from the wave behind me during this portion which surprised me. What surprised me most is that I am usually passed by those swimmers earlier in the swim. As the beach got near I swam until my belly hit the sand. It still amazes me how many people start walking so deep in the water. I passed several walkers as I was still swimming in. Swim exit was up onto the grass then a short run of 30-50 feet to Transition.

What would you do differently?:

Watch the time. Leave wrist watch at home. Warm up close to the swim start and relax!
Transition 1
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

2:11
Not bad for first race with a full wetsuit. It did get hung up on my left ankle and timing chip. Other than that it went well.
What would you do differently?:

Wrist watch left in Transiton or at home
Bike
  • 1h 19m 23s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.78 mile/hr
Comments:

I really enjoyed this ride. Coach said to take the up-hills easy and hammer the downs. When I started the ride I did my best to follow this advice since I was not sure how hard "the bluff" was really going to be. I wanted to save myself for the Garvin Heights hill and anything that might exist after it. I have been doing a lot of long hills on HWY 35 between Prescott, WI and Lake Pepin which has helped me a ton for this race. The first few miles on the bike are mostly on a gradual uphill. It was great to hit the turn around and cruise back toward that looming hill. Before I made the turn on to Garvin Heights I made sure to shift to the granny gear.
Once I hit the timing mat for the “king of the bluff” contest I settled into a nice steady pace/effort. I know the hill is about 1.1 miles so I kept my eye on that odometer. I had planned on trying to stay seated for as long as I could. I kept the pedals cranking and kept my breathing to a nice steady rhythm. This was working well so far. I passed a few riders and a few walkers. My computer was saying I was averaging 7.0 MPH. I wanted to save some gas for anything that lay after and found myself still in my saddle even as I came to the top of the bluff. I was happy and yet a bit sad because I had lots of gas left. I never even got out of the saddle. One volunteer even said “come-on! You’re not even breathing hard!” I was but I must of looked too good. My Heart rate did hit 158 at the top but average was 147BPM. My time was 8:33 this put me at 71 out of 178 Males. I know the next year I am going to give this hill all I’ve got. I know I can do better.
The rest of the course was awesome! After climbing up Garvin Heights and a going uphill for a few miles I was looking for a downhill. Yes! Here comes the downhill… I mean DOWNHILL! It was great. I hit 41.7 MPH during the long smooth road descent. The rest was just fun with a few turns. There is one turn close to the end that a few people crashed at. It is labeled as a hairpin turn… more like a very tight “s” turn. Watch out for that one next year. It is around mile 22ish.
Got my feet out of my shoes on the straight-away before transition. Jumped off the bike and ran to my rack… nice and close to the bike exit/entrance.

What would you do differently?:

Push a little hard on the uphills
Transition 2
  • 01m 26s
Comments:

I was happy with this T2
Run
  • 46m 50s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

nice PR for me. I went easy the first mile. I wanted to keep it easy for a while and then kick it up toward the end. The next 2 miles were good. the path wraps around the lake and on the west side it is nice and shady. At mile 3 I saw David Thompson. He was the overall winner and was out saying hi to people at the turn around. I started to push it from here till the end. I wanted to finish with nothing left. Around mile 5 & 1/2 i really kicked it up. Looking at my data from my GPS I did a 6:50 for the last mile. I was Very happy with that. It was a nice PR for the entire run as well

What would you do differently?:

Hydrate a little more on the bike to peak on the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked for 5 mins. Ran for 10 minutes and stretched.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of Knowledge of of the bike course.

Event comments:

I know why it was voted the best race in MN. It was very organized and on time. Plenty of Bathrooms, water stops, and great volunteers!




Last updated: 2011-04-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:28:48 | 1640 yards | 01m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/39
Overall: 0/245
Performance: Average
Suit: xterra vector pro full sleeve
Course: Trianglar with right turns.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:11
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:19:23 | 24.85 miles | 18.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 19/39
Overall: 0/245
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: The. Best. Course. Ever.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 79
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:26
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:46:50 | 06.21 miles | 07m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/39
Overall: 0/245
Performance: Good
Course: Nice and flat out and back. Shady on the back side of the lake.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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