Shawnee Mission Triathlon - TriathlonShort Course

I thought the swim started out great, but finished pretty poorly. I started in the front row of my heat, and about halfway through the course, I was sitting in 4th. I needed to weave in and around people from other groups, which slowed my pace a bit. Also at the turn, I ended up going around one of the end buoys, but not both. So I had to backtrack a few feet and get back into a rhythm. There was also quite the current for the course. I didn't notice it too much while racing, but afterwards that's all everyone was mentioning.

Know the course better, try to hang on someone's feet. I definitely didn't draft enough.

LONG run to transition from the water. I would guess almost a quarter of a mile to my bike. Okay, maybe not that long, but it was very long, even for a race. I also took some extra time getting my Garmin on my wrist.

Quick release kit. I will be getting it soon.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my bike split. That course is incredibly hilly, but just kept pushing. I did most of my passing on the uphills, and would struggle to keep up with people on the downs. Really need to think about getting some aerobars. I could tell it made it a lot easier on the flats and downhills.

More hill work. I had ridden the course once, but I will be making my way back there to train in the future.

Awesome time. Would have done nothing different.

The run was hot. Not to mention the hills. Man, there were more than I expected. I prepared myself for the dam hill, but was unaware of the hill at the finish. I had a great push at the end, despite the incline, which I'm pretty proud of. I don't know if it is obvious from the pace, but I was gassed after the dam hill, and never really recovered till about .5mi left.

Run the course before the race to know when to push it, and when to back off the gas pedal a bit. It was hot, tough, but I was overall somewhat pleased with the run. Just not my pace (Dear lord that's slow...)

Found some shade, my family, and tried to cool off. I really thought about jumping in the ice bath with all the pop and powerade.


the Heat, and my training. This wasn't an A race for me, but my training has been pretty inconsistent lately, due to work, school, and moving. I was very pleased about placing. Actually, more shocked than anything. My goal was for around 1 hour, but not knowing the T1 distance from the water, and the heat that morning definitely had an impact on my performance.


Great volunteers, lots of aid stations, I think I counted 3 on the run, and it was under 3 miles. I was bummed, I skipped out on the after race festivities and went and got breakfast with the fam. They had a cookout, music, and a funrun for kids. I wish I would have at least stayed for the awards ceremony!!!