Okoboji Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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okoboji, Iowa
United States
The Three Sons
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 59m 2s
Overall Rank = 280/306
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 40/40
Pre-race routine:

slept the night in a hotel in spencer, ia, about 20 minutes away. i got to the race site about an hour before the race, good for me, but would have like to have gotten there at 5:30 am instead of 6. still, had enough time to get my bike together, get my transition area set up, and jump in the lake for a goggle test and swim warm up. i was anxious about the swim, but knew in advance that the first 5 minutes would be hard and that i needed to focus on keeping track of where i was on the course. i scoped out landmarks near the finish...a batch of trees and a water tower so that i could swim towards them if i wasn't sure where i was
Event warmup:

jumped in the water that was unremarkable in terms of temperature and got my goggles fitted and took a few strokes.
Swim
  • 40m 30s
  • 1055 yards
  • 03m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

i did not get a split time for the swim because they had moved the mats that were close to the water (where the other faster swimmers were timed) up to the transition area by the time i finished the swim. still i hit that mat and it beeped, but did not give me a swim or t1 time. i can figure the combined time (44:29) by subtracting my other times from my final time. This is an unfair practice to make it so the last 26 swimmers do not get official times or t1 times. they were only tracked up to the 261st fastest swimmer. i was lucky that i had my stopwatch running and got out of the water with 40 minutes showing (the seconds are too small on the watch for me to see while running to the transition area. so my swim time would have been in the 40 minutes range. this was much faster than i expected. first, i chose not to do my full stroke where i swivel my head to my right and then back to my left to breath. this gives me a fuller swim stroke with my right hand, but made it more difficult to track where i was so i just looked down and then left to breath. second, in my training swims, i was swimming this distance in about 48 or 50 minutes, so i was very pleasantly surprised to get out of the water at 40 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

learn to swim my full stroke and still keep track of where i am in the lake

i swam for the first time with a tight orange polyester cycling jersey and used a bib belt so i wouldn't have to take the time to put on a tshirt with my bib on it on my wet back as in the past.
Transition 1
  • 03m 59s
Comments:

this is an estimated t1 time since it was not recorded for me. it was a decent run from the shore to the transition area. my belt went on quick, my bike sandals, my headband, my medicine bag, and helmet went on without incident.
What would you do differently?:

run faster
Bike
  • 1h 07m 23s
  • 18 miles
  • 16.03 mile/hr
Comments:

it was a good bike. i finished quicker than i expected. i was last out of the water i think and i passed about 8 or 9 females during the bike.
What would you do differently?:

keep training and learn to get out of my sandals as i finish
Transition 2
  • 02m 52s
Comments:

it was a decent t2 in terms of how i remeber it, but about a minute to a minute and a half slower that i would have liked. the only thing i took a little extra time was having a drink from my powerade bottle.
What would you do differently?:

a funny thing happened that i did not realise until after the race. i had put my socks in each shoe, and extra headband, and a gu gel in each shoe to transfer to my pockets for the run. i must have left the gel in my left shoes and ran with it. luckily, it did not break and probably provided me with some gel padding:)
Run
  • 1h 04m 18s
  • 5.5 miles
  • 11m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

i would guess i was running closer to 13:30 minute miles. i didn't feel that fast, but was steady. i was passed by a young female tri early in the run before we met up with the other runners.
What would you do differently?:

more training at the longer distance. i had never run that far before in my life except for tuesday and thursday of the week of the tri.
Post race
Event comments:

very disappointed not to get a swim and t1 time. the 25 slowest swimmer and a couple other did not get swim times. it sucks to pay $65 for this and not get my times. this is not the first time that allsportcentral has not got my complete times this year. also, not enough volunteers on the bike course and not well/clearly marked in some parts. there were times that the course was marked for runner to take a different direction than cylclist and other times it was marked for "runner" and cyclists were also expected to go that way. consequently, i don't right at top speed as i'm trying to figure out which way to go.

positives: lots of water/gatorade stations and lots of liquids and bananas at the end. announced our names as we finished. great crowd support throughout. i'll do it again next year!!




Last updated: 2011-07-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:30 | 1055 yards | 03m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 40/40
Overall: 287/306
Performance: Good
Suit: didn't need wetsuit
Course: out and back with tubes and white or yellow rope between them every 5o yards or so. swam out on the right of the tubes which was to my advantage since i breath to my left and could track where i was at. they started us in 4 waves: under 4o males with red caps, under 40 females with orange i think, 40 and over males with yellow, and 40 and over females with white. initially, i took several strokes and when i checked to see where i was at i was swimming 90 degrees to the right of the tubes. i corrected and stay right next to the tubes/divider all of the way out and back. no major waves for the most part and excellent lifeguards in the water with fins and snorkels
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:59
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:07:23 | 18 miles | 16.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 254/306
Performance: Good
when i used the BT map function, it showed the bike to be 17.33 which would have put me at 15.4 mph/ave
Wind: Little
Course: the first half of the course was on major highways...the 71 and 86. when we reached the top of the lake then we came down the east side in a neighborhood with lots of ups and downs. i knocked about 2 mph off my average from the first half. the course did not have many volunteers to direct and used paint on the road. during the second half of the course the paint said "run" since there was also a marathon, half marathon, and 10 k happening at the same time, but the road paintings were also for cyclists. they should have marked it better specifically for cyclists and had more volunteers with directions.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:52
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:04:18 | 05.5 miles | 11m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 273/306
Performance: Average
they said it was a 5.5 mile run, but when i mapped it out on BT it was closer to 4.5 - 4.75 miles, 14:16 - 13:32 minute miles
Course: slight ascent the first third to half in the sun, second third in the shade. lots of runners from the marathon, half marathon, 10k and tri all finishing together
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3