Oshkosh Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Winneconne, Wisconsin
United States
Midwest Sports Events
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 29m 4s
Overall Rank = 203/532
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 10/24
Pre-race routine:

Well, since this was my first triathlon, I guess that I really don't have a routine yet. My girlfriend and I stayed at the host hotel as we made the trek to Oshkosh from Chicago. I may have gotten 4 hours of sleep before getting in the morning, as the bed was very hard and I could not get comfortable. I wish that I could blame it on nerves, but unfortunately that was not the case.

Got up, got dressed, had two Clif bars, water, packed up the car and away we went.
Event warmup:

Since this was not a huge event, transition setup was quick and easy as there was a ton of room along the racks. Luckily, my buddy who has competed in quite a few tri's and HIM's gave me a transition lesson before the event, which worked out well for me.

I stretched a little and took in the experience of the event prior to my first start.
Swim
  • 09m 45s
  • 481 yards
  • 10s / 100 yards
Comments:

The start area was narrow with starting waves of 50 each. This was quite a learning experience for me since I have never been swam over in the water, nor have I had to swim over someone else. Both happened. I was finally able to calm down and pace myself after the first 150m. The first half of the swim was not good, as I had no rhythm, felt lost and rushed (was sighting fine). The swim back to shore was much better and I was able to pick up my pace a little, especially since the wave had a chance to spread out by that point. Had to walk the last 30m because I had caught several people from the wave before me, and got boxed in.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, there was so much to take in with that swim experience, I guess more practice to stay calm.
Transition 1
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

T1 felt good. I did not sprint to transition from swim exit, and I did take the time to wipe off my feet before putting socks on. I did have a problem with tightening the BOA system on my cycling shoes... wet hands were the culprit. I got them as tight as I could to exit T1, and had to tighten more on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Practice tightening the shoes with wet hands.
Bike
  • 45m 35s
  • 15.1 miles
  • 19.88 mile/hr
Comments:

I went into the race wanting to attack the bike course as hard as possible, but once on the bike I convinced myself to stay conservative on the flats and climbs and take advantage of the downhills (I'm still a big guy). I stayed with that plan through the ride to save some energy for the run.

Only got passed by a handful of guys on tri bikes, so I was happy with the conservative pace that I held.
What would you do differently?:

Ride hard.
Transition 2
  • 01m 36s
Comments:

Said a prayer, and took off for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I was comfortable with how T2 went.
Run
  • 30m 7s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

Ok, so let me first say that I had never ever ran a 5k before this event. The longest distance that I had ran before was 2 miles, and I pulled a butt muscle and stopped the run. So needless to say, this was going to be an adventure no matter what happened.

As for the run... well, it was as I expected. It sucked. Where do I begin? After the transition from the bike to the run, I had to figure out where my legs were, and my HR was near capacity, so a walk was in my future. When I started my first of many walks, I realized how badly I had to pee, which I dont know where that came from because I was sweating pretty good, and did not have a ton of fluids (just 20 oz. on the bike), but anyways, I was in a predicament, do I stop at a porta john, do I pee in the suit or try to hold it. I really had no choice in my decision, as there was no porta john around, and I did not want to pee on the new shoes, so I held it... not comfortable. I had also developed a side cramp after starting the run, which I was trying desperately to get rid of. The first 1.5 miles were bad, as there was a lot of walking and some spurts of running, mainly because I felt like a bum walking and getting passed so much. At the half way point, the cramp went away, I got to dump a cup of water on my head, and I felt better, except that the bladder was going to burst, but I trekked on run and had a much better pace on the way back.

In all honesty, the run portion did not seem to be 3 miles, which was probably due to my mind being pre-occupied to worry about how far I had gone.
What would you do differently?:

Pee in the suit!!! Oh and I guess practice more of the 5k distance.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some water and hit the porta john.

I can't complain too much... this was my first triathlon and first 5k, all due in part to losing 80 lbs since January, and feeling comfortable enough to compete in something so physically demanding, and I loved every second of it.

Event comments:

I can't wait until the Chicago Triathlon in 3 weeks!




Last updated: 2011-08-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:45 | 481 yards | 10s / 100yards
Age Group: 13/24
Overall: 0/532
Performance: Below average
Suit: None
Course: Out and back course with large yellow buoys, clockwise
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:58
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:45:35 | 15.1 miles | 19.88 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/24
Overall: 0/532
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Winding course through the Oshkosh countryside. A couple small climbs along the way.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:36
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:30:07 | 03.11 miles | 09m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/24
Overall: 0/532
Performance: Below average
Course: Through the neighborhoods near the lake. Smooth roads and decent shade.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4