Holiday Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Brooklyn, Iowa
United States
86F / 30C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 20m 40s
Overall Rank = 23/134
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/9
Pre-race routine:

Woke up to alarm at the hotel in Iowa City. Got dressed and chewed a cliff-bar and ate a banana down with some coffee. Got family bundled up in the car and headed out to Brooklyn, IA for the race
Event warmup:

Did some stretching and swam a couple hundred yards in the water. The water temp was great. Probably around 72ish or so. Nice clear water.
Swim
  • 07m 7s
  • 547 yards
  • 01m 18s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first OWS tri. Also my second tri as well. I wasn't to terribly nervous but, yeah there was some anxiety in the back of my head to try and perform well. I stayed with the leaders for probably the first 100 yards and then got passed by a few people. I was only hit a couple times and also got cut off twice but otherwise I think I did alright for my first ows race. I need to work more on the swim and kick more as well. Swimming in my strength in tri's but, I know I can get this time down more.
What would you do differently?:

Not a whole lot. Maybe just relax earlier in the swim and keep good form. KICK!
Transition 1
  • 00m 46s
Comments:

Got second overall in the T1 time. I didn't get to good of a jump on my bike and then I had issues getting into the shoes while on the bike. Should have just tried to get them on while going down the big hill and I didn't for some reason.
What would you do differently?:

Get feet into shoes quicker. Try and run a little faster as well and jump on bike better.
Bike
  • 47m 27s
  • 15.53 miles
  • 19.64 mile/hr
Comments:

This is my worst discipline by far. The hills are what killed me here. I just need to ride more and more and more and more. It would help if I had a tri-bike and not a road with aero clips ons as well. I was passed quite a bit by all the people I killed in the swim. The headwind was strong and the road surface had all these lines cut into it every inch. I dislike roads like this. It was the hilliest road I've ever been on so far with my bike and just didn't have the training to do that great. Overall I did good for the situation though and got experience out of the ordeal. Cheered my sister on twice as we passed each other going oposite ways. She did really well for her first tri!
What would you do differently?:

Get more saddle time and ride more hills/do hill training. Also my seat wasn't as high as I had it due to lowering it to fit in the vehicle otw up to the race. Thought I had it where it was at and turns out I was wrong. Didn't get the full power of my legs due to that.

Get a tri-bike.(wife said I can get one now!!!)
Transition 2
  • 00m 56s
Comments:

Meh. You have to come up one huge flipping hill right before you get back to transition. Thank god I got my feet out before that hill. You get to the top and don't have much speed or at least I didn't and the whole jumping off while moving just didn't work that great as I could have gone. Got the bike racked and threw on socks and running shoes grabbed race belt and took off. Think this T2 was better than the first tri I did. Decided to run with socks because my first tri I got two blisters on my left feet and decided I would always try to run with socks.
What would you do differently?:

Get more speed coming to T2 and also learn to run with the bike a tad more.
Run
  • 24m 26s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

This run course by far is the hilliest I have ever been on. Right out of transition you hit a huge steep hill and from there it's up and down, up and down. There were very and I mean very few flat areas. I don't train on hills like this back home and it showed. I never stopped to walk and boy oh boy did I want to. Some of the hills felt like you could walk up faster. I saw a lot of people stopping to walk just because it was so tough!
What would you do differently?:

Train more on hills. I knew coming into this event that it would be hilly but, nothing like it was. Read a few race reports from previous years and I just thought they were making it sound worse than it was. Trust me this is insane hills. I normally run close to 7:20 miles and I was lucky to stay under 8's on this. God only knows how.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and drank some water. Hugged my wife and kid. Talked to my sister's boyfriend Jason who was cheering her and I on. Got some munchies and waited for sister to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My bike seat not being high enough which was my own fault. Should have rode around on the bike for a few minutes and I would have known. Train more on hills for biking and running.

Event comments:

This is a tough course. The bike and run are very hilly. The bike wasn't a huge deal but, the run will destroy the average runner. The volunteers were awesome. Lots of people cheering you on and plenty of drink stations on the run with sponges for keeping you cool. I would do the race again. They had drawings for gear and gift certificates which was nice. The only thing I wish they would do is give finisher medals to everyone. I was lucky and got third in my AG and got a bronze medal but, I felt bad for everyone else not getting any hardware :(




Last updated: 2012-03-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:07 | 547 yards | 01m 18s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/9
Overall: 7/134
Performance: Good
Suit: 2XU tri-suit
Course: Out to a bouy and back on the other side.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:46
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:47:27 | 15.53 miles | 19.64 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/9
Overall: 33/134
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong
Course: Went out of the lake area and turned south into a very strong headwind. Went down 5-6 miles and then turned around and went back north and past the lake area and had a turnaround and came back to T2 area. HILLS!
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Bad
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:56
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:26 | 03.11 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/9
Overall: 24/134
Performance: Below average
Course: HILLS are an understatement. You run on the road around parts of the lake and turnaround and run back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5