Twin Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Palatine, Illinois
United States
Salt Creek Rural Park District
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 53m 1s
Overall Rank = 312/451
Age Group = F 24-29
Age Group Rank = 16/23
Pre-race routine:

Alarm went off around 4am. After getting the Zipcar, putting the bike rack on and loading the car we were driving a bit after 5am. Ate a banana and a Luna bar. Drank Gatorade.
Event warmup:

This is my third year in a row racing at Twin Lakes.

Found a spot to rack my bike but man some people take up a TON of space. Like a whole bath towel sized space. Just doesn't seem necessary. I was across from a bucket. If you are reading this and had a bucket - I thought that was amazing and only a thing of BT lore. ;) There was a short line at the bathroom so I took care of that. Went back to grab my wetsuit and put that on halfway before walking to the water. Michael started in the wave ahead of me so we said goodbye and he was off.
Swim
  • 13m 47s
  • 765 yards
  • 01m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

After every triathlon I tell myself to seed further up in the swim wave next time. I wasn't in the front, but I finally didn't start at the back! I felt strong the entire swim. The first half was pretty uneventful. After rounding the little island the sun was right in my eyes. I can see why people use tinted goggles! I did ok and never went off course, but I couldn't see much head on. There was a bit of contact during the swim, but nothing bad. I pushed for position when I could but never found a pair of feet to draft.

Since it felt great I thought I would have taken some time off my swim from last year but I was 8 seconds slower. Not a huge deal and I did feel great last year too. But I was a bit disappointed when I saw the results.
What would you do differently?:

I had to take 5 weeks off swimming when I fractured my elbows, but I don't know how much it'd have made a difference if that wasn't the case. Generally I swim twice a week.
Transition 1
  • 03m 1s
Comments:

Not good but 24 seconds faster than last year haha. I felt slow. It was muddy and I made sure to use my water bottle to get the mud off my feet.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transition? Race more maybe!
Bike
  • 52m 41s
  • 14.5 miles
  • 16.51 mile/hr
Comments:

Oh the bike. Not much to say! I don't cycle much. Just not my thing. I cycled a bit leading up the this race. My first race going clipless. I was only 42 seconds faster than last year but this year's course was a bit different. Not sure if it was harder, easier or about the same. I tried to be careful on the tight turns and just did my best on the hills. I think I should have had more water on the bike. I usually take a gel but I didn't today.
What would you do differently?:

Cycle more if I care to get faster/feel more comfortable.
Transition 2
  • 01m 18s
Comments:

This was 27 seconds slower than last year. But I had to go from bike shoes to running shoes today. I felt pretty good. I always just grab my visor and race belt and put them on while running.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 42m 16s
  • 4.5 miles
  • 09m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

This was 43 seconds faster than last year. Like during the 2010 race, my socks were pretty wet. I tried to dry my feet and lower legs off before the bike, but I guess I didn't do a great job. It didn't hinder my run, luckily. Set off on the run and probably should have grabbed some water from the volunteers at the run out area of transition. Should have taken my gel then. Felt a bit parched and my legs were pretty dead at the beginning of the run. I was thrilled that there was cloud cover. I never got overheated, though my breathing was pretty labored for most of the race. Realized once I had been running a minute or two that I never hit the lap button on my watch. When I came to the first water station I took water and most of my gel. Started to perk up after that, but my legs were still pretty heavy. After a bit I realized that I never saw the first mile marker as my watch was at 12 minutes. Figured it must have been the water stop. Came to another water stop and there was a Mile 2 paper taped to the table. I may or may not have managed to hit the lap button haha. A bit after that I knew I'd probably see my in laws so I kept an eye out for them. Spotted my father in law's tie dyed shirt and that was a nice boost. While my legs didn't exactly feel GOOD, they started to loosen up or something. Started pushing the pace a bit. I remembered that there probably wasn't a mile 3 marker, like last year. I would have loved to have at least ONE mile where I knew my pace! Especially since I felt so slow in the first mile or two. I knew I'd probably see a mile 3.5 (yes really) marker at the next table, just like last year. Saw it and hit the lap button. Started picking up the pace and actually picked off a few runners - men and women. That's not something I can say often so it was a nice little mental boost. I'm pretty familiar with this course now so I knew when to turn it up. Came to the finish line, saw Michael, and then powered to the end.
What would you do differently?:

Take a gel/nutrition earlier and drink more on the bike so I'd feel better at the start of the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed an orange slice, half a bagel, banana and some Gatorade. Found Michael and then we got our stuff together and headed over to his parents' place for our yearly tradition of Spunky Dunkers donuts. After swimming in Donut Lake, eating one is quite appropriate.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of bike training.

Event comments:

As always, this is a great race. I love coming to Michael's hometown each year for Twin Lakes. This year there was apparently a photographer, so I look forward to see if we're in any photos. The volunteers were great and it was a great day to race!




Last updated: 2012-03-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:47 | 765 yards | 01m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 0/451
Performance: Good
Suit: X-Terra Vortex full suit
Course: Donut Lake!!! Swim out around an island and back on the other side.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:01
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:52:41 | 14.5 miles | 16.51 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 0/451
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Neighborhoods, some hills (to me anyway) and lots of turns.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:18
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:42:16 | 04.5 miles | 09m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 0/451
Performance: Good
Course: Loop through neighborhoods on the street and on a bike path.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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