Kansas City Corporate Challenge Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I jokingly dismiss this race as "just corporate challenge" but there was more contact in this swim than I've experienced in Ironman races. I think the reason was that they had the kayakers/lifeguards in really close to the buoys (like less than 25 yards), so everyone was forced into a bottleneck. It helped sighting, but it made it difficult to get around certain people. There was one girl who kept switching to breaststroke. I could not get around her - first got a kick to the goggles and had to stop/readjust, and then a little later she kicked me in the gut. Then one of the lifeguards wasn't paying attention (chatting with another LG) and let her surfboard swing into our paths. As I passed it, I grabbed the end and then shoved it away. Only then did I remember that we had our race numbers clearly printed on stickers on our caps. Oh, well, I doubt she even would have realized that was intentional. The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful. It was very hard to sight after the turnaround due to the sun, so I just followed the people immediately in front of me and that worked out fine. I exited the water around 11 min, and was disappointed at first because I'd felt pretty strong... however, I was thinking at the time that the course was 500 yds for some reason, but now I know it is longer, so it was actually a good pace for me.

Kick back. LOL

Should've been faster here, but I'd forgotten to top off my aero drink after I'd gotten to the park, so had to take a few seconds to do that. I probably spent too much time toweling off my feet, but they were really gritty & grimy and I didn't want rocks in my socks the rest of the race.

The flying mount - will I ever learn how to jump on the bike?

I don't have too much to say about this other than that I'm really happy with my performance. I've been averaging in the 16s on most rides, so I'm thrilled I was able to pull out 19.2 on such a hilly course. I would estimate my effort level at 90%. I got close to the puking zone on a couple occasions. (ok, I actually did have a little come up with one burp) TMI?

But overall, I felt really good on the bike. I love the bike! I only got passed by one woman the whole time - but did a lot of passing myself. That always feels good. And I think people did a lot better with staying to the right this year also. I was never worried about people swerving around, either, so that's an improvement. I had the sixth fastest female bike split today. :)

Have about 15 lbs less to carry up the hills.

Good T1 - 5th fastest time for women. Of course, an excellent rack spot never hurts!

nothing

KCCC is fun for me in that the swim is a good distance, the bike is challenging but short, and the run is SUPER SHORT. Don't get me wrong, I like running, but I am just not naturally gifted at it, so it's a great place for me to lose time. It always amazes me that there are women who can run 7 (or less!) minute miles. So 2.4 miles is good because I can actually hold a decent pace for that long. The plan was to run a solid effort for the first mile, then reassess my pace. At that point, I was still feeling pretty good, so picked it up a little. I started getting a little side stitch and heavy legs around the 2 mile point, when you have to go back uphill, so I know I slowed there, but I kept telling myself to just hang on - it was almost over. I did get passed towards the end by one women - but she was the only one and I think she was on a team anyway. Of course, the real fasties were already all ahead of me since the swim, so I never saw them. But still, it's an ego boost to only get passed once on the course.

I walked a little on the trail just past the finish line to cool down, and found some friends to talk to.. had a chocolate milk and a half banana. Then reapplied sunscreen and hopped back on the bike for the ride home. It was a tougher ride back since the wind had picked up (headwind, of course) and my legs were cooked, but it was nice to spin them out for a while.


For as short a race as this was, it was pretty tough. I gave it my best and am happy with the results. I finished 8th (my lucky number) out of 141 women overall, and I'm not sure if they are doing 5-year or 10-year age groups for this race, but I'll be either 3rd or 4th in my age group, whichever it is. Although I didn't do any better this year in age group placing (got 3rd place last year), I improved my time 2 minutes over last year, and that was my main goal, so I'm very happy with how this race went.