Wauconda Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Wauconda, Illinois
United States
Wauconda Park District
80F / 27C
Total Time = 2h 43m 20s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 5/10
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4am. Breakfast (banana, protein bar & toast w/PB), stretch & make sure I have everything. Leave for race a little before 5 - only 15 minutes away. Love the convenience of this race. Set up transition, walked to the swim start instead of cramming onto the bus. Got ready to go off in wave 3 - loved being so early to get in the water.
Swim
  • 38m 30s
  • 1760 yards
  • 02m 11s / 100 yards
Comments:

Felt pretty comfortable the whole way. Maybe too comfortable, as my time reflects a fairly slow swim. I think for some reason I lack the confidence to really swim very fast in these OW races...I hold this weird fear of gassing out and having to DNF on the swim if I go too hard then all of a sudden run into some adversity. So I just try to stay in my rhythm as much as possible.

Sighting was a challenge. Going out the sun was directly over the buoy we were aiming for, so I was pretty much using other swim caps to sight from...make sure someone's to the left and right of me and I can't be too far off course. Then coming in was even worse...sun wasn't an issue, but the spot we were aiming for on shore was almost impossible to see from any distance. I know I got pretty far out to the right at one point.

And the course was long. Not sure how long, but there's no way an olympic - or even a mile - swim should take me 38 minutes. Whatever, I guess we all did the same course.
Transition 1
  • 00m 58s
Comments:

Did great. Found spot right away, threw on shirt, sunglasses & helmet, grabbed bike and off I went.

Only thing that slowed me up was putting on the shirt...just don't feel comfortable swimming in my tri top, so I had to leave it in transition and put it on...went on ok, but it's still a few seconds. Also, a bit of a logjam in the bike mount "hallway" they funnel you into. Lots of people standing around trying to mount their bikes as I ran through looking for a safe spot to jump on mine. Probably a couple seconds burned, nothing more than that. Got shoes on while riding no problem.
Bike
  • 1h 09m 50s
  • 24 miles
  • 20.62 mile/hr
Comments:

Felt pretty strong. Was not really sure how hard I could push and still survive the run as I haven't done an oly in a couple years. Went with a happy middle ground that seemed to treat me ok.

First lap featured a lot of traffic as the sprint competitors were mostly all still out there. Quite a few triple passes and lots of people riding in the middle of the road. Road was better in the middle of the lane in a lot of spots, so everybody was floating out towards the smoother road. Dangerous though, leaving little room to pass. One guy was firmly on the yellow line in the middle of the road. I refused to pass him on the right and risk a penalty, so I had to go all the way to the other side of the road to pass him....which was probably illegal as well, but what could I do?

Then there was the guy that decided he wanted to draft off me. You know, if he had come up and just said, I'm gonna draft you for a while, I don't care if I take a penalty, then did it properly I wouldn't mind - that's his business. But this guy was just screwing with me for a good 5-8 miles...he'd hang on my wheel, then drift off to the left just riding behind me to the left. Then he'd pass me, but gas himself out doing so so he'd slow down, I'd pass him back, then he'd get on my wheel again. No officials in sight. Finally I just turned around and said you can't do this, either pass me or back off, you're f-ing with my race. His reply was priceless..."Hey man, I'm 52, cut me some slack!!" That cracked me up. I just said that's great man, but go be 52 somewhere else, stop buzzing around me. Finally he must have backed off, because he never passed me again and I didn't see him anymore.

20.5 is a good speed average for me though, if this BT calculator did that right. I'm happy.
Transition 2
  • 01m 3s
Comments:

Smooth as silk. Transitions were my best event at this race! Dismounted well, jogged all the way to my rack, set the bike down, put on watch, shoes, number belt & hat and was off to the races. No problems really.
Run
  • 53m 1s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

Stopped at the toilet right by transition...was getting waves of needing to crap during the bike ride so I figured I should. Sat down and saw no TP, and did not have the urge at that moment anyway, so stood up and decided to roll the dice that the feeling would not come back up on the run. Luckily it did not, but that pit stop was added onto my run time, and cost me probably :30 I'd guess.

Started out feeling great - best I've ever felt coming off the bike, even including sprints I think. As usual started running a little too fast for the first 1/4 mile, but dialed it back to right about 8 per mile, which was the plan. Stayed right there for the first 2.5 miles or so, until we got to the crazy hills. I had just taken a drink of water from the aid station when I turned the corner and had to attack a huge hill...that put my stomach into a world of hurt. Side stitched slowed me down big time throughout the next mile or so right in about the middle of the run going up and down those hills.

Finally emerged from the hilly section, got my stomach calmed down and got right back to my 8 per mile pace...took it down to probably 7:30 for the last mile - legs were still feeling good, it was nice to finish strong. Sprinted down the chute, but knew it wasn't a great run overall because of the pit stop at the beginning and the mile+ of slow going in the middle.

8:30 pace is not bad for me though. Can't complain, other than I know if it weren't for those hills this would have been at 8:00 or below.
Post race
Event comments:

Overall I'd give this race a thumbs up, although it's pretty bare bones. No music, etc. Almost nothing at post-race, just water, cold towel & gatorade. They screwed up the swim course, so that's not ideal. But like I said, it's not bad, there are plenty of volunteers and it's mostly very well organized.




Last updated: 2012-07-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:30 | 1760 yards | 02m 11s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: None
Course: Almost all the way across the lake in a diagonal line, then a hard left turn and take it the last 1/3rd or so in to the swim exit.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:58
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:09:50 | 24 miles | 20.62 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: 2-laps. Quite a bit of small ups and downs, so I guess you could say it's hilly, but there are no real sustained climbs where you lose all momentum and have to really power up it. Road was good in spots, below average in other spots, but overall not bad. Quite a few turn too...course doesn't give you much chance to just bear down and ride hard. Between the turns and the hills you're constantly changing gears, on the brakes, etc.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:03
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:53:01 | 06.21 miles | 08m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Basically an out and back. Some low rolling hills at the beginning and end, and some crazy steep hills on the middle 1/3rd.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
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? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3