Topeka Tinman Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Best swim EVAR!
I started in the last heat (teams and late entrants). I had a strong urge to not be the last out of the water and I think that paid off.
I started in the middle in the 2nd (of 2) rows and took off at a pretty quick (but sustainable) pace.
I found people to draft, but I didn't stay with them for more than a few minutes each b/c I thought they weren't navigating well.

I felt fast on the swim, but this was a faster swim than I've done in the pool, which makes me doubt the measurement. Maybe it was adrenaline and drafting??? Either way it was easily my best event.

I was just flat-out slow getting out of T1. I was thrilled by my swim time and I saw Chuck getting his stuff set up and had to tell him (I'm much more of a talker than a racer).
Had trouble getting on my bike jersey (it bunched up high on my back) - felt pretty dumb.

Don't race in a bike jersey - I've got the new tank top, but I hadn't trained in it so I didn't want to try something new.

Another good event for me!
I felt good on the ride - this was faster than my ride time at the PG Tri which is practically a flat course.
I drank at about 10 - 15 min intervals and had half a Hammer Gel at about the 30 minute mark.
Good shifting on the hills helped me keep speed from the downhills.
Good HR management.

Keep working the hills around here and put in a more tempo/interval rides to pick up my speed/cadence on the flats and downhills.

Someone stole my spot and I had to find a different place to rack my bike!!! NOT HAPPY.
(sorry to whoever's spot I took)
Bungie lace things worked well in my shoes - I didn't cinch them up at all.

I ran this according to a plan: get a small drink at each water stop and walk while drinking. This amounted to about 30 seconds of walking at each mile. Apparently that's not really conducive to going fast.
I was also able to finish the run without being forced to walk at any point (that was a minor goal).

I've got to get faster at long distances. More tempo and interval runs.
Brick workouts need to get back on the schedule.

Light stretching.


The bike was preetty good for what I'm used to riding around here, but my run was slower than usual. I should probably just run and stop keeping people with me, but that's part of what I enjoy about the event - talking with the other triathletes.
In any event, I need to get in more run training!!


This was a fun event and I'd do it again. The competitors were friendly and fun to 'race' with.
My beefs about this race:
There was some confusion about closing the transition area to everyone (this didn't effect the long course folks), but it was pretty well put together.
If they posted the results at the race site, I never found them.
Post-race feed was Domino's Pizza (if there was more, it wasn't there when I finished).

For my racing, I'm really happy with the swim and my bike work (against my previous bike results). My run was poor, but it was consistent with my training and how I've performed lately.