Omaha Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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Omaha, Nebraska
United States
Mimran Event Management
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 56m 54s
Overall Rank = 82/185
Age Group = 3439
Age Group Rank = 20/32
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4 and ate 1/2 of a potato. The family slept through this one as there was a chance of thunderstorms. I left the hotel at 4:30 and as I left the sky was flashing with lightning. I arrived at 5 and did the chip, body marking, etc.

Next, I set up my transition next to my pre-racked bike. I had plenty of room for my stuff. Since it looked like rain was coming, I stuffed an extra pair of socks in a plastic bag under my bucket. I didn't care about anything else getting wet, but thought dry socks may be easier to pull on.
Event warmup:

To warm up, I jogged to the porta potties and took care of my business. Other than that, i did some usual stretching and then just tried to relax and calm myself.
Swim
  • 32m 51s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m / 100 yards
Comments:

I felt much better about this swim than normal. So, I'm a bit disappointed that my time does not reflect that. I was pretty relaxed overall even though it seemed I had more contact throughout than is normal. I did not left the contact bother me and after about 300 yards I was able to relax and get my breathing under control.

I felt good for most of the swim however as we got to the back 1/3 I felt that it was taking too long. I wasn't really fatigued, as much as it seemed I had been swimming longer than I expected. I was hoping to finish in about 28 minutes, so my intuition was correct. I was in the water than than I had hoped.
What would you do differently?:

Improve my swim training. I don't think I am swimming hard enough in training so I'm not making significant improvements. I have heard several people report that the swim was long. That makes me fell about 1% better.
Transition 1
  • 02m 42s
Comments:

In looking at my transition time, I was much slower than many. I don't practice transitions...at all. Maybe I should and look at shaving 1-2 minutes off.
What would you do differently?:

Possibly practice?
Bike
  • 1h 21m 5s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.33 mile/hr
Comments:

Last year this bike course killed me. It is where I learned I was not in triathlon shape. I was determined not to let that happen again.

Last year, during the bike I developed a pain in my adducter region and it got so bad that I had trouble pedalling. I was miserable. I haven't really felt that same pain again.

This year, I was determined not to burn myself on the first long climb. I stayed seated and spun through it, surpisingly passing up many people along the way. I really noticed that many people were grinding out with a really low cadence and seemed to be doing nothing but toasting themselves.

As I neared the turn around point, my right adducter starting to really hurt. Oh no. I hadn't felt this since last year on this same course. This time, however, we and the pain had a little talk. I successfully talked myself intoo beleiving the pain was just in my head and that I would revisit it after the run. And I did. I didn't feel it again.

The rest of the bike went pretty well. I spent more time in the smaller ring than I had planned to. I hammered the descents as hard as I could. I had several battles with other competitors.
What would you do differently?:

While there is still much room for improvement, I was pretty satisfied with how the bike went. This course is tough for me because I think the climbs take a larger toll on bigger guys like me.
Transition 2
  • 01m 47s
Comments:

T2 went Ok. I took a Lava Salt at this point. Put on the running shoes and belt and was on my way.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, unless I actually want to practice.
Run
  • 58m 28s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went relatively well. A person that I was battling on the bike got out of T2 faster than me. She was ahead of me for the first mile and I eventually caught her and passed her. About mile 3, I was running up one of the big hills and was nearly knocked over by a huge cramp in my left hamstring...just like Topeka. I couldn't move it for a few seconds and had to walk. After a minute or so of walking and massaging it, I worked it out and it didn't bother me.

At this point, the lady that I had passed caught me. She stuck with me for almost the rest of the run. With about 1 mile to go, I increased my pace to try to lose her and another guy. As I was crossing the dam, my hamstring started to tighten again...I fought it for a bit, but could feel the cramp coming on and had to back off. Both of them passed me and for a moment I sulked. As we approached the final downhill slope, I kicked it and I was able to finish ahead of both of these competitors.
What would you do differently?:

No much. More run training and conditioning is what I need.
Post race
Warm down:

After the race, I chatted with Jesse and the packed my stuff up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

More training.

Event comments:

I was eager for my rematch at this race. After finishing it, I am a bit mixed on my review. Last year, I thought the organizers were on the ball. This year, there seemed to be more confusion. Several little things bothered me:
- the price of this event was about $35 higher than similar events, just there were some missteps along the way.
- they ran out of size L shirts. Seriously...how does this happen? Unacceptable as far as I am concerned. The shirts are nice, but I can't wear it so it's a waste. Small thing, but annoying.
- At the finish line, there was water, but all the Gatorade was gone. Fortunately, I found a volunteer who scavenged one for me. Again, how does this happen? I finished middle of the pack...they should not have run out yet.
- I appreciate the main sponser providing snacks after the race...but for some reason tortilla chips and a tiny cup of pica wasn't very appealing.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my race. I feel like I vindicated myself a bit over last year's race. While my time was not what I had hoped for, I admittedly had a very hard time setting a goal time. Since each course is so different, with its own challenges, I think I'm learning to be able to evaluate each race on its own. For this event, when I toss the time aside and just evaluate my effort, I'm pleased. I probably raced to my fitness level. I know how I felt during the event last year compared to this year, and this year was much better.




Last updated: 2013-04-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:51 | 1640 yards | 02m / 100yards
Age Group: 20/32
Overall: 65/185
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: The course was an irregular rectangle with the bouys on the left. The Olympic distance waves went first, followed by the Sprint waves. This made for a good time about 400M from the finish where everyone collided again.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:42
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:21:05 | 24.85 miles | 18.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/32
Overall: 92/185
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: This is a course with lots of rolling hills. In fact, that's really all there is: rolling hills. It seems there are no real flat spots and everything is either climbing or descending.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:47
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:58:28 | 06.21 miles | 09m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/32
Overall: 98/185
Performance: Average
Course: The course is an out and back. A few challenges on the course: - a short but steep hill about1/8th mile in on a dirt path - the first mile is dirt and gravel - the course a relatively hilly. not as rough as the bike course, but not flat either. - last year, there was a sprinker set up near the turnaround point. I was looking forward to cooling off in those...no such luck this year.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
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