SIOUXperman Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

i was surprised to get my best swim time. i did not feel like i was swimming very well. i felt so much better last week at sdsu. but i'll take it. I cut two and a half minutes off of my last siouxperman swim!!. the two women who were on either side of me finished near me overall. i went into the water dry and unstretched. i ran water through my hair and ponyed it back in the bathroom and spit on my goggles and got them wet in the sink. they worked fine.

1. fuel up 20 minutes before swim
2. stretch
3. i would have liked to spend 5-10 minutes in the water getting warmed up, but this worked alright.

it was a slow t1. first, you have the run from the pool, outside along the building, then back into the building transition area. good thing they have an indoor transition area with the rain. second, i took off my wet fire shorts and put on my elmo pjs, took off my wet hyvee shirt which was difficult and took time and put on my stay native hoodie, socks, trailgloves (i had them loose fitting and pretied them), big mittens, and winter snowboard helmet. i wanted to go barefoot, but it was too cold. i can't believe the hardcore triathletes just went out in their trisuits. joel greve, part of our sioux city tri club and an excellent top 5, too 10 finisher had to abandon after the bike because he couldn't get his helmet off and was suffering from hyperthermia. they asked participants when they finished the bike or the run if they if they could say their names and handed out a number of silver reflecting blankets.

1. continue to wear contacts
2. participate on warmer days.
3. learn to mount bike on the run
4. put pads on toestraps

miserable weather to cycle in, but had a smile on my face and cheered the others on. i thought of my winter rides last year that prepared me for this. i passed a handful and had twice that many pass me. my elmo pjs got caught in the front sproket during the last mile as i dealt with strong crosswind. it started winding up so i had to stop and unwind. probably cost me a minute or two. i rode with my right foot/shoe not tightly secured by the toestrap. during the last couple of miles, the toestrap unlatched so i had to focus to keep my shoes on the pedal. my ride to the turn around was 45:11 (ave mph 10.29), my return was 29.44 (ave mph 15.64). my bike was 7 minutes slower than my last siouxperman. rodes were wet. the last half, my butt was sore, need to use chamois buttr. the sore butt slowed me down because i could not keep a constant pace since i had to stand up and take the pressure off frequently. it wore it raw in a few places. since i work a cotton hoodie and cotton pjs, they absorbed the water and got weighted down. i was glad to have my winter/snowboard helmet on. it protected my ears, kept the rain out, and kept my head warm.

1. use chamois butt'r instead of face cream, it's cheap and works well for bike only events, but since it's waterbase, it comes off in the water.
2. size up toes straps for shoes or barefeet
3. install pads on straps

not bad, i placed 31st. i took my mittens off and put on my bandana/headband and hat. i put my gloves on once i left transition. i already had my shoes on. my third fastest ever.

oh, the run was tough!! my feet were numb and i could barely feel them when i started. my hips and lowerback were stiff. i felt like i was crawling. my first mile wasn't bad for a 5k at the end of a tri, but notice that each mile gets slower and slower. at one point, one of the participants was a head of me and walking and still moving faster than me running. i was sooooo slow the last mile, one woman ahead of me walked about half of the time and ran about half of the time and i still could not catch up with her. all the same, it was my third fastest tri run

i would like to be able to run at a pace closer to what i am training at. i ran a 33:25 (10:47/mile) two week ago then do a 37:14@SDSU last week and 38:42 this week (12:26/mile)

it was plenty cold enough, no need to cool down. i had a nice massage with one of lana's old pt students. i was chilled. i had two cups of hot chocolate. they provided a nice meal of hamburgers and brats with pop and gatorade, granola bars, fruit and fruit salad, cole slaw, and potato salad. i couldn't leave without a 15 minute dip into the hot tub.


the cold, extra clothes in t1 and taking mittens off in t2shoes, saddles sores, not having my toestraps properly tightened to the trailgloves, getting my pjs caught in the sproket.

my elmo pjs were a hit, but got caught in my sprocket


well run tri, lots of volunteers focused on taking care of the triathletes. nice facility, great food!!