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 Swim
Comments: I was nervous for the swim, w/o the wetsuit, but I had a plan and was going to stick to it. Although, I am not the best swimmer, I can hold my own for about 100m. The plan was to go all out for the first 1/3 of the swim to avoid the other swimmers in my wave. Then I would settle into my pace for the next 1/3 and then go all out again for the last 1/3..rest on the bike. We started on the beach, which was new, but very cool. I tried to run for as long as possible, and I held the lead for about 150m before being passed by three of the dolphins in my wave. I tried to draft off them, but they were moving pretty good and it didn't last long. The swim was across the lake and they had a bunch of buoys, which made it easy to site, except they were on the left side and I breath on the right. I sited well, though and only had to pause once as my goggles were all fogged up. The swim was a big improvement over my first race (chopped off 4 minutes). Not that I am much faster, but learning to site, etc. paid big dividends. What would you do differently?: Use anti-fog before race  Transition 1
Comments: Pretty good transition. I don't have clipless pedals, yet, so my big debate was whether or not to wear socks. I chose to, and was glad I did. Since, we didn't have wetsuits, the T1 time went well. I cruised past a few people and hopped on my bike moving at a good pace. What would you do differently?: Nothing really, except I will have to practice T1 w/ my new pedals which go on the bike today.  Bike
Comments: The strategy here was to HAMMER the bike. I had talked this over emails with Hangloose (we were like two kids in a candy store talking about this race, which helped get me motivated). I raced on the bike, like there was not going to be a run. I mean its 5k, right? (more on that concept during the run). Well this was a PR for me, and much faster than I do in training. Although, the speed shows 21.2mph, my bike computer had 20.8mph and only 14.8 miles. Very happy with the results considering the hills and the little wind we had on the other side of the lake. What would you do differently?: For a sprint, I like this strategy, however, I will save more energy for the run in my upcoming Olympic. Transition 2
Comments: This was quick. No clipless shoes, so grab belt and hat and go. I actually tied for first in the T2 category!! What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: The run was when I first noticed the heat. It started with the first mile being uphill. I knew I went harder on the bike, which was going to make the run harder. For the 1st mile I was thinking why the hell did I go so hard on that bike?? But after that, I started to settle into/around 8 minute pace for the next mile. The last 1.1 mile, I really started to kick it in and was under a 7.5min/mile pace. I am very pleased with this run. In my first tri, I was at an 8:37 pace, and this one was under 8:00. What would you do differently?: Some more bricks. More run training. This is kind of funny. After watching the Triathlon on TV, I thought it would be cool to dump water over my head to keep cool. Well I ended up missing most of my head and it went all over my shoe. Very wet shoe/sock for the rest of the run. I will be more careful next time. Post race
Warm down: Talking with my supporters. Eating some oranges/bananas, etc. What limited your ability to perform faster: Maybe the heat? and possibly expending too much energy on the bike. More bricks are also in order. Will have to do some more running, as well. Event comments: This was the 1st annual, and I will definitely go back. They were extremely organized and had an announcer (emcee) as well. They had motorcycle assitance, if you had a flat. The folks at the Wauconda Park District have to be very happy with this event. It went off w/o any hitches. I would also like to thank all of the BT'ers who have helped me learn about this sport. I am hooked! And the information from the people on this site is priceless. I am hoping that I can give back as much as I have learned to this community. Last updated: 2006-06-23 12:00 AM
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United States
Wauconda Park District
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 16/200
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 3/20
This was only my second race, however, I was as prepared as I could be. I keep my boat on this lake and its only 20 minutes from my house. So in the couple of weeks prior to the race, I had swam in the lake (twice), rode the bike course, and ran the run course. I am so glad I was able to do this, as the run/bike course was much hillier than anticipated.
The alarm was set for 4am, but I got up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. I have to find a better way to calm my nerves before races. My parents came into town from Janesville, so they could watch the kids in the morning, while my wife and I went to the race. I had a bananna when I got up, then a clif bar on the ride there. I had packed the car the night before, so we were good to go.
I was one of the first 20 people or so, there, so I rode my bike, checked the gears, pumped up the tires and took it over to transition. I got a great spot on the end, but later some guy came in and put his bike basically on top of mine. I think he got penalized 2 minutes for that maneuver, though (improper bike racking or something). I had left the wet suit in the car, b/c of rumors that the water would be too warm to wear them. We found out shortly after that we could not use them, which, of course added to my anxiety.
I checked out the water and ramp up to the transition area and then went over to the transition area to make sure everything was where I needed it. I then saw Hangloose. He wasn't racing, but had a HS friend and me to watch. He had some extra stuff for me to use (CO2 cartridge, race belt etc.). It was great to have my wife, as well as John (Hangloose) there (even if he was scoping me out to see how to pummel me at Pleasant Prairie. We actually worked out our strategy together, which seemed to work (more on that later).
I hopped on the shuttle bus to take us across the lake, and once there warmed up with a 150-200m swim to check out the lake. It was refreshing, b/c even at 6am, it was hot out.