Trekman Big Woods Lake Triathlon - Triathlon


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Cedar Falls, Iowa
United States
Trekman Racing
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 06m 57s
Overall Rank = 5/103
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 3/13
Pre-race routine:

So this race is only a couple miles from my house, so it makes logistics easy. It's a first year event, so I was glad they were able to get at least 100 participants. We've been getting some crazy rain lately, and part of the course was flooded up until just a few days before the race. Fortunately the water went down and the race went on! Not much training this year unfortunately, especially swim and bike, but I figured I'd just let it rip and see what happens. I planned to do the Sturgis Falls Half Marathon the next day, but I didn't really plan to hold back much on the run or anything. I got packet pickup done Friday night (t-shirt design was awesome btw), and just got up at 5:45 and biked to the race site as a warmup. Got setup in the transition area, and tried to find a bathroom before the start. Minor criticism, there wasn't a portojohn right near the TA.
Event warmup:

Short bike to race site, short swim. Had to hit the bathroom again after that.
Swim
  • 00m
  • 547 yards
  • / 100 yards
Comments:

My chip did not register my swim exit, so not sure what my time was (there were a few timing issues with others as well), but it was SLOOOOWWWW! Because I had to use the bathroom after my swim warmup, I was way back in line for the time trial start. By the time I got in the water, there was a lot of traffic, and I allowed myself to get boxed in on a few occasions. Really poor swim even for me (not a great swimmer here). Just tried to shake it off and move forward with the rest of the race.
What would you do differently?:

Get logistics out of the way earlier so I could start toward the front and not deal with lots of traffic.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Exiting the lake, there was a long run on rough terrain to the TA, probably about a minute total. I would definitely suggest the TA be moved closer to the swim exit for future races if possible, like maybe routing the swim to be an out and back from the boat dock and having the TA in the parking lot there. Rest of the transition was quick and I was out on the bike, again due to timing I'm not sure what my T1 time was.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really.
Bike
  • 37m 13s
  • 15.5 miles
  • 24.72 mile/hr
Comments:

The poor swim motivated me to push the bike hard. Revisions to my fit I've made to get more aero can be credited for the fast time more than anything, I certainly haven't been training much. I passed a lot of people along the way and that's always motivating too. I actually feel like I could have pushed a little harder but I took it conservatively. My heart rate was actually pretty low for most of the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Go a little harder...
Transition 2
  • 00m 40s
Comments:

Pretty good transition other than overshooting my rack slightly and having some trouble getting my bike racked. Threw my shoes on and helmet off, and got the other stuff done while I was running.
What would you do differently?:

Rack the bike more smoothly, but not much time lost for that.
Run
  • 21m 28s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

My GPS dropped out right at the start of the run, so not sure if the distance was accurate or not. Based on my time, I hope it was long. I generally run closer to 20 min in sprint tris. But I feel like I got the most I could out of this run, so it is what it is. The run course is really very nice, and will be even better for future years when lack of flooding allows the use of the planned course!
What would you do differently?:

Run faster.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a bit and drank some water, had a donut and a pulled pork sandwich, packed up my gear and waited for awards. It took a long time to get awards started, and unfortunately it started to rain hard at that time. That made the ride home in the rain no fun haha.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training for the most part.

Event comments:

Great job for a first year race! A few tweaks here and there and this will be a great little event!




Last updated: 2013-05-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:00:00 | 547 yards | / 100yards
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/103
Performance: Bad
Suit: blueseventy Reaction full
Course: Point-to-point across Big Woods Lake, exiting at the boat dock.
Start type: Run Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Bad Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:37:13 | 15.5 miles | 24.72 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/13
Overall: 2/103
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Out and back on local roads with a few rolling hills, very nice ride!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:40
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:28 | 03.11 miles | 06m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/13
Overall: 8/103
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back around Big Woods Lake on trails and surronding roads. Mostly flat and fast.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4