Leon's World's Fastest Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Hammond, Indiana
United States
Leon’s World’s Fastest Traithlon
53F / 12C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 30m 4s
Overall Rank = 146/639
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 15/69
Pre-race routine:

Remembered to eat the PB&J that I made the night before (unlike at Tower). I had one UCAN right when I got to transition and another about 20 minutes before the swim. I think this set me up for good nutrition on the course. I was able to get away with just water and 1 gel halfway through the bike and a second gel at the beginning of the run.
Event warmup:

Stretching and a little jog.
Swim
  • 25m 38s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

The water got choppier than I would have expected for a small little lake. I had a goggle mishap in the first 100 yards and had to stop to adjust some leaking. I was a little zig-zaggy on the outbound leg - not horrendous, but added a little yardage to my swim. Other than that, it was pretty smooth. I got into more of a rhythym swimming in the wetsuit after about half the swim. I found myself stuck in some traffic much deeper into the swim that I would have expected. A lot more jostling around than I've experienced in my other OWS's, but not too bad.
Transition 1
  • 02m 27s
Comments:

On the whole, pretty solid. A handful of people were faster, but not by a lot. I shuffled/walked through more of the route to T1 that I would have liked getting the wetsuit top over my head, but I don't think it cost me more than 10-15 seconds, which wouldn't have made a difference in my age group.
Bike
  • 1h 13m 1s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.36 mile/hr
Comments:

The ride was pretty challenging. The wind was gusty up to 20+ mph, and it seemed like most of the ride was in a cold, windy, misty, rain. By the second lap, it was pretty unpleasant, and I was getting very anxious to get off the bike. My plan was to ride with power in the low 200s. I wound up at 187 (normalized at 200). Based on conditions, I more or less stuck to plan. I probably could have pushed a little harder, but I just felt sapped in the rain, especially with the winds. I wanted to err on the conservative side after too many experiences pushing too hard on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not much!! I might have pushed a bit more, but I think I made the right decisions.
Transition 2
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

Pretty solid. As far as my transitioning went, I didn't waste any time. The need for a quick bio break slowed me down a little, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Run
  • 47m 9s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 07m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

While it's still the weakest of my 3 disciplines, I really felt like I nailed the run, and my saving some effort on the bike paid off. My calves were a little crampy during the first half mile or so, but I was able to shuffle through it without giving up any real speed. Even though I felt great at the beginning of the run (especially after my calves settled down), I settled down and held back a bit. I locked into a high 7:40/low7:50 pace for the first 4 miles without pushing too hard, which is exactly where I wanted to be. I was able to push it and speed up by about 5 seconds/mile after mile 4 and finish strong. I was hoping to be a little speedier through the end of the race, but it was into the wind and I really don't have any complaints. My quads were really starting to feel fatigued in the last few miles, and I was able to improve my pace a little instead of peter out.
What would you do differently?:

Check the overall time on my watch going into the last mile. I was 4 seconds from breaking 2:30!!! I was spent by the end of the race, but I think I could have found those four seconds somewhere!
Post race
Warm down:

Body heat from the family. Thanks Jen and boys for coming out to support me on such a crappy morning.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness level. I had a good plan and executed it well.

Event comments:

Great production and event organization. Not my favorite bike course. I'm still waiting for the official email from USAT, but I'm pretty sure I qualified for nationals with this one. This has been a goal since last summer, so if I made it, I'll be pretty stoked. I've always enjoyed tri's, but the drive to make nationals took a little bit of the fun out of it for me because, frankly, I was stressing and fearing putting the work in and not making the goal. If I've made it, I'll be thrilled, and I feel like I'll be able have a lot more fun with it again.


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Last updated: 2013-05-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:38 | 1640 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 21/69
Overall: 186/639
Performance: Average
Suit: DeSoto First Wave
Course: Counterclockwise horseshoe.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:27
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:13:01 | 24.85 miles | 20.36 mile/hr
Age Group: 20/69
Overall: 150/639
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong
Course: A lot of turning and winding through local streets to get to a highway where you ride back and forth (and back and forth) on a 2-mile stretch.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence: 79
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:47:09 | 06.2 miles | 07m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 27/69
Overall: 244/639
Performance: Good
Course: Flat out and back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
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