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 Swim
Comments: So I lined up in the 2nd row behind the likes of Patrick who can throw down a 20-21 minute swim. I was wondering if I should back up a few rows to avoid getting swam over from behind. The row was at least 10 across though so I decided to stay right where I was. This was my first wave start with a run as my other run starts were of the time trial variety. Ruh Roh... So the countdown started...4.....3.....2.....1 and we all sprint down and dive in and I'm immediately sandwiched in between to guys. I just kept swimming thinking "be skinny, high elbow". A few times hands were catching my backside during that first 50 yards or so along with some bumping from the left and right. But eventually it calmed down and I was able to catch a little draft action from in front of me. But then like most swims, the really fast guys took off, then there was me and maybe one or two guys, then everyone else behind us. I was pretty much alone with no one to draft off after about 300 yards. Before the 2nd turn bouy I had caught some of the yellow caps (M30-39). Heading east was fun as it was right into the sun I just followed the line of swim caps in front of me. With about 200 or so yards to go I gradually passed 3 blue capped dudes from my AG. Pretty long run from the water exit, glanced at my watch and saw 26 minutes and change. I was kind of hoping I oculd go under 26 but it wasn't to be.  Transition 1
Comments: Put helmet on first, then stumbled a bit getting shoes on. My right shoe strap had come out so that was another 10 seconds putting it back through the loop. It's a pretty long run to the bike mount, not good for when you've already got your bike shoes on. What would you do differently?: Make sure strap is fed through loop when I set up transtion. Maybe learn to slip into shoes already attached to pedals. But I passed a guy coming out of transtion that was having trouble getting his foot into his shoe. Practice Practice Practice....  Bike
Comments: Upon exiting the bike mount area I was behind another rider so I just stayed 4-5 bike lengths behind him as we made our way around the lake. Within the first 5 miles you end up doing two short out&back sections with what I call short radium u-turns. You simply have to slow down to make those turns and take them wide if you're wanting to go a little faster through them. Going through the park I passed a few of the female age group elites and some other riders. Got passed by a couple really fast guys, most likely slower simmers from my age group. The road conditions right after the park exit were not that great, I had to keep my eye on the road to avoid anything that might cause a flat. There were a few spots on the course with some rowdy folks, college kids I guess, some with customes as I think I saw a guy dressed as a dog. Anyhow one group was trying to hand out beer and since they were standing out on the road I high-fived a few of them. They got a real kick out of that as most riders were too serious about their race etc. When you know you're MOP in an event like this, you get to have a little fun. In a more serious point in my race, I was passed by this dude, then he slowed down. So I passed him back after a minute or so. Then he passes me again. But he would slow down considerably once ahead of me. Maybe he just wanted to avoid getting a drafting penalty. Then two more guys come up and pass us both, then they slow down on an ascent. Nice! So I was doing a pretty good job of conserving my energy up to that point so I decided I had enough of this gang. I gotl up out of the saddle and passed all of them and when I hit the crest I continued to ride hard to distance myself. I didn't want to be associated with a "draft pack" This ride also had some headwind I was not expecting. Felt just like home here in Kansas. I just stayed down on the bars and tried to be as small as possible and gear appropriately. Once I turned off of Fluer to the Lake entrance I slowed it down a bit and cruised into T2. What would you do differently?: This ride was uncharacteristic for me. I would normally have gone out harder but I knew how I felt the week before on a 5 mile run that followed only a 21 mile bike ride. This ride was 4 miles longer and I had 1.2 miles more to go this day. I'm not sure I would have done anything differently given my current ability. Transition 2
Comments: A longer T2 run that I'm used to. I was clumbsy getting my running shoes on, almost falling over while balancing myself on one foot. What would you do differently?: Take bike shoes off after getting off the bike?  Run
Comments: Two thirds the way home! Of course I had that heavy leg feeling you get after riding for over an hour so I was patiently waiting for that sensation to wear off. Crowd was great, really cool to run in this atmosphere. When I turned east heading away from transition there were some really guys/gals coming the other way. They were flying! You could see the intensity and determination in their faces. After about a mile or so this shirtless guy with a heart rate monitor passes me, I'm pretty sure he was in a younger AG. He had a pretty good spare tire going on around his waste so my first thought was "dude, if you can keep that pace up, you 'da man!". But then the logical side of my brain (likelihood and probability) tokd me he would fade. I passed him at around 2.5 miles in. I saw Patrick motoring the opposite direction, I could tell he was going to throw down a great time. The aid stations were plentiful and had water and gatorade. I think I heard the word "gu" a few times also. I knew the temperature was starting to rise so I poured water over my head at each aid station. I felt that "about to cramp" sensation throughout the run so I held off on pace throughout the run. I didn't gear up until about a half mile to go. Once I made the turn into the park off of Fluer I sped to the finish. What would you do differently?: Not much given my current ability and recent training. Post race
Warm down: Patrick was in the finish corral on the side near his wife and my daughter with Chocolate Milk in hand, which is my favorite recovery food. I walked over to the food tent, got some strawberries, watermelon, a bottle of gatorade and a big Blue Bunny ice cream cookie sandwhich. We just walked around for a while talking to other ahtletes about the race etc. Transition was closed until 12:00 or so, so we sat and watched the Pro's get their awards. My shirt was in my transition bag so I sat in the sun for a spell. You can tell I had a race recently because you can see the tan lines around the race numbers on my arms now, I didn't use sunscreen, D'oh! There was some time before the AG 5150 awards so we got into transition and were able to put our bikes in the cars during the wait. What limited your ability to perform faster: Not much more than overall training. I'm pretty happy with a 2:25 given my low workout volume the last few months. Event comments: This was a great event, I'm really glad I made the trip. It's nice to see such a well supported race. The volunteers were great, from way up on the bike course down to the parkiing crew. Last updated: 2013-05-29 12:00 AM
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United States
Hy-Vee Triathlon
80F / 27C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 185/596
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 18/44
DD and I met Patrick and his DW at Starbucks Saturday morning about 7:10. Drive to Des Moines was about 3.5 hours. We first went to the "mandatory" athlete briefing then to packet pickup. Some pretty nice SWAG, a backpack and a bike jersey. Good quality visor as well. The Expo was a little smaller than what I thought it would be but hanin' out at Expos is not my deal anyhow.
We then went to the hotel to check in, then Patrick and I drive the bike course, then went for any easy ride through part of it. Mainly through the park area and to get a feel for the poorest section of the roads which was just before and after the park section. We were supposed to check our bikes in after that but of course I left my bike decal back at the hotel, D'oh! So instead we went back to the hotel, showered then all four of us went to bike check in before heading out to dinner.
Had some spicy Jambalaya pasta and good beer at Court Ave. Brewing Co. I highly recommend the Kaplan Hat Hefeweizen. It's a seasonal, so get there quick! After that we turned in and uncharacteristically for me I was in bed before 9:30!
We were only 2.6 miles from the lake so I got to "sleep in" as compared to the typical race morning. I got up at 5 ish, took a quick wake up shower, told the kid to get up, then we went down to the lobby to get some breakfast. Since it was race day, the hotel started breakfast at 5 instead of 6. All I had was a bagel with peanut butter, and coffee of course.
There was a good chance of rain forecasted and it was raining that morning, just not that hard. We started down the road and hit the big line to get into the parking area. Thank goodness the parking area is huge. It's a gravel lot but I've had much worse parking accomodations. While we were waiting to park I got a call from Patrick saying he was headed to transition to air up his tires so I asked him if he would air mine up while he was there. That was worth at least one beer right there! He also informed me that the race was being delayed by at least 30 minutes. No surprise there, I was just hoping to have a full s/b/r race. In our qualifier for this race the swim was cancelled so I had yet to complete my first official olympic distance race. I had done a few "long" course races but none of them totalled 51.5 km (bike legs were 21-23 miles or the run was only 5 miles etc.).
The swim was a point to point type so we finally walked around the lake to the other side (maybe a half mile walk?). We watched the Pro and Elite waves take off then went for a short wamup swim.