Leon's World's Fastest Triathlon - Triathlon


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Hammond, Indiana
United States
Leon’s World’s Fastest Traithlon
52F / 11C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 30m 31s
Overall Rank = 126/639
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 22/53
Pre-race routine:

Day before, 30 min bike with a couple 30 second hard efforts. 15 minute run with a couple 30 second hard efforts. Made an extra effort to drink lots of fluids the day before and before the start due to some cramping issues at previous races this year.
Event warmup:

Transition closed an hour before my wave start, forcing me to warm up much earlier than anticipated. I ran first for 15 minutes and then biked for 15 minutes. Once done, I double checked my transition area set-up, put some warm clothes on, grabbed my wetsuit and headed toward the start area.
Swim
  • 25m 27s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 42s / 100 meters
Comments:

Even though the conditions were quite worse than last year, I managed to post a slightly better time. I could have done quite better, but I had a hard time getting into a good rythmn with the chop.
What would you do differently?:

Focus on keeping good form during the swim. I got caught up in fighting through the conditions that my form suffered more than it had to.
Transition 1
  • 03m 27s
Comments:

Both legs cramped up completely when taking off my wet suit. Quads, hammies, calves, everything. I cannot identify the source of the issue. I don't cramp during training, but I had cramped in the last three races. Given that the last three races have been super cold, I'm willing to write this off until a race that has decent conditions.
What would you do differently?:

Given the conditions, can't really say there was anything else I could have done here. Based on the last race, I went without the arm warmers and gloves and instead just went with the light jacket. That sped up the transition by almost 2 minutes versus my last cold weather race, but its still longer than I would have liked.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 23s
  • 40 kms
  • 30.65 km/hr
Comments:

Brutal conditions. Perhaps we had been lucky the last couple years with good weather, but not this year. The temperature slowly dropped into the low 50's. Winds were out of the N/NE at 20+ with gusts. Half way through the first loop, I seriously considered DNF'ing just to get out of the miserable conditions. To make it worse, it started to drizzle creating some wet conditions. I thought I paced well given the situation, but still came in about 6 minutes slower than I would have wanted.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure I could have done anything more here given the conditions.
Transition 2
  • 01m 47s
Comments:

It was a slow transition for a number of reasons. First, my hands were numb. That made it hard to get my darn shoes off. Then once I got to my rack, I couldn't get my jacket off. My fingers just wouldn't work well.
What would you do differently?:

My T2 is usually pretty good. I don't use socks and I have elastic laces. That makes for a pretty quick transition.
Run
  • 41m 25s
  • 10 kms
  • 04m 10s  min/km
Comments:

The only reason I made it through the bike was my desire to crush this 10k course. I've done two open 10k's so far this year. Neither time was I able to break 43 minutes, a goal for this year. While the weather conditions were crap for swimming and biking, they were perfect for running!

I decided that I wanted to go out at a 6:50/mi pace for the first two miles and then I would make a call from there on how to tackle the rest of the course. I ended up hitting mile 1 at 6:40 and mile two 13:10. I decided I wanted to try and keep it right there, and hit the turn around right at 20 minutes. I knew I was cooking a bit too much and that I already had a great time going, so I decided to slow down a hair and consolidate my time over mile 4. I did that mile just shy of 7/mi. Once I hit the 5 mile mark, I tried to push it back up and hold till the end. I was shocked to see the 41:25 result. Heck, I was shocked when I hit the turnaround at 20 minutes. I think its fair to say the course was a bit short, maybe I should have been closer to 42 minutes, but I definately ran stronger than I could have hoped for regardless.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, executed the plan perfectly.
Post race
Warm down:

Hmm, warm down? Try warm up. I sat in the heated bathroom for five minutes trying to thaw out. The heater in my car never felt so good.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weather conditions, though I do need to focus on biking now. It has clearly become my limiter.

Event comments:

I was a bit upset about the changes in the last week of the race. I feel they could have been communicated better and earlier.

Making the packet pickup mandatory at the last minute was not fair. This race had always allowed same day packet pickup in the past. Making this change at the last minute was not fair to the out of towners.

Closing transition down a half hour before the first wave and a full hour before the last wave, especially on a cold day when a proper warm-up is essential, was a bad call. Further, this was not communicated to the racers until race day. I would have brought another pair of running flats I could have kept outside of transition had I known.

There were no race instructions in the packet that should have contained important information like above.

There weren't as many flats this year, but I still saw quite a few racers off the side of the road.

I just don't see paying $165 for this race again. I've done this race three years now, I think its time to move on. Its local for me, so its attractive, but not at that price point.

All of that said, don't let me scare anyone away. Its a well run race. The swim course is as well marked and you won't find stray buoys. They are out there the day of the race resighting all of the buoys. The lake is usually very smooth. The bike course can be a lot of fun and you'll PR the run course. Its a fun and fast course.




Last updated: 2013-06-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:27 | 1500 meters | 01m 42s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 175/639
Performance: Average
Suit: BlueSeventy Reaction
Course: Nothing special, there were enough buoys and they were big enough to make for good sighting. There was very little drift on the buoys so the course was in good shape. The high winds began to kick up some serious chop and I would rank it as a fairly difficult swim condition, which is quite opposite from the conditions of the previous two years.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: High
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:27
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:18:23 | 40 kms | 30.65 km/hr
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 303/639
Performance: Below average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Typically a fast two loop course on completely closed roads. While the road surface is good in many places, there are a lot of ruff spots that need to be dodged.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:47
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:41:25 | 10 kms | 04m 10s  min/km
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 70/639
Performance: Good
Course: Pancake flat would be hilly when compared to this course. Its an out and back on closed city streets. I don't think it was quite 6.2 miles, I don't think I can put down a 41:25 on a true 10k course. If I had to guess, it was closer to 6.1.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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] 3