Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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Buffalo, Minnesota
United States
Buffalo Triathlon
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 24m 39s
Overall Rank = 74/384
Age Group = M55-59
Age Group Rank = 1/12
Pre-race routine:

Drove up on Sat and picked up packet. Stayed at Motel 8. We were going to walk to Applebees for dinner but instead went to the local Mexican place next door. Back in 2010 I set a Olympic PR at Buffalo and on the Sat before the race we went to a friends retirement party at a Mexican place. I figured, it worked before so why not try it again.

Honey Nut Cheerios and a banana in the morning, done by 6:10 am . Drank a powerade pre-race and a gel about 30 minutes before my wave start.
Event warmup:

Transition opened at 6:30, we got there about 6:50. Got my spot and got body marked. SHort ride, some running, lot's of peeing. Oly Elites started at 9am I was 9:18 the last Oly wave then all the sprint waves. This is a huge race, roughly 1500 with lots of beginners. I swam some and was ready to go.
Swim
  • 31m 22s
  • 1642 yards
  • 01m 55s / 100 yards
Comments:

Water was cold during warmups but once the race started I was comfortable, even got a little warm. I got some water in my left goggle early but it didn't bother me much. About a quarter into the race I stopped and fixed it. I felt I swam close to the buoy line. Very little contact and what little there was occurred very early. I felt strong on the swim especially after the last turn with over a third of the distance left. I did get a cramp in my left calf with 500 yards left. This has happened before but not at all last year. Overall I was a bit surprised my time wasn't a little better.

You never know about the accuracy of the distance and I was better in my AG than normal. It was my 3rd slowest swim in 6 years of racing Buffalo.
What would you do differently?:

Swim faster.... :-) and lose the cramp
Transition 1
  • 02m 13s
Comments:

No real issues in T1, a some trouble with wetsuit on left heel but probably less than 10 seconds. I thought wearing compression socks last year at my last 2 tris fixed the heel problem. It's a long run and a big TA so it does take some time.

1st in AG, -18 secs. It was my 2nd fastest T1 in the 6 yrs I've done Buffalo.
What would you do differently?:

Not much
Bike
  • 1h 07m 35s
  • 24.8 miles
  • 22.17 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt I had a good bike, I don't think I ever got passed on the Oly section maybe 1 or 2 x on the early sprint section

4th fastest Buffalo bike but only by 36 secs so pretty consistent

Cramp was not an issue on the bike
What would you do differently?:

Not much, Some light winds with us early and against late. I passed a lot of people on the hills due to good gearing and staying aero while they were out of saddle working way too hard.
Transition 2
  • 01m 34s
Comments:

All of my Buffalo T2 are between 1:30 and 1:34 except the year it was really cold and I put on a fleece for the ride. Very consistent.

2nd in AG +10 secs
What would you do differently?:

Not much
Run
  • 41m 47s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 06m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

I wore arm warmers on the bike and took off the right one and held it in my hand. I rolled the left one down to my Garmin but did not try to mess with pulling it over the watch. I probably could have with no issues.

Very pleased with my run, this was my first ever sub 7:00 pace on a Oly 10k. I stayed with a 38 yr old the last 4+ plus miles of the race, pulling ahead of him at the end. It helped to have someone running my pace. We talked a bit on the course and I thanked him for the pace setting afterwards.

I noticed my left calf at the beginning of the run from the swim cramp so I ran a little gingerly for a bit then I kind of forgot about it. I felt it a little at the end of the race but nothing like it was going to seize up just some tightness/tenderness.
What would you do differently?:

Fastest Oly 10K ever so nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some water, got my stuff and went to the car with Barb and changed. By the time we got back only food left was cookies. I think they had hot dogs this year. Brought back some Mt Dew so I was good. 1st place in AG got a Bontrager pump, 2nd got Tifosi sun glasses and 3rd got socks.

I would have been 4th in 50-54 and 5th in 45-49 AGs so my time was decent.

Award pic here. Scroll down to 55-59 http://www.tribuff.com/awards_13.htm#olympic

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Good bike, great run but sub par time on the swim despite feeling I did well. Swim is my limiter. If I'm going to do well at Nationals, I need to improve my swim time. Time for a swim coaching?

Event comments:

Buffalo does a good job for the size of the race. Disappointed no food left for me but I could have grabbed some before going to car so my choice. Jerry got thru the awards in a good fashion. Got my pic taken with AG podium finishers and it should show up on race web site. Talked quite a bit afterwards with Lynn the 2nd place guy in my AG from Bismark.


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Last updated: 2013-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:22 | 1642 yards | 01m 55s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/12
Overall: 251/384
Performance: Average
Suit: Desoto Black Pearl
Course: Triangle shape
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:13
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:07:35 | 24.8 miles | 22.17 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/12
Overall: 49/384
Performance: Good
Avg HR 145 Max HR 159 Garmin had 1:07:39 for 24.57 for 21.8 1 2:49.4 1.00 21.2 2 2:22.4 1.00 25.3 3 2:38.8 1.00 22.7 4 2:12.8 1.00 27.1 5 2:51.2 1.00 21.0 6 2:52.8 1.00 20.8 7 3:30.4 1.00 17.1 8 2:43.9 1.00 22.0 9 3:02.5 1.00 19.7 10 2:33.4 1.00 23.5 11 2:58.3 1.00 20.2 12 3:10.6 1.00 18.9 13 2:33.7 1.00 23.4 14 2:55.3 1.00 20.5 15 2:50.8 1.00 21.1 16 2:45.7 1.00 21.7 17 2:52.8 1.00 20.8 18 2:44.8 1.00 21.8 19 2:14.6 1.00 26.7 20 2:23.4 1.00 25.1 21 2:24.8 1.00 24.9 22 2:43.0 1.00 22.1 23 2:19.3 1.00 25.8 24 2:44.7 1.00 21.9 25 2:20.3 0.57 14.7
Wind: Some
Course: Same course as the last couple of years. Really crowded with riders from the sprint race early and late. Not too bad onOly only section since I start in last Oly wave.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:34
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:41:47 | 06.2 miles | 06m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/12
Overall: 64/384
Performance: Good
Garmin had 41:57 for 6.06 for 6:55 pace. Official pace 6:45 Avg HR 162 Max HR 179 1 6:56.0 1.00 6:56 2 6:57.1 1.00 6:57 3 7:09.6 1.00 7:10 4 6:52.6 1.00 6:53 5 6:51.1 1.00 6:51 6 6:38.0 1.00 6:38 7 :30.1 0.06 8:00
Course: Out and back with a short stub. A pretty good hill at the turnaround. This year we ran farther at the top of the hill and the stub was before the end of the cul-de-sac.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4