Iowa Games Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Des Moines, Iowa
United States
Iowa Games
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 14m 21s
Overall Rank = 26/258
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 3/18
Pre-race routine:

Banana, small bowl of cereal, granola bar. It's a local event and not a huge one, so I drove down around 6:30 to get body-marked and set up my transition area. Surprised at how much space some people take up - some had towels spread out wide enough to take up enough space for 3 bikes. Eventually organizers came through and corrected that.
Event warmup:

I'm one who usually doesn't do a lot of leg stretching or running. I do a lot of arm stretching to get prepared for the swim, which helps warm up everything else. Had a GU about 15 min before the swim. Ready to rock and roll!
Swim
  • 05m 33s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

I'm finally confident enough in my swim to start near the front and not the back. However, my wave included AGs down to 30, so I got passed in the first 100m more than I expected. Tough rounding the first bouy because after that you're headed directly into the sun, which made sighting extremely difficult. Didn't help that I didn't wear my tinted goggles, but the sun was so bright I don't know if it would have made a difference. It would be great if they could modify the course to change that. Since it's such a short swim there's no room to get much separation, so trying to draft isn't worth the effort in my opinion.
What would you do differently?:

Wear tinted goggles, try to start more towards the outside.
Transition 1
  • 00m 58s
Comments:

Easy with no wetsuit. Finally had a good day with getting my helmet on easily enough. It's an odd run-out because of a speed bump right before the mount/dismount line so you can't go full-boar (I learned this last year).
What would you do differently?:

Nothing much. Maybe use rubber bands to keep the bike shoes upright and easier to get into when starting out.
Bike
  • 45m 34s
  • 15.14 miles
  • 19.86 mile/hr
Comments:

I hate the road leading out and coming back in. After that, the loop portion is in good shape. Got into a solid rhythm - this was my first race focusing on cadence and letting everything else fall where it may. Succeeded with an avg 88rpm, right where I wanted, and my Garmin said I averaged 20.2mph. Can't ask for more. I was irritated on this one corner, though - all 3 times when I came into it (it's at the bottom of a hill) there was someone slower than me getting in the way. Every time they prevented me from hitting the apex of the curve, and I had to slow down and take it much wider than I wanted to. Every single time. It probably didn't cost me much, but the fact that it happened every time was frustrating.
What would you do differently?:

Try to hit that corner faster and navigate the fellow competitors better.
Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

A little late getting out and on top of my shoes, but better late than never. Hard to do a flying dismount because of the speed bump.
What would you do differently?:

Start getting out of shoes a little bit sooner.
Run
  • 21m 33s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

Overall very pleased. This was my first sprint course after doing an HIM (Kansas) 5 weeks prior. I did fall once coming around one of the trees on the grassy portion, but quickly got back up without any pain.Didn't feel like I was struggling at all, but didn't feel like I had my usual strong kick at the end. I ended up chasing down the guy who finished second in my AG but was just one second behind him at the end. If could have seen his calf and known his age, I probably would have found that extra kick!
What would you do differently?:

Not hit the wrong button on my Garmin - I couldn't tell what my pace was because I hit something incorrectly. But that wasn't a bad thing - I ran by how I felt instead of what my watch told me.
Post race
Warm down:

Water, a banana, some stretching. Felt great.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not doing sprint-focused distance training. Everything has been built around the two 70.3's I'm doing this summer. If I did more distance-appropriate training, I could probably compete in the elite division.

Event comments:

It's a nice sprint event. Non-sanctioned, which probably helps keep the cost down. That may also have something to do with it being a part of the Iowa Games. The post-race isn't anything to write home about, and the awards ceremony is not at all worth hanging around for - a simple podium would be nice. If I hadn't finished in the top 3, I would have headed out as soon as I could have gotten my bike out of transition. I'd be OK paying 10 or 15 bucks more if that would allow them to do a bit more.




Last updated: 2013-07-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:33 | 440 yards | 01m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/18
Overall: 0/258
Performance: Good
Suit: none
Course: Modified rectangle. Straight out, left-hand turn, then another left-hand turn back to the beach.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:58
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:45:34 | 15.14 miles | 19.86 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/18
Overall: 0/258
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: 3-loop course, one big long uphill that is on all 3 loops. A few technical portions.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Below average Cornering: Bad
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:33 | 03.1 miles | 06m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/18
Overall: 0/258
Performance: Good
Course: Out-and-back, two loops. Flat, tree-lined, mostly shaded.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 3