Lake Saint Louis Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon


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Lake St. Louis, Missouri
United States
City of Lake Saint Louis Parks and Recreation Department
96F / 36C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 23m 13s
Overall Rank = 186/263
Age Group = 35-59
Age Group Rank = 20/26
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5am, ate my regular breakfast, and got over to the transition area at about 5:45. Set everything up per the plan I established the night before.
Event warmup:

Bouncing up and down waiting for a porta-potty.
Swim
  • 43m 3s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 52s / 100 meters
Comments:

I just got out there, stayed calm, and treated it like a training swim. I was hyper aware that I am not a fast swimmer, and I had to take my own pace, and not let myself get sucked in by those around me swimming at a sub 2m pace, because it would have been the end of my race very quickly.

It was my very first time swimming in a group, so I wasn't confident drafting. In fact, I was so far off pack pace that drafting wasn't even an option.

Somehow my wife managed to convince the race organizers to let her be on the beach with my daughter at the end of the leg. That was a massive boost, and I entered T1 with a big grin.
What would you do differently?:

More quality work on swimming. Most of my swim training was spent getting up to distance and making pace, and it didn't leave much room for speed and technique training.
Transition 1
  • 01m 53s
Comments:

I neglected practicing the transition until the last week, and then an accident a week before the event put my bike into the shop and me out of action. So my transition was basically to run the bike up to the mount line, stop, get on and go. So pro.

Other than that, the transition went very smoothly, and I was glad I'd spent some time the night before figuring out how my transition area should look.
What would you do differently?:

At the very least learn to jump mount the bike, and maybe even practice with the shoes attached before the transition. The immediate fast descent after the start line makes me a bit nervous about that.
Bike
  • 1h 26m 1s
  • 24 miles
  • 16.74 mile/hr
Comments:

At one and the same time the best and worst performance on this course. In training my best previous time was 90 minutes, so I knocked 4 minutes off my PR. However, my accident had a profound psychological impact. I was scared of cornering and was braking hard. I kept losing the group on corners, then catching them on the straights. Eventually I lost them altogether.

I also went at it way too hard, too early and suffered for it later.
What would you do differently?:

Pace myself better. I knew I was going too fast, but the adrenaline of the day got to me.
Transition 2
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

Big screw up. While the transition was mostly good, I forgot my race belt. Mentally I had planned to put on the belt for the bike leg, then spin it for the run. Last minute I changed my mind. Of course, I then forgot to pick up my race belt in T2. That added a good 500 yards to my run as I had to go back and get it.
What would you do differently?:

Stick to the plan.
Run
  • 1h 09m 55s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m 59s  min/km
Comments:

Devestated. I spent myself too early on the bike. This is where I should have shined, and I could have been much higher on the run ranking.

It was hellishly hot and humid. Despite lots of water stands, I found myself wishing I'd taken my own water. Tipped more on my head than down my throat.

Managed to run the whole route, no walking, which I was proud of.
What would you do differently?:

The bike leg. Take my own water.
Post race
Warm down:

Ha, like I had the energy to warm-down. Good one.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Accident 6 days previous destroyed confidence in bike and riding ability when cornering.

Lack of quality swim work. Too much grinding out miles to make the distance.

Left it all on the bike course and struggled on the run.

Event comments:

This was my first tri, so my opinions should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. But I enjoyed it, and I'm hooked. Hope to do it again next year and have set an ambitious goal of sub three hours.




Last updated: 2014-08-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:43:03 | 1500 meters | 02m 52s / 100meters
Age Group: 25/26
Overall: 125/263
Performance: Average
Suit: No
Course: Loop on the lake, starting and finishing on the beach. Two left turns and a right turn through a gate.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:53
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:26:01 | 24 miles | 16.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 20/26
Overall: 186/263
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Rolling hills. Very well organized, and marked, with traffic stopped for corners. Volunteers on every corner pointing the way with pool noodles. I knew the course well, since I live here, but I bet many were grateful for this.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Bad Cornering: Bad
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:24
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:09:55 | 10 kms | 06m 59s  min/km
Age Group: 16/26
Overall: 159/263
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back, hilly, with little shade. Lots of volunteers with water, and home owners with sprinklers out. One stretch (on both the out and back) between water stops that could have used one more half way.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4