Pleasant Prairie Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Pleasanrt Prairie, Wisconsin
United States
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 41m 23s
Overall Rank = 238/661
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Our pre-race routine started the evening before with the PP Challenge Pre-Race Dinner. Got the chance to meet the whole PP Challenge group and family members. That was a great night! I hope that we can turn that into a pre-race tradition.

Event warmup:

I guess we misjudged the timing on this b/c CindyK and I got to the transition site about 20 minutes before they closed it...ooopps. Not much time to do anything except set out the stuff, jump into the wetsuit and hope and pray I didnt forget anything.
Swim
  • 29m 4s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

Initially the swim was going great. Got off to a fast start and settled in to a comfortable stroke. Rounded the first buoy in great shape and started along the long leg of the triangle. From here, hell in a handbag is the best way to describe it. Got way way off course. Didnt really have any feet to follow because I kept cathching feet and passing them. Decided to head to the outside for clearer water and just got out in left field. Thought I was sighting ok but was having trouble with the glare. There were not intermediate buoys between the rounding buoys and my goggles were fogging so my nav got really inaccurate. I'd say I got a good 150ft of course on one occasion and 50 feet or so on another. Probably added at least one, maybe two minutes to my time. I tried to clear my goggles once but when I stuck my face back in the water they leaked so I had to stop again. My only critisism of the race is I'd like to see some intermediate buoys along the back stretch of the swim.
Transition 1
  • 03m 13s
Comments:

About avg time for me. I tend to not rush in the transitions and it costs me a little time each race. But my focus is still making sure everything is set for the bike and I have all of my stuff.
What would you do differently?:

Next time I buy bike shoes, I may try to find some with velcro instead of laces. May help speed up my T1 time some.
Bike
  • 1h 15m 29s
  • 25 miles
  • 19.87 mile/hr
Comments:

Pushed a little harder on the bike than normal because I was familiar with the course. Still didnt hit my mph goal (20mph) or my time goal (1:15:00) but came pretty close to both. I think I could have pushed just a little harder and made both goals, but overall, it was a slight improvement from last year so I'll be happy with that.
Would like to say "Thank You" to the woman from the "Accent Adventure" team (I think that is what her jersey said) who I rode the last few miles with as we trading off passing each other. She would pass me on the flats and I would pass her on the hilly portions. She made a comment about it as we entered the last mile or so that made me laugh. We both pushed each other that last mile.
What would you do differently?:

Need to spend more time on the bike and build up the engine more. I have often wondered what time advantage going to a true tri-bike would give me over my converted road bike, but I can't imagine pushing much harder and having anything left for the run.
Transition 2
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

There was a dismount line so not much jumping off the bike involved. Had a hard time running with the bike (oh, this was the sign of things to come). Legs were not cooperating. The actual time was a little better than last year but could have been lower if I had ran with the bike to the rack.
Run
  • 51m 22s
  • 6.1 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

Disappointed. About six minutes slower than last year. First 1.5 - 2 miles, I just could not get my legs to work properly. It took to about the point where the Sprint event people turned around and started to head back before my legs cooperated. I tried to pick up the pace and for periods had a good pace going, other times, just fell flat. I was carrying a gel with me and know that I should have taken it, but my stomach was feeling "uncooperative" and I wasnt sure that was going to be a good idea.
What would you do differently?:

As with the bike, more training needed (need to bump up the intensity of the BRICK training for next year). I can run pretty comfortable at times off the bike, other times, it seems like the legs are lead weights.
Post race
Warm down:

Met up with Hangloose, his wife, and Schmize in the exit area and shared initially horror stories with each other (looked around for some bags for Schmize so he could carry around some of his sand with him..haha).
Then waited to cheer on CindyK, Whizz, Laura and some of our other friends as they finished.
Met up with the PP Challenge folks after a while and had a good time just talking and hanging out. It was a great group. The pictures from dinner the night before and from the post race tell it all.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing other than me! Even though my time was a little bit slower than last year, I still feel like I had a good race. I may have been able to pick up some on the bike, but who knows how slow the run would have had to be then.

Event comments:

I really like this race. Its well organized, lots of volunteers, seems to be well attended by athletes of all skill levels,
I only have two critisims:
1 - As previously mentioned, I'd like to see some spacing buoys on the backstretch of the swim.
2- What happened to the water bottles? Last couple of years they gave out the best water bottles during the event..this year...cups of water on the bike....are we kidding here??? But then again, the goody bag did have a really cool tribag and how many events can you say that about!!

It really is a great course and race and I would highly recommend it to anyone who would like to do their first Oly distance race.




Last updated: 2006-08-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:04 | 1640 yards | 01m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 193/661
Performance: Below average
Suit: Ironman Sleeveless
Course: Triangle.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:13
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:15:29 | 25 miles | 19.87 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 247/661
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: The course is kind of like a "figure 8". You go west first and make a loop and then pass back by the race site before heading east and doing a loop before you come back to the race site to finish the segment.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:18
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:51:22 | 06.1 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 266/661
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back, out and back and back again....kinda confusing huh? :) Try running it... Honestly thought, it is a really nice running course. You loop several times around the lake with a small excursion out to the main road and then back around the lake again. Its a fairly flat course and you get the chance to see a lot of the other runners at least once during the run.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4