Spirit of Racine Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Racine, Wisconsin
United States
HFP Racing
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 24m 3s
Overall Rank = 286/289
Age Group = Athena 0-39
Age Group Rank = 8/8
Pre-race routine:

Up and out of bed at 5am. Bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. Double checked to make sure all gear was accounted for. Packed the car, grabbed a banana for the ride, and was out the door by 5:30. Made it to the race site a bit before 6. Pumped up the tires at the car and walked down to transition. Met up with Miami and XH2OSkier (who would not be racing due to injury but came to jockstrap-Thank you thank you thank you!) Set up area, got body marked and waited til about 7 am to suit up. Met MarkK and CindyK in transition as they were volunteering and doing body marking.
Event warmup:

Got out in the water, attempted to try to swim into the waves. And back. And then tried again. Then we had to get out of the water...
Swim
  • 41m 3s
  • 750 meters
  • 05m 28s / 100 meters
Comments:

This swim SUCKED!! On the first leg out, we were fighting both current and waves that were playing a game of keep away with the flippin' orange bouys. The elites even got off-course. A LOT of people DNF'd on the swim. It didn't necessarily look so bad from shore, but it was not fun once you got into it. It took me about 1/2 my entire swim time just to make it to those elusive orange floaty things (and I swear I was never so happy to see a bouy in my life). My goggles fogged up horribly about 1/2 way out, so I ended up doing most of the swim with them off because I couldn't see. I think I actually doggy paddled most of the way out once I couldn't touch bottom any more. I felt like I was fighting just to stay put and not moving forward at all. But, I channeled my inner-Donkey and was damned if I was going to give up. There was a lady close to me to got pulled out. At first they didn't hear her, so she shouted louder. I waved my arms at one of the life guards because she was doing everything to keep her head out of the water and couldn't wave her cap. Thankfully they came and got her and I went on my merry little way. After the turn, it was a little better heading toward the 2nd yellow bouy. All the bouys just seemed forever away, though. I attempted to body surf some of the waves coming in. Towards the end my shoulders were so tired. I really just wanted to stop and rest. But, I remained stubborn and just kept moving. I made it out alive and didn't DNF, so I'm satisfied with that. Just keep moving forward.
What would you do differently?:

Unless I can pay off Mother Nature for calmer water next time, I'm not sure there IS anything I would be able to do differently on this one. I do need to work on being a stronger swimmer, but that's something I'd have to do no matter what.
Transition 1
  • 06m 19s
Comments:

This included a LONG-AZZ RUN (well, in my case, trudge) from the water up the beach to the transition area. There was no way I was running after that swim, even if I'd wanted to. XH2O was cheering me on, which was great to have. Wetsuit came of relatively easy (I discovered the secret to getting mine off after last Sunday, so I employed that technique). They had water trays to wash off the sand, so that was nice. Got the socks and shoes on in relatively good time, helmet on grabbed the bike and I was off. MarkK and CindyK were also in transition cheering for me (Cindy's a really good cheerleader!). I actually attempted to run with my bike...it was slow motion, but I tried.
What would you do differently?:

Try to run up the beach instead of trudge.
Bike
  • 49m 57s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 14.93 mile/hr
Comments:

This was my best event of all three. I'd run this route a couple of times, including the hill going out of transition, so I knew what I could do and what to expect. It was nice not having to stop at the traffic signals. My one actual goal was to finish this leg in less then 1 hour, which I did no problem. My one problem on the bike was cushion. I normally wear bike shorts when I train, so I'm thinking I might need to use my tri shorts more often to get used to less padding. My girlie parts were NOT happy. I did well on cornering (which is always something that frightens me a little...but I've watched cyclists who are really fast and tried to emulate what they do-minus the really fast part) There were spectators scattered along the route cheering people on, which was really nice (can you tell I need a lot of praise? I'm so needy...) Had a 1/2 Hammer Gel about 1/3 of the way out, the rest a little later. The swim had wiped me out and I needed it.
What would you do differently?:

Train more w/ tri shorts. I obviously also need to work on the engine, and the machine, too. Clipless is the next venture...we'll see how that goes.
Transition 2
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

I don't have clipless yet, so it was just a matter of racking the bike, taking off the helmet and grabbing the race belt.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 45m 13s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 14m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

This went a lot better then I thought. Came out of transition and started up the first hill. Grabbed another Hammer gel and ate 1/2 of it, saved the rest of the turn around. I was able to run a lot more of this then other 5ks I've done, and I ran a lot more then I did in my first tri (as evident by the 2 min/mile decrease). I walked up hills, ran a majority of the straight aways, though there were walking spots. Got to the turn around point and walked that so I could eat the rest of my gel and drink water. Did a walk run combo back to the bike path. Ran down the first downhill, and kept running. Told myself I could walk up the next hill as a reward. It worked (sort of). XH2O was there talking to a race person. He came over and gave me grief for taking so long (It's not my fault you don't fit in the Port-a-Potties, Jim!) He walked/jogged with me to the next down hill and told me I'd better be running down this one because he was going to be watching from the upper sidewalk. I walked a little bit after the down hill (until he saw me...doh!) then ran the rest of the way to the finish chute. Triathlon #2 is in the bag!
What would you do differently?:

Run more.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked to food tent, grabbed sandwich and cookies (mmm...Oreos). Then proceeded to stretch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

You mean besides the fact that I'm 50 lbs overweight and I'm just slow? Not much, I'd say...

Event comments:

This is a nicely run race, well organized. It's the 2nd year for the sprint. I plan on doing this again next year, if only to beat my swim time from this year...

The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't know very many people (and the people I did know where pretty much gone by the time I finished). None of my friends that said they were going to come made it. See! Told you I'm needy!

Oh, and for those interested, I did fly the Donkai.




Last updated: 2007-01-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:03 | 750 meters | 05m 28s / 100meters
Age Group: 8/8
Overall: 277/289
Performance: Bad
Suit: NeoSport sleeveless
Course: Point to point swim. Inverted U. Straight out past 1st yellow bouy to 2 orange bouys ("You can't tell that they are orange because of the glare...you'll see when you get there!"-Event starter) Right turn at orange bouys, straight to 2nd yellow bouy. Right again, straight for the beach.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 62F / 17C Current: High
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Average Navigation:
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 06:19
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:49:57 | 12.43 miles | 14.93 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/8
Overall: 275/289
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Very flat save one hill straight out of transition. Straight on Main St to a left on 4 1/2 mile Rd. Right onto Charles then left onto 5 Mile. Turn around partway down 5 mile. Back the same way.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:31
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:45:13 | 03.11 miles | 14m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/8
Overall: 285/289
Performance: Good
Course: Most of the course followed the North Beach portion of the bike trail. Nicely paved with a couple of hills.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4