MinneMan Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Started back left and immediately got boxed in. Moved about 10 feet to the right and found clear water the whole way. Tried a couple of times to get in behind someone to draft, but just couldn't make it stick. Need more practice with that.

Swam most of the course next to a guy with an "interesting" kick pattern: every few kicks he would throw in a single mega-kick that sounded like someone dropping a cinder block into the water - with the same effect, too: a giant geyser of water. Didn't bother me, as long as I was to his side; it just provided an interesting rhythm to the swim: whoosh whoosh whoosh KAWHOMP! whoosh whoosh whoosh KAWHOMP!

Judging by everyone's times, the swim was long.

I'm happy with how the swim went. I don't see myself getting faster until I commit to putting a lot more hours in the pool.

I tried taking off the wetsuit as soon as I got across the beach, but it didn't seem to come off any quicker, since my T1 time was identical to last year's. Still it was 3rd fastest in my AG, so that's good.

Saw friends Dave, Michelle and Abe as I came out. Seeing friendly faces always gives me a little jolt of energy. Then saw an old friend, Ed, at the bike exit. I've known Ed since nursery school, so that was fun!

Next time I'm going to try taking off the wetsuit while still in the water. The aforementioned Mark tried it today and was amazed at how easy it came off.

This course is like riding on the trainer - no hills, but you can also never just coast. So it's just hammer, hammer, hammer the whole time, trying to keep a solid tempo. I put it in the big ring for all except the first and last half-miles, kept my cadence up and my head down.

This year's pace was almost three minutes faster than last year's. What made the difference? New aerobars? Faster tires? More willingness on my part to suffer a bit more? Probably a little bit of each.

Miles, miles, miles.

No problems here. After using Yankz in my shoes last year - and hating them - I came up with my own solution this year using a pair of $1.00 cord locks from REI. They worked fantastic.

4th fastest in AG - 6 seconds faster than last year.

Nothing

The Enervitene I took on the bike at mile 8 was feeling like a sockful of pennies in my stomach for the first half-mile of the run. I was pretty sure my cadence was down around 30, but when I timed it, it was up in the high 80s, so that gave me some confidence, as did the 7:40 split for the first mile. I was feeling pretty solid and put in a 7:37 for the second mile. I couldn't quite keep that pace though and fell off to an 7:44 over the final mile.

Really happy with the run, overall. 2nd fastest race run for me (did a 22:43 at Best of the US Citizen's Race last year).


Pushed too hard on the bike maybe? Not enough running mileage this year? Probably both.

I had very little running base coming into this race due to having hip surgery in January, and only being able to run since the end of April. Considering that, I surprised myself with my results today.

Gasped. Sweated. Bent over and put hands on knees.


I've probably reached the limit of my speed, given my current training level. If I want to keep seeing improvements, I need to commit more time to training. That means getting to the pool earlier, more long rides, and more long runs. Am I willing to do that? Time with my family will NOT be sacrificed, so I need to be creative in finding the time.


Another superb year at MinneMan. Bill does an outstanding job in making sure things go smoothly, and everyone has fun. Perfect weather conditions, too!

My only complaint is the ugly t-shirt. I'd gladly trade in the t-shirt and the nice running hat for a technical t-shirt with a small MinneMan logo on the breast or sleeve.