Show Me State Games Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

This was my first Mass Start Swim, first open water swim. I made sure to start at the back so not to get swam over. They divided us up 39 and under and everyone else. They started us and it was really hard to get in a groove for the first little bit. There were a handfull of people that I could tell were about as good of swimmers as I am(not good if you haven's seen my log) and most couldn't sight to save their lives. Since I am not a big fan of my face being in the water 2 things turn out to my advantage. The lake the swim is in is suspect as in the 40's it was a sewage lagoon and was cleaned up in the 60 and turned it into a recreation area, so having your face in the water is probably a chance for illness. Second, it is really easy to sight when you face never actually makes contact with the water. I was on target with my slow pace at the turn around bouy. I was starting to get nervous as at that point I could see the next wave was alreay cutting into the 5 mintue head start we had by going first. To be nice I swam as far to the right as I could but wouldn't you know it. The first person, some woman in a hot pink(the registration for specifically said yellow by the way) swim cap swam right over the top of me and never once looked back. I could understand if it was a pack of people that was coming up behind me, but there wasn't another person for 10 yards in any direction. She was way out in front of her wave and went right over me. I secretly hoped she crashed on the bike.

I know I need to spend more time in the pool. My swimming skill suck a$$, but at least I know that if I have to I can trudge out a half mile in roughtly 20 minutes and not drown.

Guestimate on T1 time. Only time we were given was overall. I had my stopwatch going but didn't look coming out of the water so I don't have a 100% accurate. I know it went good because there was someone out of the water before me getting his stuff going when I left and he looked up and said, "man, nice transition". It may have been faster but I didn't look at my watch until I was on the bike and it that was at 24'03.

I need to learn to ride on my shoes and put them on while I am moving. Plus I need to stop wearing socks.

I was pretty happy with the ride. I hoped to do it in an hourish, but that is a pretty lofty goal. Right out of the gate I realized my computer wasn't working and as soon as I turned out of the park, it was uphill so I didn't dare stop for fear I wouldn't be able to get going again. So I got to the top and leaned over and found the magnet on the wheel had turned and was not facing the sensor. Crisis adverted. The next little bit was a downhill and then the fun really starts. I had been warned it was hilly until McBaine but it never really got better. I rode well in the flats and on serveral occasions I noticed speed in the 21-24mph range in the flats. Too bad when I hit hills it would drop down into the single digits. I was afraid to go too hard and fight it because I didn't want to burn everything up on the bike and not have anything left for the run. I just rode and looked for people ahead of me to try to reel in and did my best to not let people catch from behind. The bike time, although not near my goal, is acceptable. It will be better next year.

The bike is going into the shop for a drivetrain and cable overhaul. The 52/42 front and 11-21 rear will be swapped with a 53-38 front wnad 12-27 rear. Should make hills much easier to eat without slowing me down in the flats.

Still a guess on the time but I think I was in and out pretty quickly. I know roughly my times on the bike from where I looked at my watch and the time on my computer after it started working and I saw a friend who had finished(he is fast) coming in as I was going out. I looked at my watch and it was at 1:48 and some change as I was coming out of the transition pavillion. I actually had my right foot unclipped and was just coasting on the left pedal coming in and barely had to do anything to get off completely. Would probably be better to undo the shoes and go barefoot, but hey, I didn't crash.

The run is nice and flat. I did find that I must not have drank enough as once I was bout 3/4 of a mile into the run my quads and calves started cramping from dehydration. I stopped and stretched for a moment and then started running with someone as a means to avoid the pain in my legs and keep moving. He dropped me just before the water/turnaround table I did my best to keep him in sight. I tried to keep a good pace and not leave anything on the course. I did speed up and reel in one or two, but I could not catch up to the person who dropped me. I don't think anyone passed me on the run after the turn around. I finished the run in the time I expected and wasn't in much pain.

I know I need to spend more time running. I am going to try to start getting up early and getting out and running before work. I don't imagine that I will ever be a fast runner again, but I think that if I really work on it I may get my 5K time in the mid to low 20s if I work at it.

My wife and sons were at the finish line waiting for me. I really had to pee so I took my oldest and we used the bathroom and then found some beverages and started gathering my transition area stuff and packing for home.


I need to spend more time training and less time thinking about it.


I am happy with my race. The longest swim and bike I have raced and now I have a mass open water swim under my race belt. I plan to do it again next year and think I can make some serious improvements in my time. If I coudl cut 5 min from the swim 15 from the bike and 7 from the run it would put me somewhere in the fron 1/2 of the pack and move me up a bunch in my age group. Not bad for a $20 race.