Pleasant Prairie Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

This was probably one of the better swims I have done to date. I placed myself about the middle of the pack, but unfortunately, it was on the inside. Couldn't do anything more about it, but oh well, whatcha gonna do. So the horn blew and off we went, down the bank and diving into the water. After the first 200m it started to thin out a bit. But still was pretty crowded. Heck, at one point, there were four guys in front of me, all in a line. Makes it a little difficult to pass, so I hung a hard left, and took off around them. Kept going to the bouy and really did a good job cutting close around it. On the way back, it started to get really crowded as we started to bump up into the wave in front of us and the wave behind us caught up to us too. Man, some of those ladies can really fly! One blew by me like I was standing still. But I didn't try to pace with her. I kept to my race and kept going. About half way back, I sighted up and realized I had gone too far to the left, so I hung a hard right and got back into the thick of things. Started to draft on leg after leg and whip past them. I think I must have passed at least 12-18 people on the swim. Next thing I know I'm beach heading into the bank, standing up, crossing the mat and rushing into T1. Looked down at my watch and realized I just did the best swim of the year.

On this one probably nothing. It was the best swim I've done. Only thing I might improve is just a little better sighting.

T1 was great. Suit came off likedy split and the shoes were on fairly quickly. Popped on the helmet, shoved the GU in the back of my shirt and took off. Fastest T1 to date with the new shoes.

Nothing.

Couple of things to say about the bike race. First, it was not flat. Maggyruth, I'm calling you out on this one. :) Seriously. Spirit of Racine was flat. This was not flat. I wouldn't say it was terribly hilly, but it wasn't flat. That being said, I think I did ok on a course I hadn't ridden and that was pretty wet. There was a turn at the bottom of one hill, a hard right, that I found out later had some broken glass in it. Which would explain why there were three or four guys with flats about 1/4 of a mile past that. Anyway, kept pumping and trying to keep the cadence at around 90-95. That and stay aero as much as I could. It definitely wasn't the best bike race I've done but it was a good one. I will say it is not a full 12.4 miles. At least, not according to my Garmin. More like 11.76. But then again, who am I to question them.

Finally, got into the last bit on the bike and the girl in front of me started to take her feet out of her shoes and slowed way down, way too far out. AND she was on the left so I started to move in on her right side. Anyway, I reached down and got the straps on my shoes loosened. I was past her and unclipped my right foot and started to swing it over the bike as I was slowing down. Almost to the dismount area and slowing down even more when all of a sudden, this jerk from the Oly distance came flying in on my left and clipped me. I slammed on the brakes, almost did an endo as the back end started to jump up. Let go of the front brake and it slammed down and stopped. Heard Beth cheering for me and yelling at the other guy. Hopefully he got penalized for that. Made me angry. Oh well, looked down and had a good time on the watch.

I really need to keep increasing my time on the bike. It is where I can make up the most amount of time on the race. Would love to start averaging over 20mph. Something to keep in mind for the future. More TITS (Time in the saddle)!

As I talked about above, I was a little rattled about the guy clipping me. But I just shook it off and kept to my race plan. Racked the bike quickly and had the bike shoes off easily. Had a little difficulty getting into the shoes, but nothing major. Threw on the hat, grabbed the bib and belt and took off. Tried to put the race belt over my head and shoulders and ripped the bib number on one side. DOUGH! Will need to change that next time.

Nothing. It was a great. Maybe just have the race belt undone and actually put it on the way it is supposed to go on.

Well, as I stated in T2, I broke my number. I kept trying to get it to stay under my belt, but it kept falling so I took it off, flipped it upside down and put it back on. Worked. I can't wait to see the race pics though, with my upside down number. LOL! I probably look like a dork.

Anyway, I had a little stitch in the side that I actually had for most of the bike. So I got into my breathing rhythm to see if I could get rid of it. I did, but I was focusing so much on the side stitch that I didn't really focus on my stride or my pace.

I wound up having a pretty slow pace on the run overall. Not the slowest, and not the fastest. Passed only about 6-8 runners on the run, but had plenty blow by me. I know some of them were from the Oly race, and one of them was actually the winner of that race. Man, that is just flying. Anyway, came into the last 300-400m and looked at my watch. I couldn't believe the time I was at and knew I was going to PB my time. It was also at this point that I saw what my pace had been up to that point and since I was feeling pretty good, started to up the turnover. Knocked off a few more seconds off the pace so I could get it to a sub 9:00/mile pace.

Up the pace. I could have knocked another 2 minutes off my time. I know I can do 8:30 but was worried about the stitch in my side. I don't think I will next week since it is the last race of the year.

Crossed the finish line and felt great, which let's me know I didn't push it nearly enough. Basically walked around with Beth, went inside to get some food and change into some dry clothes. So glad she thought of that. Makes a world of difference.


The rain, of course, as well as the hills on the ride. I'm still really happy with the race, though. 1:24:14. Big time PB. Knocked off almost 7 minutes off my best previous time


Great race considering they had a lot to deal with. Rain, lightening, then people pulling out because of the weather. Overall I think it was a well run race. And the swag was brilliant. Nice bike shirt.

For me, it was a fantastic race for me. Great warm up for Accenture next weekend. If I work it right, I actually might make the 1:20 I've been shooting for this year.