Hy-Vee Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Good strategy by Doug to start near the front on the outside. I was quickly able to find a comfortable pace and room to maneuver. The joke went like this: "I'm like a European basketball player - I do better in space." I felt very relaxed throughout the whole swim. Perhaps a little too relaxed looking at my time. I actually was pretty happy being under 30 minutes, until I saw what others did. I should have been pushing myself a bit harder, I suppose. With a wetsuit on, I should probably have been in the 27-28 min. neighborhood. I did notice my lower back felt a little tight after 1000m or so - possibly because of the wetsuit? Thoughts on this would be appreciated. The fact that the swim felt so comfortable is attributable to 1. longer swims (3000m and up) and 2. not going hard enough. Next year, I'll do more of 1, and less of 2.


Swim harder!!! I had trained an entire year primarily to do well at this event, and I kind of half-assed it through the swim. I never felt out of breath or panicky or anything. I don't know why I felt like I needed to save myself - the bike and run require leg strength. My sighting wasn't great, either - I think I zigzagged more than I needed to. Originally my goal was 30 minutes for the swim, but it should have been 28.

First transition included putting the wetsuit in the "technical bag" (Read: white garbage bag) and putting on my Garmin. I got the garmin for things like this, so I might as well use it. I put my shoes on to run with the bike because the transition zone was grass.


Not much. I practiced getting out of my wetsuit quickly, so I don't know if I could have done that much faster. I wanted my Garmin, so I freely and willingly gave up those 30 seconds to put on the HR strap and watch.

Very poor bike segment. Never in my worst case scenario (outside of a flat) did I expect to turn in a time that was nearly 7 minutes off my PR, and 3.5 minutes slower than last year, on my hybrid. The course was actually about 25.4 miles, so that cost everyone about 2 minutes, but it evens out among the group. In addition to that, the course was much hillier that last year.

But my biggest problem was mechanical. On the first hill I shifted into the small chain ring. When we got to the flats, I tried to shift back into the big ring, and it wouldn't go. So I spent 24 miles on the small ring. I often didn't have enough gears to go as fast as I needed to. Plus, the chain was grinding across the gears, and the front derailleur was rubbing on the large ring the entire time. It made an awful grinding sound that was very annoying to myself and I'm sure to the other riders. To top it off, the chain fell off the front ring after the turnaround, which took me about a minute to fix.

All in all, the mechanical mishaps cost me about 4-5 minutes, I would estimate. I really shouldn't complain, though, considering what others had to go through.


Reconsider my bike selection. I got my 2005 QR Caliente on Ebay for $850 last year, and I've had several problems with it. This most recent issue with the front derailleur has been a chronic issue, but I thought I had it fixed. I reared its ugly head at the worst possible time. The friction created from the derailleur grinding on the chain ring was sapping my power and speed. I'm hoping I can find a permanent solution to this latest problem. On the brighter side, the seat and aerobar setup is now great. Those who know me will be glad to hear that I won't be complaining about that anymore.

I also think it would be better for me to get some more mileage in throught the spring. It's hard to spend more time training. But if I could do some 2-3 hour rides, the 1+ hour ride would seem to be relatively easy.

T2 went very well. My T2 time was significantly faster than those whose finishing times were around mine. I had my feet on top of my shoes which worked nicely. The quick tie laces and race belt were helpful too.

I can't really think of anything. Maybe ride with the race belt on? Of course that would just add to the T1 time. It's hard to have a fast transition time with such large transition zones.

Mostly positive here. This was 6 minutes faster than last year, so that's good. This was probably about as good as I could do on this course. I thought I might be a touch faster considering I couldn't push myself as hard on the bike as I wanted, but that proved to be false.

More run training. Don't have a knee injury. It's been a constant battle since last October with this. Everytime I start to get going with my running, the knee flares up and I have to back off. My MRI was normal, so I'm hoping it's just muscle imbalances and weaknesses. I'll have to take a step back and re-examine this situation in the offseason; right now it's all about damage control.

Slammed the first water bottle in about 5 seconds. Went to the food tent and probably down 1500 calories in about 10 minutes. Did some stretching and talked with friends. I think I ate too many ice cream bars because I had a little bit of a stomach ache for a while.


1. Half-assed swim
2. Problem with front derailleur on bike
3. Lack of run training due to injury

Of course, I can always say I'd like to spend more time training, but there are limits to everything. I've spent a lot of time and money on tri's over the past 2 years, and I have no intention of taking more time away from my family to pursue my selfish goals of athletic training. I spend as much time training at night/early morning/lunch hour as I can so that I can spend my evenings at home. I don't feel guilty going for a bike ride at 6 AM when everyone is already asleep, but I sure do if I go out at 6 PM when I'm supposed to be here being a dad. So if I never break 2:30 or 2:20 or whatever artificial goals I set for myself, but I raise 2 (or more perhaps) healthy, smart, responsible children, it's worth it.

(Note to anyone who reads this: the above paragraph is mostly for myself to look back at when I do feel like I should spend more time training and that the family or job are holding me back. Triathlon is my hobby, not my life.)


With all the flooding we've had around here, it's been a nightmare for Hy-Vee to put this event on. From changing venues and going to a du, and then back to a tri, they did a great job setting things up and making the best of a bad situation in the middle of a natural disaster which was the flood. Of course it helps that their headquarters are in W. DSM, so that they could devote tons of resources and personnel to this project!

I was very happy to hear that the swim was on. There was not much more the directors could have done to make this a more successful event. I loved the post-race spread. The two transition zones were difficult to work with, but seriously, what else could they do? Great job.

And lastly, terrible news with the death of Jim Mulligan during the event. He was a business and community leader in Des Moines, and he'll be missed, especially by his young family. Thoughts and prayers to them.