Lake In The Hills Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lake In The Hills, Illinois
United States
Village Of Lake In The Hills
69F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 46m 1s
Overall Rank = 89/272
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 14/28
Pre-race routine:

Breakfast 2 hours prior to start.
Toss gear in truck and go.
Raining pretty well. Radar looked like it was going to rain all morning. Asked why are we going this?
Glad I planned for rain - had extra shoes/socks for T2 and bid # on running shirt in 2nd bag.
First Tri - so I got there early for all the newbie Q&A and what should I do/where to I go next issues.
Expectations were to finish in 1:45 to 2:00hrs based upon training.


Event warmup:

Got marked. Asked about timing chip - forgot it was at T1/start area. Set up T2 and rode with gear to T1/start area.
Swim
  • 22m 19s
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

First timers typically dread the swim. My goal was not to drown. Free-styled first 200 - saw others doing side/butterfly so I switched to conserve energy. Navigation wasn't great but what do you expect. I stayed out of the way for other - so that was a plus.
What would you do differently?:

I trained for the swim with a month of lake swimming but wasn't enough to be comfortable with my breathing.

I met my goal - I survived!
Transition 1
  • 03m 30s
Comments:

Wetsuit wasn't a problem coming off, but putting it in a bag was troublesome. Wore socks and trying to dry feet in the rain wasn't real fun - like toweling off while the shower is still on. Wore running shoes so this took some time. I didn't mind, I was out of the water!
What would you do differently?:

Left bike gloves in bag to stay dry verses hanging on bars. Had practiced putting them on during the bike not in T1 and they were inside out. Duuh!
Bike
  • 54m 5s
  • 15 miles
  • 16.64 mile/hr
Comments:

Kept thinking don't go out too hard. Had training rides that I was sucking air the last quarter. Wanted to be comfortable and with the rain not to crash. Hadn't trained in the rain. Course was good. Hills were not a problem, caught/past bikers on the hills. Gearing was good until later on. Tried to keep high cadence (for me) with lower gear early on. Prepped for run by using lower gears late too. Drank well even though not quite accustomed to this in races.
What would you do differently?:

Bike was good; about what I expected. Hoped for about 45 minutes, but that was a wish.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

A good T2! Got the bike racked and wet shirt off. Rain stopped sometime during the ride. A little trouble opening the bag for my running shirt with bid #. Ran with shirt to chip mat. It was good to be off the bike. I'm 2 thirds done! Not feeling like a tri virgin any more. Didn't change socks/shoes. It was nice to have a dry shirt on - believe it prevented over heating.
What would you do differently?:

Didn't need to tie the T2 bag to the rack. Thought this would be drier than on the ground, but wet strings can be a problem to untie.
Run
  • 25m 28s
  • 4 miles
  • 06m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

A decent run. Pace was good and transition was what I expected. I trained after every bike ride with 1/2 to 1 mile run so I knew what to expect. With a slow swim and average bike there were plenty of runners ahead. Had the 6th fastest run and I wasn't pushing...just trying to finish well.
What would you do differently?:

Not a thing.
Post race
Warm down:

Typical post-race drink, eat and cheer others on. A little running afterwards, but not a much as I'd do for a 5K/10K.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Experience in truly open water swimming, but not a big deal to me.

Event comments:

Race materials showed up via snail-mail after the race. Had to laugh at this since as newbie this would have answered allot of questions. Envelope had 2 mailing labels on it so someone else may not have gotten the info too.
Start was delayed 15 minutes due to rain/weather, but wasn't an issue.




Last updated: 2008-07-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:19 | 880 yards | 02m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/272
Performance: Average
Suit: Yes
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:30
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:54:05 | 15 miles | 16.64 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/272
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Some hills, not bad at all. Good roads. Some folks complained about the 2 u-turns, but they were at the top of hills, so this seemed the right spot if you had to have them.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 80
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:28 | 04 miles | 06m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/272
Performance: Good
12:51 for first 2 miles 12:36 for second 2 miles
Course: Some hills. Suburban streets and bike trail
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 3