Whitefish Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Whitefish, Montana
United States
Kalispell Athletic Club
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 38m 57s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30 to 39
Age Group Rank = 12/17
Pre-race routine:

Woke up and ate my customary waffles with peanut butter and syrup, drank a cup of oolong tea, loaded up the car and headed out to whitefish around 7:00 a.m. We helped set up the transition area when we got there, guess we were plenty early :) Then I picked a transition spot right on the end nearest the bike start. Gary set up across from me (this was his first tri, GO GARY).
Event warmup:

Stood around for a long time chatting with friends and training buddies who were there. I thought the race start was 8:30am, but it was 9:00am and started even a little later than that. At around 8:30am I put my wetsuit on after spraying myself with PAM (works great by the way, this is my new favorite tip). Then went out for a warm up swim in the lake. The water was much warmer than last year, and felt great. Went back up to my transition area, drank some water, took a swig of hammer gel and waited for the race start.
Swim
  • 17m 50s
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

Inhaled a little water early on, but was able to clear it while taking just a couple sidestrokes. also had some trouble getting around the buoy,I tried to take the turn close to the buoy, but there was a bunch of people backed up, so I ended up having to tread water around the buoy. Once I got around it though things opened back up and I was back in my rhythm. I just kept swimming until my hands touched bottom, then I was up and out. This was definitely my best swim yet. I didn't have to flip over on my back even once, my sighting was good, and I finally found my rhythm during a race.
What would you do differently?:

Go wider around the buoy, so I don't get caught up in the dogpile :)
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

The transition times for this race are included in the bike split, so I don't know the exact times, but this was my best transition yet. Got the top of my wetsuit down while exiting the water, jogged up to my transition area, pulled it the rest of the way down, pulled my legs out, threw on my helmet and glasses, slipped into my shoes, and I was off. There was a set of stairs I had to walk up in my bike shoes to get to the bike start, which slowed me down some.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to get in my shoes on my bike
Bike
  • 49m 30s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 15.07 mile/hr
Comments:

I have some work to do on the bike. I only passed two people during the bike leg and around 10 passed me. I pushed pretty hard on the flats, but several people still flew by me like it was nothing, and the hills really did me in, not so much going up them, but coming down with the curves I braked a lot. I'm just not very confident in my bike handling skills, and well... I'm a big chicken when it comes to going around corners fast. It's definitely something I need to work on. I also hit a bee coming down hill. It ricocheted off my arm onto my leg and it was PISSED! It sat on my leg and stung me repeatedly, but atleast I didn't wreck trying to get it off me. I cussed out loud at it until I could safely brush it off :) . I'm sure the person who passed me during this little episode thought I was completely nuts, as I was angrily saying "gdammit... F**K... YOU LITTLE A**HOLE... F**K". This was actually the first time I'd ever been stung by a bee, so luckily I wasn't allergic. It swelled a little, but not too bad.
What would you do differently?:

Not brake so much going around the corners and downhill. Not get stung by a bee :)
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Can't run real well in my bike shoes on pavement, especially going down stairs, so just went as fast as possible without biteing it. racked my bike took off my helmet and bike shoes, put on my running shoes, grabbed my race belt and hat, and put them on while running to the run start.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to get out of my bike shoes on the bike.
Run
  • 31m 27s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

My plan was to push as much as I could during the run, and take walk breaks if my knee started acting up. I didn't have to take any walk breaks, but I couldn't seem to push any harder than my jogging pace either. I only passed one person on the run and about 5 passed me.
What would you do differently?:

Not injure my knee the month before, so I could do more running and speed training.
Post race
Warm down:

Gary and my friend Carly (who had both passed me on the bike) were waiting at the finish line. Gave them both a hug, Carly took a picture, and then my friend Teresa crossed the finish line. We walked it out a little together, and then went for a dip in the lake, which felt much colder now that our bodies were so hot. It was really refreshing though.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of confidence on the bike, and my knee

Event comments:

This was my first triathlon ever last year, and will always be one of my favorites. It's a great local event with burgers and beer afterward and great prize drawings (even though I haven't won any lol). It's a fun course and great people! This year I took 15 minutes off my time from last year, so I can't really complain. Of course, I ditched the hybrid which accounts for alot of it, but my swim was about 3 minutes faster and my run was 2 minutes faster even with my knee issues. Training and experience is working, now I want to get even faster for next year :)

First picture from left to right: me, carly, and Teresa Second picture: Gary and me


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-08-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:50 | 880 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 8/17
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: xterra vortex xv2
Course: point to point swim in Whitefish Lake
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:49:30 | 12.43 miles | 15.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/17
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
hr average 160 max 173
Wind: None
Course: Out and back on a paved mountain road. Flat for the first and last few miles and hilly and curvy for the middle few.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:27 | 03.11 miles | 10m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/17
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
hr avg 164 max 173
Course: Out and back hilly run on paved streets.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5