Devil's Challenge Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Baraboo, Wisconsin
United States
Wisconsin Triathlon Series
52F / 11C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 22m 5s
Overall Rank = 50/749
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 10/71
Pre-race routine:

Arrived at 7am and the parking lots were more crowded than last year. I wonder if the cold temps last year caused some people to back out. At 50+ degrees, it felt positively balmy compared to last year.
Event warmup:

Picked up packet, got marked, set up in transition and went for a warm-up run. Thought it might be a bad omen when I tried to turn on my MP3 player and it just read "low battery" and shut itself off. Had a last minute panic when I realized right before transition was closing that I hadn't put my cycling computer back on my bike, going through all my stuff looking for it before realizing I had put it in my bike shoe. I definitely would have found it in T1.
Swim
  • 06m 40s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 31s / 100 yards
Comments:

The water was cool, but didn't feel cold. I seeded myself at the front. I went out a little too fast the first 100 yards, and slowed down into a more normal pace a bit after rounding the bouy. Sighting was good and I stayed pretty well on-course (unlike last year when I found myself heading towards the South shore). I didn't realize how high my HR was until I stood up and was sucking wind while running into transition.
What would you do differently?:

Not much
Transition 1
  • 02m 15s
Comments:

Wetsuit got stuck on my ankles and I had to sit down to pull it off, wasting a few seconds. I took some deep breaths while putting on my socks, bike shoes, glasses, and helmet to relax some and bring down my HR.
What would you do differently?:

Guess I need to practice removing the wetsuit a little more and/or cut a few inches off the bottom of the wetsuit. Even with a good coating of Body Glide, it was still sticking.
Bike
  • 51m 34s
  • 15 miles
  • 17.45 mile/hr
Comments:

Started in an easy gear and high cadence to get ready for the first big hill on DL , or at least it felt like a high cadence, since my cadence sensor wasn't working. The sensor must have gotten bumped out of place transporting it to the race and I didn't check it beforehand. Luckily, I didn't really miss it much, since I've gotten much better at feeling what my cadence is.

Felt great on the bike (or at least as good as I could feel on those hills) and managed to stay in my saddle the whole time, as opposed to last year where I had to stand near the top of several hills. I was much better prepared this year.

I definitely appreciated the spectators around mile 9 or 10 that were out cheering and had the theme song from Rocky blaring from their car stereo. It was a nice little pick-me-up. Also, the long downhill around mile 10 or 11 was a blast, hitting 40+ mph.
What would you do differently?:

Double-check my bike computer beforehand to make sure everything's working right. Keep training on the hills to improve my time for next year.
Transition 2
  • 01m 17s
Comments:

PR'ed T2. It probably helped that my rack was pretty close to the bike walk-in. Don't know if I'll ever get this under a minute, since my knee braces take 10-15 secs to get on.
Run
  • 20m 20s
  • 3 miles
  • 06m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

Could definitely feel it that I’d pushed hard on the bike, as my legs felt more leaden than usual for the first mile. Poured some water on my head at the half-way point to cool down. Near the end of the bike, I’d heard some spectators cheering on someone behind me named Paul, and I heard them again several places on the run, so I told myself I had to keep going as fast as I could to try to beat Paul, whoever he was. Heard them again at the last turn towards the finish, so I sprinted as best I could to the end. Paul turned out to be from my age group and finished right behind me, so we congratulated each other on a good race. It's funny what you can find to motivate yourself during a race.
What would you do differently?:

More tempo runs and bricks. I didn't do as much run training this year as I would have liked and minimal speed work due to other commitments and some minor injuries.
Post race
Warm down:

Got some water, stretched, and then cheered on other racers while waiting for my wife to finish.

Event comments:

Great end of season race. Challenging but fun, with nice scenery and very friendly participants.




Last updated: 2008-09-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:40 | 440 yards | 01m 31s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/71
Overall: 38/749
Performance: Good
Suit: QR HydroJohn
Course: U shape
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:15
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:51:34 | 15 miles | 17.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 14/71
Overall: 80/749
Performance: Good
Wind: Little with gusts
Course: Long hills
Road:  Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:17
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:20 | 03 miles | 06m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/71
Overall: 0/749
Performance: Average
Course: Through the campgrounds with a few small hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4