Caesar Creek International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Last year, it took me somewhere in the neighborhood of over 30 min (official time was 33:16 but that included T1) to do the swim. In last year's race report I wrote that I needed to take swim lessons and get a wetsuit. I'm happy to say that I took swim lessons this winter and today was my first race in my new wetsuit.

Wow. What a difference a wetsuit makes. Everything is soo much easier. I could sight a hundred times better. I spent so much less energy. And my inefficient swimming technique (my legs drag) is fixed with the buoyancy the suit provides. Last year I remember being passed by wave after wave of people. This year... not so much. In fact I came out of the water 3rd in my age group (last year I was 12/14).

Even so, the first lap was a bit rough. It seemed choppy out around the far buoys and I remember taking in a few mouthfuls of water. Then on the third turn I got kicked in the head pretty hard and my goggles got twisted a bit. The second lap was much less eventful and I definitely settled into a groove. As I got to the exit I made sure to keep swimming until my hands touched the bottom.

The timestamps on the pictures show me getting into the water at 8:26:06 and out at 8:52:58. Also, the guy just ahead of me finished the swim in 24:37. As he was a few age groups behind me on the start, I think a time of 26:52 is probably pretty close to what my official time should have been. That's a HUGE improvement from last year. Boo-yah!

I also understand why my swim coach kept telling me, "Dude we gotta get you a wetsuit".

I would warm up longer. It took awhile for me to find a groove on that first lap. Also, I think I will use this coming off-season to work on bilateral breathing.

Another guesstimate on the time, and it includes the run up the beach.

I had the wetsuit off to my waist by the time I was a few feet out of the water . I jogged up the beach at a fairly decent clip and washed my feet off in one of the water tubs they had.

I was pretty happy with how easily the wetsuit came off and my shirt actually went on without a problem. I got my shoes and socks on, put on the shades and helmet, and took off.

Not much. This was pretty smooth.

Like swimming, biking was a weakness last year. Unlike swimming, biking is still a weakness.

At least this year I had clipless pedals instead of toe cages!

If you read my race report for Tri for Joe earlier this season you know that I had a water bottle commit suicide about 10 miles in. Because of this I had bought a new water bottle and had installed the water bottle holder it came with on my bike. So I started the race with a bottle of gatorade, a bottle of water, and two gel packs.

Around mile 2 I hit a bump and the bottle filled with water decided it was his time to go. I decided that since I still had the gatorade bottle and it was overcast I was good to go.

The next 8 miles or so were uneventful. It was fun riding past the Corwin stop on the Little Miami Bike path because that's where I always hit the path when I ride. I got passed a lot, but I'm used to that on the bike. I felt like I was maintaining the pace I wanted (above 18mph), decided that I was racing the 2008 version of myself, and wasn't worried about anyone else. The monster hill wasn't as bad as last year because I was expecting it, and I managed to pass two people on it (who were the only OT'ers I passed the entire bike ride, and yes they passed me back shortly thereafter).

After the hill I decided to suck some gatorade. I put the bottle back in the holder and about 10 seconds later... BUMP! And the bottle goes flying. I sort of freeze and am debating whether to stop or keep going. I decide 15 miles w/o hydration would suck, so I stop, drop my bike, and run in my bike shoes about a hundred feet back to my water bottle. About 20 people fly by me during this and I bet at least 2 minutes if not more pass before I'm back on the bike.

I spent about 30 seconds cussing myself out, but I calmed down by realizing that there's nothing I can do about it now. It happened. It's over. Move on.

The ride continues and sure enough, around Mile 15 the gatorade bottle once again decides to end its life and this time I saw "Screw It" and keep going. I think I managed the last 10 miles okay without any hydration, but every time someone passed me I stared at their water bottle.

Overall, despite the water bottle problems, I think I raced well. I averaged 18.2 mph even though I stopped to get the water bottle. That was a huge improvement from last year's 16.66 mph effort. And after my 40 mile training rides this course was a breeze.

I need to figure out this water bottle problem. I have no idea what I'm doing that causes these damn things to fly out.

Also, I need some aerobars and I guess more Time In The Saddle as always. I'm happy with the improvement on the bike, but I still finished 11/12 in my age group :(

Heh. I forgot to mention the stupid cars I had to deal with as I finished up the bike ride. They got in front of me and then just stopped so I had to go around them and in between them and an oncoming vehicle. Awesome!

T2 went well other than the problem getting there!

Nothing really.

I took a bottle of water with me for the first loop. The first loop I felt great! The second loop was a bit tougher but I managed to hang on. Last year it took me almost 56 minutes so I have to say I'm really pleased with shaving off 7 minutes. All that running I did for the Marathon last year continues to pay benefits. 6 miles still seems like nothing and I'm just at a new fitness level.

Nothing really. I think I had a good run. Faster than the 10K stand alone race I did on June 3rd.

My goal was to destroy last year's time and with an unofficial 2:42:06 I can safely say I achieved this goal. Last year was 2:58:44, so I made up over 16 minutes, and w/o the water bottle thing I might have cracked 2:40. I'd love to make a run at 2:30 next year.


Stupid water bottles. And my biking ability. I need some biking lessons!


Overall a great race. However I do have two complaints: 1.)I wish they set up water stop tables on both sides of the running course, because there were lots of near and actual collisions as people were reaching across oncoming traffic to get water (I took a spilled cup all over my chest) 2.)They ran out of sports drink waaaay too early (cmon... on the first lap? Seriously?)