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Lake Stevens Olympic Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Lake Stevens, Washington
United States
BuDuRacing
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 21m 37s
Overall Rank = 19/192
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 2/21
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 4:30, ate breakfast, had a cup of coffee, loaded up the bike, met my friend Tony & carpooled to the race
Event warmup:

A little light stretching, ate a powerbar and tried to stay warm - it was a pretty chilly morning with a little fog. Suited up about 15 min before race time and swam a couple hundred yards after the pre-race briefing.
Swim
  • 20m 43s
  • 1650 yards
  • 01m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

It was a nice morning for a swim. It was cool enough to keep the water skiers off the lake, so there were no waves at all. The kayakers crossed the course a couple times, which blocked my view of the buoys. It was annoying, but not as bad as last year when the kayaks were the same color as the buoys.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing - it was a good swim
Transition 1
  • 02m 7s
Comments:

It was cold!! I had a few folks cheering for me and yelling at me while I was trying to get the wetsuit off. I got a bit flustered with all the commotion & almost tripped on my wetsuit. I took a breath & tried to block them out while getting the rest of my gear ready. I decided to wear a light jacket because of the chill and took an extra 10-15 seconds getting it on.
What would you do differently?:

go faster -- T1 has been my weak spot this season. I might need to just take a bunch of gear down to the lake next spring and get some more practice.
Bike
  • 1h 15m 1s
  • 24.5 miles
  • 19.60 mile/hr
Comments:

The ride started out a bit cool. My glasses fogged up right away and didn't clear up for a couple of miles. Right out of transition I caught one of the 2 guys who got out of the water before me - about a mile up I got passed for the first time, about half a mile up a second guy passed me.

I tried to get into a rhythm, but just didn't feel it today. I kept pounding away, but my computer said I wasn't going very fast. I expected to have groups of folks blazing by me, but I didn't get passed again until mile 9 and that was only by 1 or 2 guys. I got to the turnaround and was still in 6th place - yes, I counted riders heading back. As I headed back, I saw a pretty good sized group coming up behind me. About a mile after the turnaround, I got passed by about ten guys pretty quickly. I had a brief increase in speed to try to keep them from getting too far away, but I still wasn't feeling it and shifted down a gear and let them slip away.

About 5 miles from the finish we re-joined the Sprint tri course & things got more crowded. I saw a friend of mine on the side of the road - he'd passed me around mile 13 - he was getting into his tool kit and I assumed he was fixing a flat. Turns out he was. He got going again, but flatted a second time and ended up riding into transition on a flat tire.

I got to a hill about 2 miles from T2 and kept left to get by the sprint riders. A couple of folks were weaving out towards the yellow line, but it wasn't too bad. I decided to keep the gearing low and spin my way up instead of trying to power up the hill and I got to the top feeling pretty good. I coasted down the backside and started thinking about transition and getting my legs loosened up.

The ride into transition had a few turns, and at one point we were riding right by the runners. The road was not blocked off and the runners were heading out into the street right where the bikers were turning onto the street. I didn't see anyone directing the runners to stay to the side and thought that someone was going to get hurt.

I had trouble with biking today. I haven't ridden much the past 3 weeks (marathon training is taking over) and I purchased a new bike. I decided to ride the new bike, which I think was a mistake. I never felt like I was "dialed in" to the right gear and I think I still need to make a couple slight adjustments to the seat height & position. My average speed was below the pace I was riding at during the HIM on Aug. 15 and I just didn't feel like this was a very good ride.
What would you do differently?:

Stick with the ride that I do a majority of my training on. A late-season switch was a bad idea.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

It was a little slow, but I did have to take off the jacket I put on before the ride & shout a couple words to my adoring fans -- as well as wave off one who walked into the transition area and tried to help me. The thought was appreciated, but the distraction was not.
Run
  • 42m 41s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 06m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

It felt good. I had to pocket my Garmin because I couldn't get the quick-release strap attached to the unit and lost one of the rods while I was fumbling with it. So I just found a comfortable pace and tried to maintain it. I hoped to pick off a few of the folks that passed me during the bike ride, but mostly just wanted to finish without walking.

I made it up the hill the first time feeling pretty good. Waved to a friend who was about 10 minutes ahead of me and decided to take it easy on the downhill to the turnaround to prep for the climb back up. The climb back up was pretty good and I waved to another couple friends on the way back down to the lake. I caught up to another friend who was running his first sprint-tri and ran with him for a few seconds and tried to give him some encouragement.

I got near the 2nd turnaround and had to ask where the turnaround was - there were a couple barricade signs in the road and no markings indicating straight or turn - a couple people pointed me to the right place & I continued on my way. Lap 2 was pretty much the same as lap 1, a lot more runners since the sprint and oly folks were out on the course now.

Coming into the last mile I found myself behind a guy with M40 on his leg & he was holding a pretty good pace so I fell in behind him. I figured I'd follow him to the quarter-mile point & try to pick up the pace and finish ahead of him. I started my move right before the turnaround cone and the guy turned to start his 2nd lap. That's OK. I'll just keep up the pace and head to the finish.

Little did I know - there was a guy right behind me who had the same idea. He had been shadowing me and made his move right as I entered the finish chute. He passed me about 50yds from the finish & I didn't really challenge him. It turns out I should have. He was an M42 and beat me by 1.5 seconds to take first in the AG. He deserved it, he wanted it more.
What would you do differently?:

finish stronger
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered around, congratulated Rick (the guy who beat me by 1.5 sec) and asked where the water was. Grabbed a snack and headed back to the finish area to watch for other friends finishing.

I saw a great finish by my friend, Tony. He was fighting hard to stay ahead of one guy and ended up with a super sprint finish that was one of the best I've seen.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think I had a minor case of the flu leading up to this race. I hadn't been running well this week and was concerned that I might have to scratch the race. I'm glad I ran it, but it wasn't my best performance.

Event comments:

Transition security was awful - people were walking in & out at will, the Sprint racers were allowed into transition while the Oly racers were coming in from the swim. I had to yell at a couple of non-racers to get out of my way as I was heading to my bike.

Traffic control was poor - there were people at the intersections, but they weren't signaling if the road was clear and I had to dodge a couple of cars who were let through right before I got there. And the area where the runners and bikers shared the road was not marked with cones or tape to keep the runners to the side of the road. During the run, half the run course was open to traffic and there were no cones to keep runners on one side of the road or the other - Some faster folks were running towards slower runners on the same side of the road, I guess they expected the slower ones to clear out of the way.

Post-race stuff was weak. I don't think they ran out of water this year, but there wasn't much and it was all tap water in cooler jugs that you had to self-serve into paper cups. I prefer the iced down water bottles. The food was the standard stuff, but there didn't seem to be much of it. The sound system was poor and you could barely hear the announcer at the finish and during the awards.

I think the race is overpriced for what is offered - There are no T-shirts included in the race fee and this event is not a fundraiser for any charity.




Last updated: 2010-09-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:43 | 1650 yards | 01m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/21
Overall: 7/192
Performance: Good
Suit: Blue Seventy - Reaction
Course: 2 loop clockwise triangle, 2nd wave started 3 min behind
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 67F / 19C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:07
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
01:15:01 | 24.5 miles | 19.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/21
Overall: 41/192
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Out and back along country roads with narrow shoulders. There were several rollers and 2 or 3 moderate climbs. There was some loose gravel in a couple of spots and the road was wet in a couple places.
Road: Rough  Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:42:41 | 06.2 miles | 06m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/21
Overall: 18/192
Performance: Good
Course: A two-loop out-and-back along the lakeshore with a moderate hill at about the 1 mile mark which had to be climbed again at miles 2, 4 & 5. About half the course was closed to traffic, though there were some city-workers cutting some concrete on the sidewalk - not too dusty, though.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2010-09-12 10:44 AM

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Veteran
274
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Everett, WA
Subject: Lake Stevens Olympic Triathlon


2010-09-13 7:30 PM
in reply to: #3093530

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Elite
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Puyallup, WA
Subject: RE: Lake Stevens Olympic Triathlon
oldntrin - 2010-09-12 10:44 AM


I've started working with BuDu Racing most of this season and have participated and been to many of their events.  I am disappointed to hear you had such a negative experience.  I hope you share these concerns with BuDu Racing at your soonest convenience.  I know that BuDu strives to make the event seem seamless to the racers, but sometimes there are obstacles that are unforseen until during or after the race is happening.  Also what is very helpful - instead of listing just what you didn't like - provide your suggestions on how to fix the problems you see.  I know from being behind the scenes it is NOT easy to organize and promote a race.
2010-09-13 11:50 PM
in reply to: #3096660

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Veteran
274
1001002525
Everett, WA
Subject: RE: Lake Stevens Olympic Triathlon
These things are what we, the athletes, are paying for. I've filled out BuDu surveys, given them recommendations AND pointed out things I noticed at last years' race. Seeing the same things again this year is a disappointment.

I get that it's difficult, but this isn't BuDu's first season of doing this event. We're paying full price for a well run event. That's what we should get. Short courses, bad audio and poorly marked or blocked signage are things that shouldn't happen. Did I mention that there were no body markers at transition when it opened and that for quite a while there was only 1 or 2 body markers and the line to get to them snaked all the way across transition? c'mon, tell me that's normal.
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