General Discussion Race Reports! » Hy-Vee Triathlon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Hy-Vee Triathlon - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Des Moines, Iowa
United States
Hy-Vee Triathlon
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 08m 59s
Overall Rank = 8/961
Age Group = M20-24
Age Group Rank = 3/37
Pre-race routine:

My second place at Pigman hurt a lot. I had finally convinced myself I was going to win and when I came up short it really hit me. It took a little bit extra to get me going back up to normal after the race. Luckily as the next two weeks progressed I got back into my race mindset and I was ready to just destroy Hy-Vee.
I told myself this was my last chance of the year. I had put in the hard training; this is the time to just let loose. The bike course will be difficult again; I had made my race season specifically that way. I just wanted to show I as better than a 2:10:20 like I was at Pigman. I knew the run course so I knew I could set a new PR on that course.
I got to the race course with my teammate, Alex Libin, around 5:15am and got set up nice and easy. Walking towards transition was probably the most nauseous I have ever felt before a race. This was my big goal for the year and I think my body knew it. I wanted to win my age group so bad. The night before the race I remembered a mantra I had heard before, “Everybody else is hurting just as much as you,” referring to the fact that everyone else is out there just as long as you. I turned this into my own mantra for the day. If they are going to be hurting as much as me, I’m just going to make them hurt as much as I can! I feel I have more mental toughness than most of the racers to I wanted to lay down the hurt. I wrote on my race page, “Let’s make them hurt!” in big letters on the back to remind myself that I want to lay it all out there.
Event warmup:

We couldn’t warm-up on the bike or swim beforehand so the only thing I could do was run. I got out for a run and felt content. I really felt like I could just go hard and it felt exciting. I went and got lined up to be one of the first from my group into the water.
Swim
  • 25m 22s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

We started in a TT format going four at a time. I was in the third group and dove in strong. I quickly passed people in my group and the group that started six seconds up on me. Soon I looked up and realized I was in THIRD on the swim! I might very well come out of the water in first place! I swam by myself like this for a while until about 500 yards out I hit a sandbar with the bottom of my hand which frightened me just a little. After that little excitement the swimmers started to catch me and I had a normal swim here on out. On the way back I felt like there were more chops hitting us but not too bad.
What would you do differently?:

Save more for second half.
Transition 1
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

Coming out of the water I felt horrible. I always feel horrible though and I just needed to know to push on. I quickly got my wetsuit off, better than ever before, and got right onto the bike. I did a pretty decent flying mount but was still a little woozy from getting out of the water.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Went well.
Bike
  • 1h 03m 27s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 23.65 mile/hr
Comments:

Time to rip! Getting going on the bike was a little sluggish. I felt like I was really pushing just to hang onto 20mph? I told myself it was a false flat and started planning my
attack. The last few races I’ve waited too long to start my attack and I told myself the race doesn’t start halfway through the bike; the race starts now! Each time I picked it up I had a little trouble staying strong.
When I hit about mile three on the bike we were at the second turn around. We had three lanes to switch over to three lanes, six total. I took this very wide and tried to keep my speed up. As I came around the corner I heard a scraping sound by my rear wheel and suddenly my back end came airborne! Luckily, I landed it okay. This turned out to be just the adrenaline rush I needed and I started to gun it right from there. My only panic for the next mile was, “Oh my god my rear wheel just got trashed didn’t it!”
The rest of the bike was quick and fast riding. I was determined to not let anybody pass me since it has been a while since anybody did on the bike. I started passing all of the elite guys who started five minutes up from me; talk about some confidence boost! With about two miles left I saw my time was shooting right over 1:03:00 and if I really pushed I could break it. I realized I had to run afterwards and wanted to run well too so I just stayed strong and didn’t push too hard. I came in at 1:03:29, a new personal best on the bike!
What would you do differently?:

This went really well. I think just being patient and knowing the bike will continually get faster through the years is about it.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

I got off the bike and saw only a few bikes in transition, perfect! I got my shoes on and took off with one mindset, “Make them hurt!”
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 37m 24s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

I passed a guy from my age group in about a minute and thought to myself, “That’s 1st place right there. We can coast to the win from here.” After about five seconds of that I wanted to see who all I could get on the run. This was my last triathlon of the year I didn’t want to leave any stones unturned. I kept a strong pace and started eyeing how far back I was. I passed a few more elite guys on the run.
The run went pretty smooth and came in to about the five mile mark when shock hit my system, somebody had caught me! Suddenly a runner came alongside me and I told myself to hang with him. I picked it up and stuck stride for stride with him. It actually felt pretty cool because it was a mess of slower runners from a previous race and then the two of us running in stride right past all of them. The problem was when we passed people we each would go different ways. When we passed a runner he would get a small gap and then it slowly built from there. I was in total shock; somebody had beaten me at my game, taking people out on the run.
I fought hard that last half mile and tried to close back up the gap as we came up the hill and sprinted down the shoot but couldn’t get the last few seconds on him. Right when I got across the line I took about five steps and fell on the ground exhausted.
What would you do differently?:

Not much really. I could have more fight at the end but there wasn't much left in the tank. I think mentally I was drained from the season by this point as well.
Post race
Warm down:

Quickly two ladies came up to check on me to see if I was okay. I just told them I didn’t want to stand and they let me lay there for about 30 seconds before I got back up.
I finished in a time of 2:08:59. That little sprint at the end paid off as I passed a guy by one second and claimed 8th place overall! This is my worst placing in any race in Iowa but I also raced in a race five times bigger than any of my other races. I ended up placing third in my age group and I was frustrated. After taking a looking at the results I realized there wasn’t much I could do; the other two guys ran 35 minute 10Ks while I stilled PR’d my run with a 37:24. This was just 16 seconds slower than only doing the run last year. Not only that but I also had a faster run split than the Olympic Gold Medalist as he raced on the course later that day; talk about bragging rights!
My effort on race day was near perfect. I pushed every time I needed to and sometimes when I didn’t want to. I got the technical problems I’ve had the last few races fixed and things went really well. For now, I’m going to finish up my year with a few running races focusing on an extra kick in the last mile just like I started the year.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swimming and mental exhaustion by the end of the year.




Last updated: 2012-02-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:22 | 1640 yards | 01m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/37
Overall: 64/961
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex
Course: Rectangular swim.
Start type: Run Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:41
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:03:27 | 24.85 miles | 23.65 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/37
Overall: 20/961
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Three out and back course with rolling hills. I believe they had the road closed which was nice. We also got to race through a park so it was pretty scenic.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:37:24 | 06.21 miles | 06m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/37
Overall: 7/961
Performance: Good
Course: Short little out and back followed by a point to point run. Very flat and fast run which finished with one hill right at the end.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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

{postbutton}
2013-07-16 8:10 AM

User image

Member
38
25
Subject: Hy-Vee Triathlon
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Hy-Vee Triathlon Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Started by Swee
Views: 1732 Posts: 6

2007-06-20 4:38 PM Swee

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Started by lastcall2003
Views: 1629 Posts: 1

2007-06-18 2:08 PM lastcall2003

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Started by douglasschaefer
Views: 1810 Posts: 7

2007-06-21 12:33 PM douglasschaefer

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Started by robfornoff
Views: 1783 Posts: 3

2007-06-20 3:43 PM robfornoff

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Started by JungleDoc
Views: 1818 Posts: 4

2007-06-20 3:33 PM robfornoff
RELATED ARTICLES
date : January 26, 2012
author : dantheman1123
comments : 1
My first triathlon was at age 56. At first I was just the cameraman at my daughter's first triathlon, then I am doing the races that she has done.
 
date : November 29, 2011
author : trmat79
comments : 2
A story about the motivation to overcome everyday challenges
date : October 4, 2011
author : MikeyT1298
comments : 6
First time triathlete conquers swim struggle and finishes at the front of the pack
 
date : August 8, 2011
author : Gina60
comments : 16
I can't run a seven-minute mile anymore, but that doesn't take away from the joy of finishing
date : June 27, 2011
author : pyroman1_1
comments : 3
Lake Havasu Tri 3/19/2011
 
date : May 26, 2011
author : gdsemiller
comments : 14
Towards the end of December 2010 both my daughter and son came up to me and said “Daddy we want you to get healthy and not die."
date : April 27, 2011
author : brumby11
comments : 5
An impending baby inspires a father to become fit, along the way discovering world of triathlon
 
date : October 2, 2007
author : douglasschaefer
comments : 5
A story of how a simple email one day can change your life forever.