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La Porte YMCA Triathlon - Triathlon


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La Porte, Indiana
United States
YMCA
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 26m 3s
Overall Rank = 185/324
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 11/25
Pre-race routine:

Got up around 5am and hit the road around 5:40 am. Ate some CLIF Shot Bloks on the way and sipped water. Listened to some 'tunes on the ipod in the car and enjoyed the drive on the beautiful morning. Only took us a little over an hour to make it to La Porte. Not bad at all. Got there as registration was starting, got marked and got some pretty great spots in transition.
Event warmup:

Jumped in the water and swam about 200 meters or so. I am SO glad that we got in before the race, because I would have been petrified by the plant life reaching up to grab me. :) It was my first OWS tri so it took me a little bit to get used to it. Jumped in for another few minutes after the pre-race talk on the beach. Time went by really fast and before we knew it, it was go time!
Swim
  • 09m 46s
  • 400 meters
  • 02m 26s / 100 meters
Comments:

I was in the second wave. The waves were fairly big (it was a small race), so I was in with women 30-49. I lined up toward the back, but wish I had been a little further forward. We got in and I had nowhere, I mean nowhere, to go. Every time I tried to swim, I just got kicked in the face. It was a lot tougher than I expected, but I'm really proud of the way I handled it. It was actually a lot of fun! I ended up breastroking quite a bit of the first 200 meters, but before I knew it I was at the turnaround. Once I started heading back to shore I found some open water and was off. My last 200M were great. Never once did I feel panic or hesitancy. I just did my thing and before I knew it my hands were hitting sand and I was out of the water. I almost didn't want it to be over!
What would you do differently?:

Maybe start a little further front? Trying to get around people at the beginning really slowed me down. Other than that, I just need to get a swim coach so I can get faster! All in all, I'm really happy with my performance and how calm I was able to stay.
Transition 1
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

My transition times just stink. Even though I was way faster than my first tri, I'm still too slow. I think (hope) this will come with experience.
What would you do differently?:

Be faster.
Bike
  • 40m 16s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 18.48 mile/hr
Comments:

Although I was fairly calm during the swim, my heart rate got a little out of control at the beginning of the bike. Don't know why. The course was fairly hilly and I'm not used to riding hills, so this was a bit of a challenge. Passed a decent number of people on the bike, but my bike is still too heavy to compete with those on tri bikes. Hopefully that will change in the next year or two. Probably could have pushed it a little more on the bike, but I'm still too new to this to know what is a good pace. Pretty happy with my performance.
What would you do differently?:

Train on more hills. Push just a little harder. Drink more.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Now why did this transition take me 1:30? That's just waaaay too long. I fussed around double-knotting my shoes (really not necessary) and then taking a drink of my water. I know I can knock a good :30 off of this one.
What would you do differently?:

Get serious about my transitions. I need to get in and out quicker.
Run
  • 32m 32s
  • 3.4 miles
  • 09m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

I really blew up on the run. I haven't been running well at all lately and was really frustrated to have another bad run today. The first mile felt like about three and I was so discouraged when I saw the Mile 1 marker, as I thought I had gone further. I felt a little better between one and two, and picked up the pace a bit. It was starting to get hot on the course and I was a little overheated. I didn't really drink enough in the morning or on the bike and it was catching up with me. In general, my nutrition in this race was really off. Started the run with a few CLIF Shot Bloks but threw them away almost right away because I couldn't stomach it. The last .3 really felt much longer (jowisc agreed). Maybe closer to 3.5?
What would you do differently?:

Need to do more speedwork and get more comfortable running outside the comfort zone. Jowisc says I strain too much when I'm tired and he's right. I was really bummed with this run...I should have been at least a minute faster. Aargh.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed a Rice Krispie treat from the refreshments. :) Yum. They had really great food! Walked a little bit from finish to transition and then back to car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Consistent training. I lost most of the month of June because of my dad's death and really feel like that set me back in my training. Although I've gotten stronger on the bike, I feel like I'm worse off on the swim and the run. I need to train harder and more consistently. The good thing is that racing motivates me to do this!

Event comments:

This is really a little gem of a race not too far from Chicago. It's small enough that it's manageable, but it's really well run. They announced that this is the second-longest running triathlon in the U.S.! I would DEFINITELY recommend it and hope to go back again next year!




Last updated: 2006-07-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:46 | 400 meters | 02m 26s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/324
Performance: Average
Suit: TYR tri suit
Course: Triangle...200 meters out, 200 back.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:59
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:40:16 | 12.4 miles | 18.48 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/324
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back with rolling hills. Turnaround was at the bottom of the hill. We had to almost stop and turn our bikes around and then head straight back up!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
00:32:32 | 03.4 miles | 09m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/324
Performance: Bad
Course: Rolling hills around the lake.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2006-08-05 5:22 PM

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Veteran
160
1002525
Oak Park, IL
Bronze member
Subject: La Porte YMCA Triathlon


2006-08-05 9:36 PM
in reply to: #503128

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Expert
783
500100100252525
South Bend, IN
Subject: RE: La Porte YMCA Triathlon
I normally do this race as my wife's family is all from Laporte. She loves the race, and I hate it. Well, maybe not hate, but it is my least fave. I did the Steelhead today instead. First time i missed the Laporte race. If you are looking for good races in this area, try the Valparaiso Tri in early July next year, and the Warsaw tri in Late June. Bothe are awesome races. I alway smoke on the valpo course. Good job!
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