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Kansas City Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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Kansas City, Missouri
United States
Kansas City Triathlon
63F / 17C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 48m 13s
Overall Rank = 102/330
Age Group = 3539
Age Group Rank = 17/48
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:20. Loaded the bikes. English muffin with some PB and honey and some coffee. Did my business. We were out the door at 5. Arrived at about 5:30 and got a sweet parking spot on Raytown Rd directly across from the park entrance.

Racked bikes, body marked, blah blah blah. Hit the porta potties and waited. I did not do a swim warm up. I wasn't in a hurry to get into the cold water and since Jamie's wave would be about an hour after the 1st wave, she wasn't getting in either. In hindsight, I could have used it.
Event warmup:

No warm up, other than some light jogging.
Swim
  • 34m 57s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 20s / 100 meters
Comments:

I positioned myself in the middle of my wave. The water temp was cold, but not an issue at all. As we took off, my left goggle immediately filled with water. Crap. The same thing happened in Alton back in October. I never have goggle issues. But that was a cold water swim, and so was this. Perhaps the cold water caused them to not fit right....something to consider before I hit the Bay-area waters.

I swam a hundred yards, and the stopped...emptied goggles, and proceeded. After 2-3 times of this, I finally mashed the goggle hard into my face and felt it seal. They were pretty good after that point. I tried to get into a group but the current was pretty strong. I swam to the right so that I could use the current to get around the buoys. The fast swimmers were gone, and it was just the steady folks in view.

Paced myself pretty well. At the end of the 1st lap, I checked my watch... 16:30...ugh...not what I wanted. Course is long.

Back in the water, I was determined to have a better lap. I wouldn't have to hassle with the usual head games I deal with at every swim start. The problem is that upon re-entry, we were approximately 25 yards to the left of where we started. Since I wanted to be right of the first set of buoys, this meant I need to take a sharp angle against the current. Not a big deal, until I saw the pontoon boat creeping into my path. I had to decide to whether to go left of the boat, or to the right of the boat. For some reason, I thought the boat was going to be stopping (why I thought that, I have no idea). I decided to go left. Bad decision. The current pushed the boat further and further in front of where I was trying to swim. As I passed the boat, I was amazed to see a parade of people being pulled out of the water. I guess the current was really a problem for many people.

I ended with a slow time. In looking over everyone's results, even the fast swimmers seemed to be timed at about :15-20 seconds slower than normal. My Garmin shows a total distance of 1891 yards...a little over 1.1 miles. So my "adjusted" time would be about 1:51 per 100. Still quite a bit slower than my training speeds, but more about what I would expect.
What would you do differently?:

I could have made better navigation decisions. Also, I chose not to do a swim warm up. If I had at least tested my goggles, I may have eliminated the leaking issue which would have saved me some time.
Transition 1
  • 02m 42s
Comments:

After I came out of the water, I was pleased that the woman directing athlete traffic unzipped my wetsuit. Nice. I took off my watch (first race with the Fenix 3 and I was paranoid about hitting any extra buttons). I held it in my teeth while I ran into transition.

Wetsuit came off easily enough. I had planned to wear socks, because of the rough surface in transition, however decided not to do that at the last minute. Since I forgot to bring rubber bands, I borrowed one from a neighbor in transition and just had my left shoe banded up. This didn't cause too much of a problem but it did take me a little longer to get my feet in.



8/48
What would you do differently?:

Remember the rubber bands. Remember the body glide (chafing on the back of the neck!).
Bike
  • 1h 15m 34s
  • 40 kms
  • 31.76 km/hr
Comments:

There was a lot of wind on the course, making it pretty tough. I spent most of my time passing and was only passed by 3-4 other athletes, that I remember. I bombed down the big hill on the 1st lap, but had to pull back a big on the 2nd laps as there was congestion in front of me with people riding on the left.
What would you do differently?:

I paced myself pretty well. I could have probably hammered a bit harder, but with the tough conditions and the roads being a little wet, I was fairly happy with the effort. In hindsight, when you have a slow swim, and then spend lots of time passing, it's fairly easy to get satisfied with the effort, when you can actually perform a little better.
Transition 2
  • 02m 3s
Comments:

For some reason, I decided to put my socks on here. I can't recall what my thinking was. The main reason I brought socks to begin with was mainly just for running through transition. What an idiot time wasting move. I don't need socks for only 6 miles. I was 28th in my AG at T2...not good.
What would you do differently?:

Don't mess with the stupid socks.
Run
  • 53m 1s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 08m 33s  min/mile
Comments:

The run remains my biggest weakness, but I feel I'm making steady progress. This was decent run for me and I'm getting a little faster each year. It may have been a bit faster if I could have latched onto someone to pace off of, but it seemed I was either alot faster or alot slower than most people.

At the 4.5M mark, my run was abruptly interrupted by my left hamstring cramping into a tight ball. I was stopped in my tracks. I massaged it a bit and walked and it looks like it only cost me 20 seconds. I had not other cramping issues for the remainder of the run.
What would you do differently?:

Not much
Post race
Warm down:

After the race, I met Jamie who had finished her sprint about 10 minutes earlier. We milled around a bit and checked out the booths before packing up and heading home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

A few things: overall focus. I did't approach this race with a clear cut goal. My mind has been on Alcatraz and the challenges of that race. I was not as fit this year (having done a 70.3 in April of 2014) . Overall, I was happy with my performance. If the conditions were comparable to 2014, I'm sure my time would have been slightly improved.

Event comments:

I really like the KC Tri. I think they do a good job. The bring a good vibe and buzz. The offer good swag (however it was a bit less this year).

This is not a complaint, however I find it funny: The day after the 2014 Tri, KC Tri sent out an email about the 2015 race and the new things they were offering: "carpet in transition area!", "KOM competition!", "Fastest Rider Competition!", "Slip and Slide finish line!".

They didn't have any of these things. I'm glad they didn't....(the slip and slide sounds stupid) but I find it funny when race directors continue to promise things and then don't deliver. Perhaps this was an overzealous marketing intern that made these statements. Perhaps an insurer saw this list and knew how risky it was.

I think the Kansas City Triathlon is the best race in KC. It doesn't need gimmicks. Overall, a very good race and I'll continue to participate in it.





Last updated: 2014-12-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:57 | 1500 meters | 02m 20s / 100meters
Age Group: 19/48
Overall: 0/330
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course: The course was two laps. Out, two left turns and back to the beach. The current was strong, right to left. Overnight, the area had very heavy thunderstorms and the buoys were blown away. They had to retrieve the buoys and re-mark the course. The RD recognized they were doing their best to mark it correctly, but that the distance could be off.
Start type: Dive Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:42
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:15:34 | 40 kms | 31.76 km/hr
Age Group: 12/48
Overall: 0/330
Performance: Good
159 bpm ave
Wind: Strong
Course: Two laps. There was a very strong headwind and croswind on most of the course, except for a few miles after the biggest climb back to the start that had a heavy tailwind. It was glorious.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 79
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:03
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:53:01 | 06.2 miles | 08m 33s  min/mile
Age Group: 28/48
Overall: 0/330
Performance: Average
166 ave HR
Course: two laps on the trail, mostly loose gravel. Course was wet with some standing water.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2015-05-20 3:59 PM

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Veteran
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Shawnee
Subject: Kansas City Triathlon - Olympic Course


2015-05-21 10:25 AM
in reply to: #5117062

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Master
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Overland Park, KS
Subject: RE: Kansas City Triathlon - Olympic Course
Nice work Dave! I skipped this year, already over my tri budget mainly due to the new TT bike. Even with the early bird pricing I thought it was a little pricey and I'm sure all the bling becomes dependent on how many sign up early. I'm glad everything turned out well. I've heard chatter from others the swim was long, I think a friend of mine got the same exact yardage as you did on the Garmin. Good luck at Alcatraz!
2015-05-21 9:04 PM
in reply to: #5117062

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1941
100050010010010010025
, Vermont
Subject: RE: Kansas City Triathlon - Olympic Course
Nice report and congrats on finishing what sounds like a challenging situation between the swim and wet bike conditions.
Now on to Alcatraz!!
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