2017-06-10
Mattoon, Illinois United States Athletic Promotions 77F / 25C Sunny
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Triathlon
Total Time =
1h 08m 51s
Overall Rank =
9/48
Age Group =
45-49
Age Group Rank =
3/6
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.5 mile ez run, 1.5 mile ez bike, 100y ez swim
 Swim
First in, first out. 2nd fastest swim time of day by .7 seconds. First swim in BlueSeventy tri top; very snug when dry but felt just a little loose in the water.
Maybe went just a touch too hard. HR felt a little high getting onto the bike.
T1
Decent T1 for not having shoes pre-clipped to bike. Competitive time in age group (only 2 seconds slower than fastest). Mounted without stopping momentum, clipped in relatively easily.
Smaller towel for quick drying hair and face.
 Bike
Water bottle wasn't quite full, actually ran out. A little saddle discomfort on the back half; lost a some pedal time fidgitting, trying to get comfortable. Tried to eat a gel at the 8 mile mark, mostly just made a mess and cost me time. On the way back, into the wind, there were times when I felt like I was in the "hole," gear-wise; couldn't find a gear where I could hold a comfortable cadence without cross-chaining one way or the other. Overall, I think I gave the bike about everything I had without ruining my run.
Water bottle full, maybe liquid nutrition instead of a gel. Lost a lot of places on the bike, need more training. In the meantime, maybe I could mitigate the losses some with better tires and some latex tubes?
T2
Executed a decent flying dismount, came into T2 with no loss of momentum. Running shole LockLace malfunctioned; one lace end came loose from the cord end clip while cinching, and contracted back through the cord lock. Had to hand tie a bow knot. Luckily, it held. Decent enough T2; fastest in age group.
Lost some time to shoelace issue, otherwise didn't notice any glaring errors that need corrected.
 Run
Consistent pacing first 2 miles, opened up just a bit to finish slightly faster on last .8 miles.
Press the pace a little sooner than the ~2.2 mile mark. Not sure if I could have gone under 7:30/mile average for the whole thing, but I know I'll never get there going 7:50's or high 7:40's for the first 2 miles. May have to press one of these until I blow up to know where the limit is.
Post race
Easy walking around, showered.
Lack of bike training, mostly.
Hate that "Organization" question above is either yes or no. This race had a few organizational lapses, but wasn't some sort of complete, unorganized mess. The race started on time, but the briefing that was scheduled for 8:15 didn't happen until ~8:40. Not a big issue, except I had planned my warm up around the 8;15 time. Also, traffic control crew at the busiest intersection on the bike route wasn't ready when I, the lead biker at the time, got there. I had to come to a sudden stop, wait for cross traffic, and then try to get going again while in too high a gear.
Post-race food was a pile of bananas, a few apples, and some bottled water. That said, the entry fee was pretty modest so don't take that as a complaint.; exactly how much coddling can you expect when the race director is only collecting $60 a head?
No finisher medals, but nice medals for 1-3rd in age group, plus T-shirts, even with week-of-race entry.
Despite some flaws, I still felt like the race was a good value and would likely do it again.
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