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07-26-06, 06:37 PM
I competed in the Cornhusker State Games triathlon this weekend. I have done a few other races this summer, but this was a big one on my calendar, so I thought I would post about it.
First of all the distances were 1K/20K/5K. The RD sent out an email a week before stating that this would be the biggest Tri in the history of Nebraska, so that is something really neat about the event. And the CSG are limited to only in state residents.
Swim
I was a little hesitant about the swim, as the longest swim in a race I have done was 500M. This being my 2nd open water event ever only added to the anxiety. Anyhow, the water was warm, and wetsuits were still within the legal rules, so I wore my quickjohn that I recently purchased. If anything, I thought it would make me feel faster. Male 35 and under was the first wave, I line myself just off from center, but near the back of the pack at the start. There was what I would consider normal jostling and 'water rugby' as people were getting into position for the 1st buoy. A couple of times I stopped swimming and started treading for a bit to let people get a little ahead of me or out of my way. after about 300M people had settled into their rhythms and everything was fine. After the last buoy, I felt a plant underneath of me and thought it was OK to start wading to shore. I stopped to let my feet touch down, but found that is was much deeper at that point than I had thought. Under I went. So I started freestyling again to make it closer. I came out of the water around 15:45, which I thought was great, but the long run to the transition area added some time.
T1
Heading into the transition area I got really confused. The team bikers were waiting for their swimmers to finish and were in front of one of the lanes of the bike racks. They weren't necessarily blocking anything, but in my head, I saw them and went down the lane that I had thought I had put my bike in. I was frantically searching and heard my girlfriend yell, "Over one more!!" So I ducked under one of the racks and found my bike, slipped off the suit, and got my shoes and helmet for the ride. I had always thought it was silly that people said they forget where they put their bikes in the transition area, and now it happened to me. Anyway, I think it is funny now, I will just try to avoid that in the future.
Bike
The bike was a 3 loop course with about 4 rolling hills. I like loop courses because it allows spectators to see you several times during the bike and you can get pumped up by seeing your family and friends and hearing a crowd. But I dislike loop courses because you are doing the same thing over and over and the rolling hills didn't allow for pushing any big gear for any amount of time. The first lap went great, by the second lap, the other waves had come out onto the course and it started to get crowded. The course was around streets outside of the park and a full lane was blocked off the whole way around. People were riding in the middle or the left side even when they weren't passing, so the going was slow. I kept telling myself to stay relaxed and not get worked up about this. For the most part everyone moved if you announced your passing, so that was good. I finished the bike feeling good, and a few people who were not as good of swimmers as myself, but better bikers had started to catch up to me near the end on the 3rd lap.
T2
This went smoothly, took my feet out before dismount line with no hitches, and ran to my area to get my run shoes on. Apparently one of my shoes came off my pedal as I ran and one of the officials picked up for me. My girlfriend went and got it from him. I didn't even notice. I was too worried about the other two guys that had started to gain on me in the last lap of the bike.
Run
The run was mostly flat on a ground gravel trail around the lake. There was water at mile 1 & 2 (as it was out and back). I grabbed a water at mile 1 and made a basket with the cup into the trash can about five feet from the trail! The crowd went crazy! Not really, but I thought it was awesome. About that time one of the guys had caught me and we pushed each other for about 50ft, but I could not hold onto him. The second mile was up a hill then back down after the turn-around. I finished out the run without passing or catching anyone.
I felt great after the race. I took away some lessons about finding bikes in T1, being aware of shoes on the pedals in T2, and needing to stay stronger at the end of each event. I think I start to slowly fade as I think about what I have to do next or start thinking about the finish. The swim also gave me some confidence in my ability, as I have a HIM later in August. I was worried about the distance for the HIM, but feel better after I have raced the 1K. The results were alot better than I thought they would be for myself. I ended up snagging 8th place overall and just sliding into 3rd place for my age group.
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=3562
Looking forward to improving next year.
First of all the distances were 1K/20K/5K. The RD sent out an email a week before stating that this would be the biggest Tri in the history of Nebraska, so that is something really neat about the event. And the CSG are limited to only in state residents.
Swim
I was a little hesitant about the swim, as the longest swim in a race I have done was 500M. This being my 2nd open water event ever only added to the anxiety. Anyhow, the water was warm, and wetsuits were still within the legal rules, so I wore my quickjohn that I recently purchased. If anything, I thought it would make me feel faster. Male 35 and under was the first wave, I line myself just off from center, but near the back of the pack at the start. There was what I would consider normal jostling and 'water rugby' as people were getting into position for the 1st buoy. A couple of times I stopped swimming and started treading for a bit to let people get a little ahead of me or out of my way. after about 300M people had settled into their rhythms and everything was fine. After the last buoy, I felt a plant underneath of me and thought it was OK to start wading to shore. I stopped to let my feet touch down, but found that is was much deeper at that point than I had thought. Under I went. So I started freestyling again to make it closer. I came out of the water around 15:45, which I thought was great, but the long run to the transition area added some time.
T1
Heading into the transition area I got really confused. The team bikers were waiting for their swimmers to finish and were in front of one of the lanes of the bike racks. They weren't necessarily blocking anything, but in my head, I saw them and went down the lane that I had thought I had put my bike in. I was frantically searching and heard my girlfriend yell, "Over one more!!" So I ducked under one of the racks and found my bike, slipped off the suit, and got my shoes and helmet for the ride. I had always thought it was silly that people said they forget where they put their bikes in the transition area, and now it happened to me. Anyway, I think it is funny now, I will just try to avoid that in the future.
Bike
The bike was a 3 loop course with about 4 rolling hills. I like loop courses because it allows spectators to see you several times during the bike and you can get pumped up by seeing your family and friends and hearing a crowd. But I dislike loop courses because you are doing the same thing over and over and the rolling hills didn't allow for pushing any big gear for any amount of time. The first lap went great, by the second lap, the other waves had come out onto the course and it started to get crowded. The course was around streets outside of the park and a full lane was blocked off the whole way around. People were riding in the middle or the left side even when they weren't passing, so the going was slow. I kept telling myself to stay relaxed and not get worked up about this. For the most part everyone moved if you announced your passing, so that was good. I finished the bike feeling good, and a few people who were not as good of swimmers as myself, but better bikers had started to catch up to me near the end on the 3rd lap.
T2
This went smoothly, took my feet out before dismount line with no hitches, and ran to my area to get my run shoes on. Apparently one of my shoes came off my pedal as I ran and one of the officials picked up for me. My girlfriend went and got it from him. I didn't even notice. I was too worried about the other two guys that had started to gain on me in the last lap of the bike.
Run
The run was mostly flat on a ground gravel trail around the lake. There was water at mile 1 & 2 (as it was out and back). I grabbed a water at mile 1 and made a basket with the cup into the trash can about five feet from the trail! The crowd went crazy! Not really, but I thought it was awesome. About that time one of the guys had caught me and we pushed each other for about 50ft, but I could not hold onto him. The second mile was up a hill then back down after the turn-around. I finished out the run without passing or catching anyone.
I felt great after the race. I took away some lessons about finding bikes in T1, being aware of shoes on the pedals in T2, and needing to stay stronger at the end of each event. I think I start to slowly fade as I think about what I have to do next or start thinking about the finish. The swim also gave me some confidence in my ability, as I have a HIM later in August. I was worried about the distance for the HIM, but feel better after I have raced the 1K. The results were alot better than I thought they would be for myself. I ended up snagging 8th place overall and just sliding into 3rd place for my age group.
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=3562
Looking forward to improving next year.