First Place in Age Group! |
I finished 1st in my age group and 12th overall out of about 70 participants. Since this was a USAT (USA Triathlon) sanctioned event I was able to qualify for the 2011 USAT Age Group Nationals to be held in Burlington, Vermont in late August 2011. Unfortunately, I will be unable to go to Nationals this year. Nonetheless, it is a pretty cool feeling and accomplishment.
I can qualify for Nationals with a sprint triathlon but the National race is an Olympic Distance Triathlon (1500 meter swim, 24.86 mile bike, and 10k run). Hopefully I can qualify for 2012 Nationals early enough that I can properly train for that event and make travel plans. Never been to Vermont, but I hear it's nice. We'll see!
I beat my closest age group competitor by 40 seconds. He was faster in the swim, barely faster in the transitions, about the same in the run, but I gained 1 minute and 45 seconds on him on the bike. The bike portion won the race for me.
For this being the second time doing this event the Lincoln Trails Council Boy Scouts of America did a great job with this race.
The race featured a 300 yard swim in Lantz Arena, a 12.5 mile bike, and 5k run. The run course was generally flat with a couple of hills. The bike course was challenging as it had two big hills. One hill is known by locals as "Stairway To Heaven" as at the top of the hill is a cemetery. It was fun flying down the hills at 41 mph but really tested my determination going up them at about 12 mph.
The Swim
My swim time was 6:46. I would estimate my actual swim time (in the pool) was closer to 6:10 or so.
Transition #1 (Swim to Bike)
Leaving transition after swim |
Got sunglasses, bike shoes, race belt, and helmet on without any issues. Mounting bike was good too. Transition 1 time was 1:13.
Bike
Once on the bike I started off pretty good as it was pretty flat for the first few miles. Averaging about 22 mph. Once we got out onto the country roads my average dropped a bit as the course presented several rolling hills and quite a few curves. I only got passed once and that was right at the very beginning of the bike leg.
As we got into the rural area of the course I knew what was ahead of me.....two big hills. The first hill around the cemetery going out was down hill. As I started down the hill I gained pretty good speed and kept pedaling. What a rush this was. I topped out at 41 mph on the downhill ride. Once I reached the bottom I knew there was another one just ahead so I tried to maintain momentum. I arrived at the first big uphill which was about a 1/2 mile. It started pretty good then the more I went up the hill the slower I got. I was at a snail's pace around 11mph. I should have been down a couple of more gears. I was going to shift but I was putting so much torque on the bike I didn't want to risk downshifting and breaking/slipping the chain.
Once at the top the course flattened out and got curvy. Picked speed back up to around 21mph until the turnaround. After the turnaround, and still maintaining good average speed on the flats, I was looking forward to going down the hill I just went up. At the downhill I got really good speed again and carried it to the next hill....."Stairway to Heaven".
The "Stairway to Heaven" hill was tough, but I got in the right gear this time, and slowly made it to the top. I am not sure if that was the "Stairway to Heaven" or the "Highway to ...." because that was exhausting.
After I got through the hills I concentrated on a fast cadence and trying to maintain a 20-21mph average to the finish. I gained back a little time that I lost on the hills.
Overall, the bike portion went well given the terrain. My official average on the bike was 19.13 mph.
As we got into the rural area of the course I knew what was ahead of me.....two big hills. The first hill around the cemetery going out was down hill. As I started down the hill I gained pretty good speed and kept pedaling. What a rush this was. I topped out at 41 mph on the downhill ride. Once I reached the bottom I knew there was another one just ahead so I tried to maintain momentum. I arrived at the first big uphill which was about a 1/2 mile. It started pretty good then the more I went up the hill the slower I got. I was at a snail's pace around 11mph. I should have been down a couple of more gears. I was going to shift but I was putting so much torque on the bike I didn't want to risk downshifting and breaking/slipping the chain.
Once at the top the course flattened out and got curvy. Picked speed back up to around 21mph until the turnaround. After the turnaround, and still maintaining good average speed on the flats, I was looking forward to going down the hill I just went up. At the downhill I got really good speed again and carried it to the next hill....."Stairway to Heaven".
The "Stairway to Heaven" hill was tough, but I got in the right gear this time, and slowly made it to the top. I am not sure if that was the "Stairway to Heaven" or the "Highway to ...." because that was exhausting.
After I got through the hills I concentrated on a fast cadence and trying to maintain a 20-21mph average to the finish. I gained back a little time that I lost on the hills.
Overall, the bike portion went well given the terrain. My official average on the bike was 19.13 mph.
Transition #2 (Bike to Run)
Coming into transition |
Flying into transition #2 I got the bike slowed down and got unclipped from my pedals. Got the bike racked pretty well. Put on running shoes, threw helmet off, grabbed water bottle, and I was off running.
T2 time was 0:40 which was pretty decent.
T2 time was 0:40 which was pretty decent.
Run
Start of the run |
The run started off pretty good. My pace was a little behind what I wanted to average for the run, but I wasn't prepared on how much the hills on the bike would tire my legs.
It was an out and back run course. The first half was generally flat with a slight decline the first half and a slight incline on the way back. The only hill of significance was the hill going into a park area about a half mile or so from the turnaround.
Overall I was satisfied with my run performance. Anticipated doing it faster as I have done in my brick practices, but pleased overall. I averaged about 7:19/mi.
Final Official Results
The official results:
1st in Age Group
12th Overall
Times
Swim 0:06:46
T1: 0:01:14
Bike: 0:39:12
T2: 0:00:40
Run: 0:22:38
Total 1:10:30
Well onto the next race and thanks for looking!
Miscellaneous Photos
It was an out and back run course. The first half was generally flat with a slight decline the first half and a slight incline on the way back. The only hill of significance was the hill going into a park area about a half mile or so from the turnaround.
Overall I was satisfied with my run performance. Anticipated doing it faster as I have done in my brick practices, but pleased overall. I averaged about 7:19/mi.
Final Official Results
The Hardware |
1st in Age Group
12th Overall
Times
Swim 0:06:46
T1: 0:01:14
Bike: 0:39:12
T2: 0:00:40
Run: 0:22:38
Total 1:10:30
Well onto the next race and thanks for looking!
Miscellaneous Photos
The Finish |
Getting all setup |