KC Tri Race Report

Today was the KC Triathlon. It was an international distance triathlon so that means .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run.

I started off in the water at 8:07 and very quickly came to the realization that I really don't like swimming in a wetsuit very much. I also came to the conclusion that I don't know how to swim in a straight line. This is readily apparent by looking at my version of the .93 mile swim. I went about 1.1 miles in a nice zig zag pattern the whole way. I also manage to drink a small amount of lake water and that didn't help. When I got out of the water I felt pretty miserable and was just excited to get out of the wetsuit and start riding.

Transition 1 went pretty poorly because when I got to my bike, some idiot was just sitting in front of my bike taking off his wet suit. I told him to get out of the way so I could take off my wetsuit and get riding.

The 25 mile ride went really well. I was comfortable the whole way and rode just under 21 mph. I am pretty familiar with the course so that helps. I feel like I could have ridden a little faster but I am not entirely sure how much faster. I was really happy with the bike time though.

Transition 2 went better but I tried something new today. I decided I was going to change my socks. I wore my bike socks on the ride and I wanted to wear running socks on the run. I don't really think this helped me too much and their wasn't much difference in comfort, so I will probably just stick with running socks on bike and run from here on out.

The 6.2 mile run to finish went extremely well. Almost every mile was faster than the previous and I felt awesome the whole way. I don't know that I have ever had a negative split before and to have done it after swimming and biking and by such a significant amount was awesome.

My official time was 2:39:50. I completed the swim in 31:26, T1 in 3:24, bike in 1:13:32, T2 in 2:16 and the run in 49:14. I placed 23/52 in the male 25-29 division. However, looking back on it, I should have registered as a Clydesdale since I weigh over 200 lbs (203 lbs this morning to be exact). If I had done so, I would have placed 5th in the Clydesdale division and would have qualified for the Hyvee Championships in September.

Great day overall though. This was my longest endurance event to date and probably one of my best. 20 days until Kansas Half Ironman.