Hy-Vee Triathlon – Race Report

It seemed like it took for ever to arrive and now in hindsight, it came and went so fast.  The Hy-Vee Triathlon took place yesterday, June 28th, 2009 and it turned out to be a pretty solid day despite a few disappointments.   Regardless of what happened to me, this triathlon is a massive spectacle and allows every single participant to write their own script in an amazing setting.  The Hy-Vee Triathlon makes us all feel like professionals for the short time we’re there.  It really is something and if you’ve ever thought about doing it, I highly recommend it!

Early AM Transition

3:30am
Oh crap…. I overslept!  I’d set my alarm for 3:00am so I could have a little toast and peanut butter and a cup of joe, but that flew out the window because Tim was picking me up in 15 minutes.  Damn, there goes my pre-race routine.  I grabbed my gear and a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee that I made and jumped in Tim’s car bound for the race.   We arrived at Raccoon River Park about 4:30am and literally half of the participants were already there.  It’s a rare sight to see so many people up and congregated before 4:30am, unless your a triathlete.   Despite the previous 6 days of 95+ degree temperatures and uber high humidity, a cold front had come through and it was actually a bit on the chilly side.  The warm light from the sun was just starting to peek over the trees and the pre-race excitement and nervous anticipation could be felt everywhere. 

Swim  – 30:21  (2:02/100m)
Simply put, my swimming is inconsistent and “like a box of chocolates.”   I had a horrible experience a month earlier at Bluff Creek and the had a pretty decent swim 2 weeks ago at Copper Creek.  I was feeling like I was ready and would have an average to above average swim.  I positioned myself up front on the very inside of the buoys, yet after the starting horn, let any apparent “fish” head out in front of me.  I settled into the front of the middle pack and got going.  After we made the first turn, I kept feeling someone whacking my feet.  It became apparent that this guy was drafting me.  I felt kind of flattered that someone would actually draft me, but he kept encroaching on me.  After about 5-7 minutes, it felt like he grabbed my ankle so I swiped a kick at him and shortly afterward, he must’ve chosen a different path.  By the time we reached the final turn, I was still feeling normal, good breathing and a steady stroke.  Soon I spotted the beach and before I knew it I felt sand.  I stood up and forced myself up through the water, looked at my watch…. 30:25?  [Insert explative here, x3]!!!  No way!  I didn’t have that bad of a swim.  I may have strayed of course a few times, but not by that much.   Last year was 27:30 and after all of the hard work in the pool since, I get worse?  Kevin = bitter! 

T1  -  1:26
Everything went as planned.  Fastest T1 ever, but that’s because I didn’t have to take a wetsuit off, which I am horrible at!

My game face

Bike  -  1:03:45  (23.3mph)
By the time I had clipped in and got rolling, I was still dumbfounded how I could be 3-4 minutes off my anticipated time.  Now, instead of capitalizing on my bike improvements from last year, it would have to dig me out of a hole.  Bummer.  This was the first time the thought came into my head that I might actually have a difficult time going sub-2:20 with things going this way.  I did just get a new Giro aero helmet that I had convinced myself I needed and was hoping that would help me throwdown on the bike.  (Oh the toys!)  I waited until we hit the first hill, which came around mile 2-3, and once I committed to that hill, I committed to the remainder of the bike course.  The next 6-8 miles were more or less flat so I just settled into a TT mode and began pushing.  I was probably riding around 80-85% and holding 21mph into the 8-10mph headwind.  I left my bike computer at home so I had no data to tell me what I was doing.  I’m starting to like this simplistic approach.  Just me, my bike and my gut feeling.  There were a few decent hills just before the turnaround that I zipped up.  Once I had made the turn and faced East, the whole ride changed to my favor.  I now had a tailwind and was just about warmed up.  For the next 12 miles, I push the biggest gear I had.  I ran out of gears, which tells me I was probably holding 26-28mph on the way back.  It just feels great when that happens! 

T2  -  1:15
Another pretty standard and seamless transition.  I decided to run without socks for a change.

At the finish!

Run  -  42:46  (6:54min./mile)
Heading out on the run is one of the coolest parts about the Hy-Vee Triathlon.  You exit T2 into a chute that is crowded with cheering and screaming spectators.  You can hear cowbells ringing and people giving you words of encouragement, even little kids want to give you “high-five!”  For a moment like this, I think participating in this race become truly worth it.  All triathletes got to feel like stars for a moment, although before you knew it, you were headed out of the park to tackle a 10K.  By now, the sun had reached a height were you couldn’t hide from it and I began to taste my first signs of mental fatigue.  I was feeling physically fine, but all I really wanted to do was lay down in one of the green lawns that we were passing by.   I made a hard left onto Fuller Rd. and the first hill presented itself.  It probably wouldn’t have looked so bad had it been a regular training run, but the circumstances were slightly different.   My goal was to keep pace and not slow down.  I crested the hill, took a right and… well, the hill actually kept going.   “Keep your pace, keep you pace!” is what I kept telling myself.  By the turnaround, I was heading south (mentally) and really had to start digging deep.  By mile 4.5, we crested our final hill(the bigger one we had to come up) and it was about a 0.5-0.75 mile descent which I was thankful for.  At the moment I started heading down, I remembered an awesome Macca video that I love to watch which gave me a little surge and I began to open it up heading down the hill.  Soon enough I could here the faint sound of the grandstand and the announcer talking.  It grew louder with each step.  I made my final turn into the grandstand chute, blue carpet and all!   Spectators were everywhere and it felt great to cross the finish line.  I looked up at the clock and it read 2:27…. minus my 8 minutes from being the 4th wave….  2:19!!!  I went sub-2:20 and set a new PR!!!

Total Time: 2:19:29  (just by the hair on my chinny chin chin!)    Full Results