The Waseca Triathlon

Yesterday, Matt and I did the Waseca Sprint Triathlon. It was his second ever triathlon!! (And his first was only LAST weekend!) Here are some photos:

Our spot in transition.


The usual pre-race potty shot.


Business time. Oh yeah, I was planning to race in JUST those jammers!


Matt and his sister Annie (who came to cheer)


Matt and I

Annie’s responsible for the rest of the photos through the race. She came to cheer along with her Dad (my father-in-law), and her cousin Bridget. Thanks for cheering us on you 3!! And thanks for all the photos, Annie!

Oh, Annie was OBSESSED with this dog in something like a “Baby Bjorn.” She took a lot of photos of this dog:

Matt and I checking the water
(with the man next to me vomiting after looking at my Speedo)




Pissing (most likely)


Bridget and I talking. With the dog in the Baby Bjorn on the left.


Matt and I

So as you can see from those photos, I decided that I WOULD wear that new suit for the whole race! I was hoping my butt would hold up! Afterall, it’s just a swimsuit with no chamois (or butt pad) for biking. And mmmaaaaaannnnnnnn, did people like that suit!! ;) Racers, volunteers, and spectators were ALL commenting on it!

Matt started in the wave before me. Here he is starting his swim:

Before my wave. Can you spot me? ;)


All the waves in the water

The Waseca Tri had a 1/3 Iron Distance (1 mile swim, 33 mile bike, 8.8 mile run) or a Sprint Distance (1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 4.4 mile run). Matt and I were both in it for the sprint.

SWIM:

I took off easy but “solid.” I had clear water in front of me, and I was swimming pretty well. At the first turn, I looked at my watch. I figured the swim was a little long, but I didn’t care. I was happy with how I was swimming. I think I passed Matt at the second turn (the turn back to shore). I hit the beach feeling strong:

That dude’s checking out my butt


Running to T1

Matt was a bit behind me. He came STORMING out of the water to the cheers of his family:

Running out


Up to the pools and into transition

FUNNY SIDE NOTE: My father-in-law Bryan was cheering for me by name as I was coming out of the water, and apparently there was a blog follower of mine nearby cheering too. Bryan asked, “How do you know Steve?” He told Bryan that he reads my blog and gets a kick out of it. He said something about it making his workday go by quicker. (Thanks stranger!) Then that man asked Bryan, “Do you know Steve?” Bryan said, “Yep. I’m his father-in-law.” The man apparently said “Oh. Sorry.” Bryan smiled and said “It’s OK. We’ve come to terms with it.” Ha!

T1:

I grabbed my gear, tried not to fall over (I ALWAYS get dizzy in T1!), did NOT throw on a shirt, and I was off to ride in just my colorful Speedo!

BIKE:

I haven’t biked much lately. If you remember, I took about 4 weeks off after Liberty due to a sore foot. My biking seems to goes downhill quickly. I told Matt pre-race that my bike would be the biggest “question mark” for the day. How fast could I go? How much could I push it? I didn’t know.

I took off at a decent clip. I didn’t know how far Matt was behind me, and I wanted to hold him off as long as possible. (He’s a MUCH better biker.) Here were my average speeds when I checked them now and then:

Mile 3ish: 21.6 mph ave
Mile 7 (turn-around): 21.6 mph ave
Mile 10ish: 21.3 mph ave
Mile 14ish (near the finish): 21.2 mph ave

Shortly after the turn-around, I was “feeling it” in my legs. I wasn’t really ready for this race. I was just here to have fun. Also, my taint, chode, gooche, or whatever you want to call it was getting sore starting at mile 3. That’s what I get for not wearing bike shorts or tri shorts!

At the turn-around, I counted that I was about 24 people back. I caught 2 more people shortly after the turn-around to move up to about 22nd. And only 2 people caught me on the way back into town: Katherine (who Matt and I talked to before the race) and Matt.

While we were riding, my sister-in-law and cousin-in-law took “cutesy” photos next to a bear in the park:

Bridget and the bear


Bridget, Annie, and the bear

So my ride wasn’t shaping up to be the best. And as Matt passed me with about a mile left, he said something about having a rough ride back into town too. Katherine was in front of Matt, and Matt was just a little ahead of me. We ALL came rolling into T2 at the same time! Annie thought she was just taking photos of Matt, and then she realized I was there too!

Katherine, Matt, and me


The 3 of us running into T2


An unflattering photo of Matt...


... followed by an unflattering photo of me.

Oooh, but look at how my new fat-wrap on my bars PERFECTLY MATCHES the seafoam green in my hot, 1980s jammers!! AMAZING!

Another guy checking out my ass

T2:

Katherine, Matt, and I were exchanging pleasantries in transition. Here you can see the 3 of us in the distance. Oh, and the lack of bikes back in transition is a GOOD sign!

Me, Matt, and Katherine


Katherine running out, me chasing, and Matt bending down

I was in and out quick, and I passed Katherine on the way out to the main road.

RUN:

It was hot. There’s not much more to say. Here’s a photo from our drive back after the race, and you can see the wide-open trail on the left (just after the mile 1 marker):

I didn’t know how my run would shape up after taking those 4 weeks off after Liberty. Turns out, I did OK out there, ESPECIALLY for how hot it was. Here were my mile splits:

Mile 1: 6:30
Mile 2: 6:28
Mile 3: 6:23
Mile 4: 6:17

I can NOT complain about splits like that!

People were really spread out on the run course. That was nice for me because I always had someone else to shoot for. By my rough count, I went from 24th at the start of the run, to 8th by the end of the run. But I NEVER caught anyone in my age group (even though I saw someone in my AG go FLYING by me on the bike). No one passed me on the run, and I passed a lot of people in that heat.

I passed one last guy just as we were nearing the park, and I thought he was going to keep up with me. So I REALLY pushed it in hard, even though I apparently didn’t really need to. Here’s a photo of me nearing the line with the recently-passed guy in the background:

Awkward. Yay.


Nearing the finish.


My “kick” is always awkwardly high.


Into the finisher’s chute.


Walking towards my cheerers. And it looks like I’m crying.
And that 9 year old in yellow is checking out my butt.
(That makes 3 people caught in photos checking me out. Nasty.)

Results:

400 Meter Swim: 9:20 (28th fastest)
T1: 1:01
14 Bike: 40:15, 20.87 mph (17th fastest)
T2: 0:48
4.4 Mile Run: 27:05, 6:09 pace (5th fastest)

Total Time: 1:18:27

Overall Place: 5 out of 136
20-29 Age Group: 2 out of 18

(The swim was a little long and the run might have been a little short. And everyone’s bike times were slow because the bike included a long sidewalk run out of T1 and a longer grassy run into T2.)

Soon Katherine came running past as the first place female!

Matt wasn’t too far back. He had a guy closing in FAST, so I yelled to let him know.

You can see the guy right behind him.


Sprint to the finish!

Matt did NOT let that guy get by! Later, we learn that the guy just behind Matt was in the Clydesdale division with Matt, so they finished 2nd and 3rd!!

Matt’s Results:

400 Meter Swim: 14:52
T1: 1:13
14 Bike: 37:30, 22.40 mph (7th fastest)
T2: 1:26
4.4 Mile Run: 37:34, 8:32 pace

Total Time: 1:32:33

Overall Place: 39 out of 136
Clydesdale Division: 2 out of 10

How’s this for an awkward photo of 2 hot finishers?

Matt and I said good-bye to Bridget, Annie, and Bryan (thanks AGAIN for coming!), and we packed up the car. On the way to the car, we spotted Amy coming in off the bike in the long course race:

Then we spotted Suzie being helped to the med tent after finishing the long course. Here she is trying to cool down:

Suzie and Lydia talking. Lydia kept saying “I’ve just never been that hot before!”

Suzie and Lydia finished 2nd and 3rd in the long course. Congrats you two!! I hope you’re feeling better!

Soon, awards started. Katherine, Matt, and I hung out in the shade and waited for our names to be called.

Getting my 2nd place AG award from Mark’s daughter





Katherine and her first place female award


Matt and his 2nd place Clydesdale award. The 3rd place guy
who Matt barely beat is the one at the top of the steps.

Matt and I hit the car and headed back home. It had been a hot, successful day!!