Waseca Triathlon Garmin Follies

So I mentioned in my race report that I had some Garmin issues. I set my Garmin to "Auto Multisport," and then I hit START when the race started. But I hadn't FULLY set it yet, so it was just a timer running... no multisport settings. I didn't realize it until 2 blocks into the bike. So here's what that looked like:

Swim, transition, and 2 blocks of riding.

Wait, WHAT'S with that swim route?!? I swam MUCH better than that. Here's a closer look:

Did I really do a 180 and go backwards for a while? Yep, that's how I swim.


Oh yeah, I forgot that I hit the shore and then went BACK into the lake. I realized I wasn't done peeing.

Something was up with my Garmin on the run too. I glanced at my pace more than I usually do, and it was often saying something between 5:55 and 6:20. Once before mile 2, I noticed it said I was at a 10:00 mile. Nope, that wasn't right. When I downloaded my Garmin data, I saw this "valley" that never really happened:

And although I just noted that this pace chart is at least somewhat off, here at the end of the race it shows me topping out at 4:45 pace:

(May or may not actually be that pace.)

It shows me at 5:00 pace or faster for nearly the last 1/10 of a mile. I don't know if I really got that fast, but what it does show for sure is my effort TRYING to catch first in my age group. Once I knew he was out of reach, you can see me slow up just a bit before finishing ("slowing" to 5:08 pace).

And in one final "folly," my wife just moved from 3rd to 2nd in her age group! (I'm not saying it's a folly that she was 2nd - I'm saying it was initially a timing issue.) The person who was originally first in her age group is now listed as 5th. So my wife's medal should say "2nd" like mine:

- CLICK HERE if you missed my race report.
- CLICK HERE for more Waseca Tri photos in an Examiner article of mine (and find out why speedy Kevin O'Connor wore TWO timing chips when he blew away the competition).