The Bike Sources Duathlon and Triathlon is a well organized traditional event. It's been there for years and is a good race for the first timer or someone looking to kick off the season to gage their ability thus far.
PERSONAL RECAP
Forecast Monday for Sunday race was sun and 70's. By Friday the forecast was clouds and mid 50's. Yikes. I knew this one was going to hurt. I train in the cold but swimming in the cold? Not really. Plus, I don't want a 15 minute T1 and T2 putting layers on so I knew I was going to have to bite the cold bullet. They actually gave people the option to switch to the Duathlon but I was there for the triathlon and needed the whole experience for IM KS prep.
PRE RACE : Cold. Cloudy. Maybe 10 minutes of sunshine.
- No rain though! Last year was chilly and semi-wet and the swim was cancelled due to poor water quality. Last year was suppose to be a tri but turned into a du for all of us.
- Since I had number tats I only needed age group in the markings area. Nice and smooth since I was like 5th to transition to open it up.
- It's relaxing there nice and early. Chill. Check out competition. Drool over cool bikes. Port-a-potty stops. Sit back and relax. Port-a-potty stops. Check transition setup. Port-a-potty stop.
- I did notice the demand for the john's was down. Not sure if it was the weather or the times, but participation seemed low.
SWIM : 0.333 miles (587 yards) - 9:02 - ranked 19 of 115 men - 1:32 min/100 yards
- Quite an improvement from 2009. Gain of a minute and it was FREEZING! I thought I would get some relief when air temp was low 40's and water was 60's. Not really.
- The course had an S shape to the turn around which I kind of cut a little since I swim wide to avoid full contact swim starts. Some people were wider than me!
- Ice cream headache. You know those? That was what I had 1 minute into the swim. It lasted until mile 1 of the run. It hurt!
- I'm not sure how I held my pace. Maybe I was trying to get out as fast as possible? Once I hit the cold water I was trying to focus on getting a breathing pattern and I knew that it was only 500 yards and a sprint so I could try and go all out. Not like I was worried about overheating or dehydration out there...
BIKE : 11.5 miles - 36:34 - ranked 37 / 115 men - 18.9 mph
- F on the bike.
- For starters I was freezing. I didn't want to extend T1 and I could barely feel my fingers to get socks and shoes on and trap my helmet on. After frigid T1 in all my Planet-x tri kit glory, I was just plain cold. Add into that the deterioration of the park roads, rock on the wheel that I was nervous was going to flat me, narrow park roads with duathlon and triathlon people riding 3 laps and a jerk on a bike, and you have a slow bike leg.
- Part of it was me and my training for the bike. It' just not been where I wanted it.
- Another part was over crowding. I was up out of aero for 2/3 of the bike leg per lap. It just wasn't worth the chance of a wreck with over-crowding and potholes.
- To the jerk that yelled at me when passing:
- I was passing a slower rider on the right.
- We were coming up on a narrow spillway with a tricky pavement joint that is not the safest.
- I had my planet-x 82/101 wheelset and the wind was playing tricks on me.
- I was worried about a rock and flatting
- There is no reason that you should scream at another rider (I was clear when I started passing but you were just in too big a hurry) and then be an ass when you pass making more comments. This is not Kona, nor are you trying to qualify for Kona. There is only a small plaque for age group 1-3. No prize purse, no groupies at the end to impress.
- Back off. Chill out. Get real. Get a clue. Take a hike. You pick.
RUN : 3 miles - 20:29 - ranked 17 / 115 men - 6:50 min/mile
- I'll take that!
- Considering the frozen chunks of ice my feet became over the bike ride, sub 7 minute miles kicks ass. I could not feel the bottom of my feet until 2.75 miles of the 3 mile run.
OVERALL : 01:09:57 - 25 / 142 overall - 9 / 23 age group - 24 / 115 men
- About 1 minute slower than 2009. Even though I nailed the swim and run under the circumstances, the bike was disappointing. Partially it's training and partially I lost my nerve to stay aero in a crowd with suspect roads and cross winds. I'm torn that I finished string but I could have done better on the bike.
INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF THE EVENT
- Registration
- Online and easy, check.
- The earlier you enter, the cheaper it was.
- Communication
- Twitter page, none but I tried to help with that - http://twitter.com/#!/Heritage_Tri_Du.
- Facebook page, not sure, didn't see one.
- Email notifications - not too much, not too few, check.
- Website hip and stylish with all links working and informative, check.
- Packet Pickup
- Pretty standard, check.
- They ran us by Bikesource (sponsor, surprise!) Friday. At the event site Saturday and you could get it race day morning.
- Goodie Bag - Mixed bag (pun intended) on this.
- Not much in the way of hand outs.
- TriKC paper, check
- T-shirt, check
- Race supplies and numbers, check
- Popcorn, check.
- Coupons, nope.
- Arrival / Parking
- I like the fact the parking lot is maybe a 10 minute walk to transition. It's not very far but they could stand to repave the walking path.
- Port-a-potties
- They sported 6 to 7 johns.
- I think participation was down this year so the lines were not bad at all and there was no line for the marina bathrooms.
- Course
- Aid stations - 2 on the 3 mile run, check.
- Gatorade and water options at each station, I didn't partake, so I'm not sure.
- GU at stations, nope.
- Quality streets, some day they need to repave the park roads. It's getting dicey out there.
- Closed to traffic, check.
- Accuracy of markers, sort of. I was around 0.24 miles off with my Garmin.
- Ample volunteers, check.
- Good course markings, check.
- Finish Line
- Water, check.
- Finisher medal, check.
- Photog in your face RIGHT after you finish, check. BUT, the pics are free on his site so I can deal with that. www.SeeKCRun.com
- Someone to take your timing chip off, check.
- Ample space, check.
- Post Race Accommodations
- Food options more than bananas and bagels? They had popcorn, yogurt, milk and pop, check.
- Gatorade - not that I could find.
- Tents, check.
- Post race massage area, yes but I didn't see one.
- DJ, check.
- Someplace you could hang out with friends and family and relive the race, check
- Would I Come Back
- Yes
- Would I Recommend to a Friend
- Yes
Ryan Falkenrath writes the blog falkeetriathlon.blogspot.com, married father of two young kids, owner of two dogs and trying to balance life, work and multisport. Ryan has participated in multisport events since 2001 from 5k's to Half Ironmans. Ryan is also the Kansas City Endurance Sports Examiner and you can read more of his triathlon thoughts HERE and he collects race reviews at www.Triathlon-Reviews.blogspot.com. Contact Ryan at: falkeetriathlon@hotmail.com or follow him on @TriJayhawkRyan.
*Expressed opinions are not necessarily that of EverymanTri.com
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