Race Report: Hy-Vee Triathlon

Seriously...look at all those bikes behind us!! :)

The Hy-Vee Triathlon was set to be our last tri of the year.  It also marked a switch from summer racing to fall.  Philip and I signed up for this race way back in February when the registration rates were lowest and well before we knew we'd be shooting for a 70.3.  I was slated to compete as an individual and on a team...basically, my swim would count twice, once for me and once for the team.  Two nights before the race, we got the news that the race would be changed from an Olympic distance to a sprint due to flooding on the course.  LOTS of people were disappointed, but at least the event was not cancelled.  We left our home Saturday morning and drove to Omaha to pick up my sister and her husband.  We arrived at the expo mid afternoon, attended the pre-race meeting, and picked up our race packets.  I was a little unsure about how much race would be conducted since I would have two of everything so I talked to a race official about this.  Basically, I would wear a timing chip on both ankles, the relay's on the right and mine on the left.  Instead of starting with my age group, I would start with the relay swimmers.  Then I would head into the relay transition area to hand the timing chip off to our biker before getting ready for my ride.  After figuring everything out there, we headed to the race site at Gray's Lake in Des Moines to drop our bikes off.  After a yummy dinner at Noah's Ark, we turned in early to get ready for race morning.

Sunday morning we arrived at the transition area around 6am.  We didn't start our race until after 9am, but because the pro race started so early, transition was closing at 6:45am.  It wasn't too bad though, as we got to watch the pro race...Philip and I stood right by their transition area and watched them race in on their bikes and take off for their run.  Very cool.  We both said that it made us want to be better athletes! 

Swim-15:34

We headed over to the other side of the lake where we'd start our swim a little after 8.  Because so many athletes were competing in this event (I think I heard something about 5000??), they were conducting the start as a time trial, with age groups were starting 4 minutes apart. This means that they line up six people in an age group, start them, and then 10 seconds later the next group starts.  My swim went so well! I ran into the water and got right to it...no panic symptoms!  As always, it's hard to dodge other swimmers and at one point, a guy ran into me.  I accidentally kicked him try to get away from him.  As the swim was only a 750, it was over relatively quickly. I finished in 15:34.

T1-3:16

As I exited the water, I heard my brother-in-law cheering for me.  (It's so nice when friends and family are out there supporting you...thanks, Josh!!)  I headed over to relay transition...HOLY cow, there were TONS of people there! One girl stopped right in front of me at the entry way, and because it was so crowded, I had a hard time getting around her.  A race official tried to get her to move, but I think she was a little disoriented from her swim.  Rick (our biker) spotted me, I handed him the chip, and off we both went.  At my transition area, I threw down my cap and goggles, put on my shoes and socks, put my jersey on, then sunglasses, and helmet.  I grabbed my bike and headed out onto the course. (Okay, so this still isn't that fast...but the relay transition did substantially add on to T1.)

Bike- 38:22

The bike course was two loops totally a 20k (12.5 miles).  The roads were closed to traffic so the cyclists had an entire 3 lanes in which to race...this was a first for me! Triathlons that I have competed in have you riding on the shoulder and are open to cars, but typically patrolled by police to make sure everyone is safe.  The course wasn't too hilly and I felt good on the bike.  

T2-1:50

With so many athletes competing, this was a very big transition area.  I raced back to my spot, racked my bike, took a quick gel and swig of gatorade, then ran off.  As I headed out to the run course, I attached my race belt and number and put my visor on.  Off I went.

Run- 21:37

Because of the changes, this was a weird course...it was out and back for first mile and half, then a loop (which ran by the finish) for the second portion...all in just a 5k! As I ran out, other runners were coming back so I got to see lots of people.  I got to see Philip twice on the run which is always fun :)  I still felt fine at this point, but I was having a hard time switching gears and running hard and fast.  The finish line was very cool, but extremely congested.  I found Philip and we waited for Emilie (she started in the heat behind mine).  We found out that we all finished within a minute and a half of each other!!

Final time (individual): 1:20:37--I've only raced an "official" sprint race one other time, but my time from 2011 was 1:30...nearly a 10 minute PR!! :)  I finished as 30th overall woman and 8th in my age group.  As I'm a pretty competitive person, this is not where I'd like to be.  Hopefully I'm able to make some changes so my place will be higher next year.

Final time (relay): 1:12:20--my teammates raced so well!! :)  I always love doing team events and look forward to competing in M2M NE with my Women Run Nebraska teammates! 

Complete Results can be found here: http://www.hy-veetriathlon.com/athlete-information/Race-Results.aspx#/results:&AthleteSearch=(Enter%20Name,%20Bib%20No.,%20or%20City)&Division=Women:1409535547149