C26 Kansas City Triathlon Race Recap
First ever Olympic Distance Triathlon & First ever recap!
Got to the race site at 6 am which was plenty of time. This race was different in that it was a first come first serve for bike rack spots, instead of doing it by bib number. I placed my bike somewhat near the bike-out spot which was nice, got my transition area all set up then headed down to the beach for a warm-up swim. THANK GOODNESS I DID THAT. The water was brutally cold compared to the air temperature and the waves were super choppy. 10/10 recommend doing a warm-up swim if possible.
Swim - The swim start was based off gender and age groups instead of by time. As a slower swimmer in the first group, I purposefully swam a little to the side to not get in the way of faster swimmers. Overall, the waters were pretty choppy and made breathing a little more difficult than normal. The swim is a two loop course, with a walk on the beach half-way through. It was a nice break to see the family in between. I was trying out a new wetsuit off facebook... immediately filled up with water and made my arms feel twice as heavy. I didn't notice it in the warm-up swim or I would've ditched it.
Despite that, very happy with how it went, and especially how I felt coming out of the water. Low heart-rate, controlled breathing, ready to bike.
Bike - Great course, brutal conditions. The course is very easy with mostly small rollers the entire time with two climbs for two laps. One comes off a turn-around so you have no momentum, the other is about .5 miles long. Those I had no issues with, the wind was brutal. Crossing the lakes would normally be a beautiful view, but you had to stare down and do everything in your power not to be blown over. I made the mistake of trying to sneak a quick sip of water in before the lake crossing and was stuck holding my water on my bars for a mile because if I tried to put my water back in the cage, I was very confident I'd take a tumble. Shoutout to the guy who was chatting with me for about 20 minutes of straight headwind and up the big climb on the second lap.
Outside of that snafu, I felt INCREDIBLE about the bike leg. I average ~2mph more than expected but never felt like I was digging deep or exhausting more than I should. Side note - I hope the girl I saw walking her bike whose pedal fell off on her first lap was able to find some help and finish the race.
Run - very straight forward run course. The issue was the wind from the bike was nowhere to be seen in the cover of trees on the park trails and the humidity took over. Thank you to all the volunteers at aid stations with the ice-cold water that I continuously dumped on my head in attempt to stay cool.
This was a great learning experience for me that I need to bring a flask of my own mix on runs. The Gatorade did not sit well with me (I'll spare you the details), and I felt myself wanting hydration at completely different times than when aid stations were available, and having to force it down. The back half run pace fell off quite steep due to that but I'm very happy overall.
Result - 8th place in my age group, fantastic experience and learned lots from it. Always a blessing to be physically able to complete a triathlon.
Next up - two more local KC races in August, then Ironman Wisconsin.