As usual, I showed up early, I think I was fourth in transition. The between bike spacing was good, the between rack spacing was tight. The transition area was long and a bit narrow. The bike in and out were at the same end, the in from the swim and the run out were the same end. Initially, I was unsure of the space in transition, but it actually worked out well enough.
It was a cool race morning, a couple hours before race time it was 40 degrees and foggy, by race time it was over 50 and it was sunny, still cool, but not bad. The water was perfect temperature for a wetsuit swim, the water was glass, and there were no weeds. Nice. The swim course is only about a third of a mile, has a inverted triangle-like shape and is tight at the start and finish. There are only 4 waves and they are 3 minutes apart, so everyone was out on the course fast. I was in the second wave, 30 and over.
Brett Lovaas was racing and I am a much slower swimmer than him, still I decide to get in behind him and
try to get some "pull". It did not work too well. We were all crammed in, and at the start the guy next to Brett fell in behind him and I got knocked around alot to the first turn. I had a decent swim time, but it felt kind of rough. There was a lot of knocking around going on. The swim is too short to get people to spread out. Also, I was wearing a brand new wetsuit, which I really like and I have worn in the pool a few times, but it felt especially tight this morning. Anyway, I made it through the swim and I am pretty happy with my time.
Out of the water it is an uphill run to transition. Thankfully, they put mats down all the way from the water up to the transition, which was really nice. The run uphill was probably a couple hundred feet and a decent grade on rocky pavement.
Once in transition I struggled to get out of the new wetsuit and get on socks and shoes, but out of T1 I did go, and the time out was not too bad.
There is a significant climb out of transition, then you ride through some neighborhoods, and then out into rural area. It is probably 2-3 miles until you are out of town. When you get out to the rural area it is fairly flat, except for a few decent climbs. Not a flat course by any means, but not nearly as hilly as GW Du. There was some wind coming back in, but nothing too bad. The course was well marked and had sufficient volunteers. I would say that for a sprint course the bike is challenging. Most of the sprints races I have done around here are flatter.
I did my first flying dismount of the year, got out my shoes successfully, and dismounted successfully, except I kicked my left shoe off the pedal, and had to stop to pick it up. My T2 was the fastest, I think, I have ever recorded. Got the new shoes on quick and ran out.
The run out is pancake flat. More than a half mile in there is a significant uphill into Carson Park, the main park in the city where most of the run takes place. Once you crest the hill and get in the park, it rolls gently, and there is two short, steep climbs. One of the more challenging runs I have encountered in a sprint. The run through the park is really nice. At about the half way mark you are on a bluff and can overlook the water and the swim start/finish, which is pretty cool. Good location for a run. The good thing is, you go out of the park the same way you came in so you get a downhill to the flat. The last half mile or so is a flat run in, so if you have anything left you can go all out.
That run was my fastest 5k, and splits, off the bike, by about 3 seconds for 3.1 miles, on much more difficult course than my previous best. My previous best was 2008 MinneMan, which is a much flatter run.
Brett Lovaas won the race and broke the course record by about 2 minutes. Nice job Brett.
Two critiques/complaints/suggestions, the food at the end was a little lacking. Apples, bananas, orange, granola bars, and plain bagels. To drink, two Gatorade choices, water, and about a half dozen choices for soda. They could add a little more flavor to the food choices. The other thing is they did not have music or an announcer while people were in transition. Almost every race I have been to has someone doing announcements, music playing, etc. It is strange to have nothing until about 10 minutes before start.
One more thing, they had age groups setup in 10 year (30-39 for example), it would be nice if they switched to the standard AG interval.
Hopefully they continue this race, it is a very good course, and overall everything went smoothly. The race had plenty of volunteers and they did a very good job. I would recommend this race.
2011 Eau Claire Sprint Traithlon Results
Swim (547 yards = 500 meters) = 8:24 (1:33min/100yards)
T1: 1:41
Bike (17mi) = 47:29 (21.5MPH)
T2: 0:45
Run (3.1mi) = 23:14 (7:30 min/mi)
Total = 1:21:30
Overall = 33 out of 192
AG (30-39) = 6 out of 26
2 comments:
Nice race report Chris! Sounds like a fun course. About how many participants were there?
Thanks. There were 192 individuals, plus 20+ relays. It is a fun course
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