Saturday, September 6, 2014

2014 Maple Grove Triathlon Race Report

This is the 5th Anniversary of the Maple Grove Triathlon, and it was my 5th time at this race.  All 5 times completing the Olympic distance.
I went into this race with some of my fastest times I have ever raced.  I was hoping to continue the trend.

This race is challenging.  Mostly because of the run course.  The bike course is not easy, but there are more challenging bike courses around.  The run is hilly and doesn't have a lot of shade, in the past it has been sunny, hot, and humid.   I was expecting the same.  Turned out this was the best weather yet.  It was cloudy the whole time, it was humid, not terrible, but still could feel it.  No sun out really helped.  There was some wind, and it was a relief.  At times it made the bike more challenging.  Again, there had been wind out that was worse.

This year they got the swim distance fixed.  Last year they went extra long.  This year, back to correct distance, or at least close enough. It was foggy on the swim.  The swim is a basically a rectangle.  When you were going parallel to the shore, out far, you could not see the shore due to the fog.  Also, could not see the markers.  Not bad enough to cause problems on the swim, just a little strange. 
Due to construction, the bike course was shortened to a more normal Olympic distance, a little under 25 miles, as opposed to the usual 26 miles.  No fog on the bike course. 
I came out of the swim feeling pretty good.  Went out on the bike at a pretty good clip, trying to be a little aggressive.  I have a co-worker who does triathlons, Tim, and he was doing this race.  We went back and forth on the bike a couple times.  It was nice to have someone out there that I know and that we were challenging each other a little bit.  The only issue on the bike course were 2-3 idiots who were drafting, riding side-by-side, and just riding dumb.  They were blocking and all kinds of stuff, really irritating.  Tim commented on them after the race, he was equally annoyed with them.
Coming off the bike, I was doing really well, but this run can be a killer.  I felt ok coming off the bike.  The run out of transition is up a decent hill.  Long, steep at first, flattens a little, then steepens again.  One of many inclines on this two loop course.  I decide to come out a little slower and try to go up the hill slightly slower and steadier than previous.  I tried to concentrate on my stride and cadence.  It seemed to work.  I saw a number of people on the course that I know, which was nice.  The run seemed to go by faster, because it did go by faster.  It was my fastest run ever on this course.  It was my fastest overall time on this course.

Also, I got to meet a someone I am Facebook friends with, but had never met in person.  His name is Brian and he seems like a pretty good guy.  He recognized me first.  It is always nice to meet new people at a race.

Distance\Time correction for each year, to match 2014 time. 2013 swim and bike corrected, all other years corrected for bike only.
2014 = 1:26:55
2013 = 1:38:00
2012 = 1:33:45
2011 = 1:31:25
2010 = 1:33:29

Time corrected, it was my fastest time by over four and a half minutes and eleven minutes faster than 2013.

2014 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yards) = 25:28 (1:33/100 yards, fastest swim)
T1 = 3:22
Bike (24.8mi) = 1:07:34 (22 MPH, fastest bike split at this race)
T2 = 1:27
Run (6.2mi) = 49:05 (7:55/mi, fastest run split at this race)
Total = 1:26:55
Overall = 74/392
AG = 19/58
Overall Pace = 4:36/mi

2013 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yards?) = 32:27 (2:03/100 yards)  - This was NOT 1.5Km (~0.9mi)!
Corrected to 1968 yards = 1:40/100 yards
T1 = 3:39
Bike (26mi) = 1:16:01 (20.6MPH, slowest bike split at this race)
T2 = 1:10
Run (6.2mi) = 54:05 (8:43/mi, slowest run split at this race)
Total = 1:47:47
Overall = 120/438
AG = 23/62
Overall Pace = 4:45/mi

2012 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yards) = 28:26 (1:48/100 yards)
T1 = 1:57
Bike (26mi) = 1:13:14 (21.2MPH)
T2 = 0:54
Run (6.2mi) = 52:12 (8:25/mi)
Total = 1:37:09
Overall = 103/367
AG = 18/47
Overall Pace = 4:45/mi

2011 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yards) = 27:29 (1:44/100 yards)
T1 = 2:26
Bike (26mi) = 1:13:32 (21.2MPH)
T2 = 1:12
Run (6.2mi) = 50:15 (8:06/mi)
Total = 1:34:49
Overall = 44/216
AG = 9/33
Overall Pace = 4:41/mi

2010 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yards) = 27:23 (1:43/100 yards)
T1 = 2:27
Bike (26mi) = 1:13:12 (21.3MPH)
T2 = 1:03
Run (6.2mi) = 52:49 (8:32/mi)
Total = 1:36:54
Overall = 31/167
AG = 3/22
Overall Pace = 4:44/mi






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