Midwest Mayhem Olympic Distance Triathlon

Here is a race report for the race I just did. It was in Clinton Lake south of Lawrence, KS There will not be any pictures because my personal photographer had the day off. :)

The funny thing about doing an Ironman is that other races just don't seem as important. So much goes into training, planning and executing an Ironman that when other races come up on the calendar, they just sneak up on you and I find myself scrambling at the last minute to get everything together. I guess mentally after an Ironman you feel as though you should be done for the year.

Woke up at 4:45 to meet Ben Schloegel at his Fire Station by the old Bannister Mall. Headed out to Lawrence ready to get the race going and head back home.

The swim portion is a 1.5 Kilometer swim in Lake Clinton, it is a small lake so there was not any chop or waves to speak of. I was placed in the second heat (heats were based on age group) and there was 5 minutes that separated each heat. The swim went off well and I felt I had a decent performance.
Swim Time: 22 minutes 48 seconds

I headed out of the swim into Transition 1 and felt as though I am actually getting faster in getting my bike stuff on quickly.
Transition 1 time: 1 minute 8 seconds

The bike leg was a 40K or 24.8 miles. It was a hilly course with a nice strong wind out of the west/southwest. I had decided going into the race that I would need to have a strong bike and try to just hang onto the run. I was only passed by 1 person and actually passed about 4 guys on the bike. I knew that I was first out of the water in my heat, so the guys I passed were actually from the first heat (they had a 5 minute head start). Coming out of the lake was hilly and then out onto the main course, with the wind at our backs for the first 4-5 miles was nice, but then it was time to pay. We headed west and then eventually southwest and had to fight the wind the entire time while riding up some fairly long uphills. It was definately a mental struggle. Coming home, was more of the same wind. . .but just put my head down and kept hammering.
Bike Time: 1 hour 8 minutes 5 seconds Average mph: 21.9

Transition 2: I came into the transition tired, but got my bike helmet and sunglasses off quick and socks and shoes on. .
Time: 1 minute 3 seconds.

The run was a 10K or 6.2 miles and I knew that it was going to be tough. The course was hilly and even involved some off-road sections through the woods and rocky trails around the lake. I wasn't moving really fast at first and my first time check at mile 1 was around 8 minutes 20 seconds. I was hoping I would be able to hold 7:30 per mile, but the course and the heat/humidity didn't allow for that. I suffered through the run and really have never felt so tired during a race since my first Half Ironman when the temps were a comparable 92-95 degrees.
Coming to the finish, I was just happy to be done. I got passed by 1 guy with about 1/4 mile to go, but I had no response.
Run Time: 53minutes 58 seconds 8:43 per mile

Overall Time: 2 hours 26 minutes 59 seconds

Overall Place: 9th out of 132 people
Age Group Place: 1st out of 16 people