Race Report: 2019 Manteno Triathlon

When:  Saturday, July 27, 2019 – 8 am

Where:  Manteno, Illinois

Distance:  Sprint – 14.21 Total Miles

Results: Official time 1:04:30 / 17th Overall / 2nd Place 55-59 Male Age Group

Results Link:  Manteno Tri 2019 Race Results

Third time racing in Manteno and I am sure I will be back again.  I have done this race two times before and it is super fun.  It’s a great way to start a Saturday.

 

 

I talked with some of the great people I know from FNRC who were there to do the race, then I got my transition area set up and had Kari snap a picture and then it was time to get ready to race.

 

 

SWIM:  400 Yards, 9:45, 4th in A/G, 57th Overall

I don’t bother bringing the wetsuit to transition for this race because the past two years it has been a non-wetsuit race.  I found the water to be pretty warm and comfortable during the brief pre-race swim.  I waited for our silver cap wave to start and then waded into the water.

Two things usually occur for me when I start a triathlon swim:  I either freak out about the pace, start hyperventilating, and then pray that I will finish this swim, or I will start thinking about my bike strategy.  After passing around the one turn buoy, I found myself thinking about the bike.  Much better than thinking about drowning.  I must have been swimming at a good pace.

I swam strong and as I sighted into the sun for the Swim Out exit, I pushed the pace a little harder.  I was a little surprised that I was a little slower this year than last year, but not too bad of a swim for me.

 

 

T1:  1:07, 2nd in A/G, 29th Overall

I ran pretty quick to my bike and messed around with socks, again.  This time was a little better because I used the little no-show type socks and they went on pretty quick.  I felt a little under pressure because there was someone spectating by the fence watching me go through T1.  Maybe they were trying to pick up pointers and learned that wearing socks on the bike is a waste of time.

BIKE: 11 Miles, 30:44, Average speed 21.5 mph, 3rd in A/G, 18th Overall

 

 

I had decided while swimming to bike as hard as I could, so I hit it hard out of the gate and quickly pegged my heart rate to the max.  It wasn’t long until I realized that I better back off a little, and fortunately, there was a strong tailwind heading out aiding in my bike hard plan.  My bike computer was showing 25 mph and I was like – wow, this is fast.  I passed a couple of riders who were just a little slower, but a lot younger than me.  Whenever I pass someone I always wonder if the gauntlet that I am throwing down will be picked up and have my face slapped with it.  This time I did get passed back by these two riders just before the first turnaround before the third mile.  But here’s where they ran into trouble.  The first guy did this hairpin u-turn in a hard gear and struggled to get back up to speed while I had planned for that and easily passed him again.  The other guy was a little more ahead of me but his issue was he was riding a road bike and we were now riding into a pretty strong headwind with me taking full advantage of being on an aero bike and riding with a full rear disc wheel.  My speedometer was showing 18 mph now.  I passed him and I figured if he lasted this pace he might catch me on the run because he looked pretty fit.  I never saw the other guy again.  This is where aero makes all the difference.

T2:  0:46, 2nd in A/G, 18th Overall

I forgot to hit my Lap button on my watch but I realized it right as I was running out with my visor and race belt in my hand.  The reason I forget is mainly due to my hands being busy holding the handlebars of my bike and I would have issues if I tried messing with my watch while running with my bike.  But in the end, it was one of my fastest bike-to-run transitions.

RUN:  3.1 miles, 22:06, 7:07 per mile pace ave., 1st in A/G, 16th Overall

I settled into a comfortable pace and tried to keep working on catching the next runner ahead of me.  Within the first half-mile, the guy that I had passed twice on the bike caught me and passed me hard.  There was no way I could go at that pace.  He was moving.  The running was going well.  At the first aid station, I grabbed a cup of water and threw it on me, which startled the little kid that handed it to me.  I did manage to grab another and get a quick drink.  I did the same thing at the second aid station and got a similar reaction from the teen that handed it to me.  #winning

At about 2.5 miles into the 5K, I saw my nemesis – Michael B. – ahead of me.  I was catching him.  But at the next turn, he took a look back and saw me and then the race was on.  I was slowly reeling him in, but as we passed the 3-mile mark, I had nothing left and he crossed the line four seconds ahead of me.  I had spoken with him before the race and asked him if he was “going to kick my butt again.”  He started in with some lame excuse about some lame running injury and I just said to keep your excuses, Mr. Soul Crusher.  I wonder where I could have saved four seconds?  He’s a much faster swimmer than I am, we are pretty even on the bike, and I was a minute and a half faster on the run.  Then it dawned on me – socks.