Maple Leaf City Triathlon Report

Today I ventured over to Baldwin City, Kansas for the 1st Annual Maple Leaf City Triathlon.   This is the 5th new triathlon that has been added to our regional calendar this year.  This is good news for the sport of triathlon.  Having big events like the Kansas 1/2 Ironman is nice, but it is the grassroots events that really make a sport grow.  I put this event on my calendar earlier this year as a "C" event when my good friend Gerard, a Baldwin City resident, sent me the flyer.  I am glad I did because I had a fun time. The event was well organized, had chip timing by Raceday Timing Solutions and Dick Ross and Kevin Gray from Seekcrun were on hand taking photos.  After the race a full buffet of goodies awaited everyone. 

The swim was very short, possibly the shortest swim I have ever completed in a triathlon.  The city pool only has a 6 lanes at 25 yards so 150 yards was the distance.  I have a swim PR in a triathlon - 2:27 :-)

All kinds come out for triathlons.  Check out the guy above getting ready for cylocross.   As for me, my T1 went very well.  I have my transitions down good and got out with the 2nd fastest overall T1 time of the day.  The time included the run from the pool and the run after we exited the transition.  My only problem  came after I got on the bike at the "Mount" line.  For the life of me I could not get my foot into my left shoe.  I think I am going to try this rubber band trick I saw a few months ago.  I need something to fix my cranks in one position

This was a training event for me so I was really not mentally ready to push myself really hard.   Once my heart rate got up and I was rolling well my mind started to wonder some on the hills when the effort got really hard.  A few "focus you dumb ass" thoughts got me going somewhat.  What did not get me going was my breakfast.  I mistakenly ate this delightful breakfast casserole that my lovely wife Carolynn made for us.  I took a risk that eating at 5:00 am would allow enough time for digestion. I am here to tell you that  Fluffy eggs and bacon take longer that 2 1/2 hours to digest.  I was able to keep the effort high enough to get the fastest bike split in my division.  I kept pace with overall winner Brandon Simpson on the first half of the bike, but was unable to push myself as hard as I went out on the return trip back to Baldwin City.

Another good transition with only a slight problem getting my wet foot into my shoes.  Once out to T2 I tried to settle into a good running pace that would allow me to finish strong.  Speaking of finishing, we got to finish up in Baldwin Stadium on the track.  That was cool.  Just check out the little guy above who competed in the kids triathlon.  He seems to agree with me.  Run was not good.  The lack of running intervals again showed its ugly head.  Despite my slow run I held on to finish 1st (out of 16)  in the Male 40 - 49 division and 4th overall out of 103

Next week is either the Cowboy Up triathlon in Smithville or the Big Ring Ranch MTB Enduro.