There was no shortage of bike pumps around last year. They had a handful of them in transition in corners and near the loo. The announcer was also constantly asking "does anybody have a <whatever> that a fellow athlete needs?" It ranged from cleats, to helmets, to Di2 battery, etc. I've never heard so many of those announcements.

The heats were pretty spaced out last year as well. I didn't see much clumping of riders at all. There were even a few times I felt lonely. Passing was never an issue.

I didn't care for the lake swim. I felt like I was in a crockpot and came out of the swim basted. That said, it was my first non-wetsuit swim.

You'll have fun. I'm not going this year. Last year was my first and it was a great experience and very competitive. And hot (I had a very late start).

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

I went last year and it was fun and a good venue overall. The lake swim was okay, but water was the warmest I've ever swam in in any race, and just seemed long, and I'm a swimmer! Loved the bike course, rolling hills and very green. Run was miserably hot, humid and ugly, though the turn around in the baseball stadium is cool. Very well organized and very competitive.

I'm doing Oly 40-44M.

Flying in late Wed. night. It's my first time traveling by air to a race too. Figure going on Wed. Will give me all of Thursday to recover from anything I failed to pack.

Have never tried to cram my Thule hard case into a car before. A bit nervous it won't fit. Not looking forward to dealing with that late at night at the rental car agency. Fingers crossed.

PM if you end up needing tools or pump with gauge.

I agree with others you don't need a pump, plenty around. Last year this was my first big race ever, I had only done locally organized local races. It was crazy for me seeing so many bikes in transition all of which were newer and more expensive than mine (I ride a 2004 frame with a newer groupset that I put on).

The weather this year should be a lot cooler than last year, which is very important. Last year ambulances were taking people away with heat exhaustion. I wasn't very far away from needing this myself. It was hot, hot, hot!

With the run course change and the promise for not running out of things at the aid station and the cooler weather predicted for Saturday, it should be better.

I too am a slow swimmer and a faster biker. I passed loads of people and it wasn't a problem. If someone is hanging on the left, just yell out blocking or move right or something. I had to do it a couple times, but honestly it wasn't a big deal. The one place you have to be careful passing is on the one uphill because bikes are flying downhill coming the opposite way and need space so even when there are slow bikers don't get close to the yellow line when passing on the uphill.

On the downhill coming back, if it is wet this year and it might be, that curve at the bottom of the downhill could be nasty with rim brakes on carbon wheels (and please disc brake naysayers, please note this is an A race in which one might need better braking - it is more common than folks think).

Aside from them running out of stuff last year at the run aid stations, it was a very well organized race. I saw no bike packs which means passing is easier (another advantage of good bike course marshalling besides the fairness).

The water was warm, but I didn't mind it at all.

My best advice to you would be to practice going down the hill on the bike course a few times (heading south/returning to T2) to get used to it. If it is wet, you will really want to have a feel for the hill. Other than that, enjoy the experience, you are swimming, biking and running just like any other race, which is what we train for and what we love doing!

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3

I'll be there racing M45-49 Oly but age up eligible. It's my first AG nationals as well. Fortunately I am within driving distance so will arrive Friday AM and have tools and floor pump with me so PM if you need something. Staying near the lake/airport at Hampton Inn.

It's a little early but the forecast is for cooler weather (70's to low 80's) so that will be nice. Unfortunately the lake is already at 86 degrees. I believe that they changed the run course this year and not going into TD Ameritrade ball park this year.

In the next day or so I'll PM my cell # to everyone that seems to be going to the event. That way we can put together a SMS group text because friends don't let friends drink alone.

I started this in college so when I think of triathlon, I think of tables full of buddies surrounding beer and pizza, laughing at each other's outrageous lies. Just shift to alcohol free at midnight before race morning.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

I'm racing M55-59 this year and was M50-54 last year. I was DFL last in the AG out of the water and passed a lot of people on the bike. There's enough room to pass so don't worry about it. The only dicey part was the "bump" around the 6.5 mile mark. Last year there were a quite a few people who dismounted and walked the climb. This caused three across going up (walkers passed by slow bikers passed by strong bikers). At one point was a center line violation at the top that almost cause a head-on with the leaders descending. Other than that, there should be any issues with passing.

I will be racing both the Olympic and Sprint M35-39.

This will be my second national championships, but first one in Omaha. Looking forward to the race and the much cooler temperatures than last year's race.

Where are you staying? Close to downtown? Got any questions about Omaha let me know.

Carter Lake was 78.X tonight. Forecast doesn't show much above 80 this week with lows in the 60s overnight.

Run course has a fresh coat of asphalt.

In for this year Olympic and Sprint M55-59, had to withdraw last minute last year because of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, took 9 months to completely recover but I'm ready to go. Staying at Holiday Inn Express in Council Bluffs. 12 hour drive, going to split into two days and arrive Friday by noon. Looking forward to the cool weather.

Remove your rear derailleur and hanger... that's my bike packing tip and something between the dropouts is a good idea too. I pack everything I took the bike apart with. I have a Lezyne travel pump... it's a good balance between a full size pump and frame pump.

There will be plenty of pumps around Omaha otherwise... hotels are loaded with athletes, you can even bum a pump there.

I didn't find the bike course too crowded last year, but you will pass lots of people most likely and yes.. on the left unless it makes sense not to. Sometimes you've got people hanging left for whatever reason with an open right.... aka blocking.

Olympic 35-39M

This will be my first Nats.

I will be driving down, arriving Thursday night, staying at the Double Tree.

I'm hitting the ground Thur late morning. Staying at Country Inn and Suites.

PMing for cell #'s is too hard. If you want on the ST Group Txt list, email me your cell #. scott (at) gress (dot) org. I've already sent one text blast to folks on the list. Next one will go out tomorrow morning.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Went to Milwaukee. That was a blast. Did not enter any qualifying races these past two years, because the nats are in Omaha. People get the hell out of Omaha, not go there on purpose.

I'll be there too. Raced Milwaukee 2 years ago and despite my DNF because of my bike chain splitting in 2 about 5 miles into the bike, I've decided to give it another shot. I'll be racing Olympic M35-39.

As opposed to Milwaukee? I guess your shit out of luck the next two years it will be in Cleveland.

Not going to make this year's race due to ongoing back recovery. I could be competitive in the sprint but not worth the 8 hours drive without also doing the Oly on Saturday.

I hope it's not as hot for y'all this year.

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--------------------------
The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I'll be there, and it's my first nats. Doing standard distance, M35-39. Someone has to bring up the rear of that group, so glad to be of service.

Hope everyone has a great race!

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Attacking this day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

Any word on h20 temp. Wetsuit?

Right now it's borderline (temp is 78.6). Given the forecast, the bet is wetsuit legal. I'm packing mine, just in case.

If you're a Facebooker, follow the event page.

First time all around (nationals, flying with bike). I'll be in the 40-44M group. Not used to starting so late in the morning, so trying to figure out what to do with myself for two hours post Transition close. Call me crazy, but I'm flying in Friday morning, so that adds even more stress. I'm sure I will be watching all of you from behind in the distance! Have a great race all.

Last year I had a late start too... I got there a couple minutes before transition opened, set up and went back to the hotel for breakfast and came back to the site about an hour before my start.

If it rains like the forecast is looking like it will... that lot where we park could be a train wreck.

They have a contingency plan for parking if it rains - it's explained on the site I believe.

I wonder what that is... do you have a link to the contingency plan? The chance of rain is reducing on Saturday which is great, but would nice to know before hand.

Event website, under "Information" then "Parking and Traffic" - second paragraph:


"Please be advised that if muddy ground should render Levi Carter Park inaccessible for parking, there will be a backup parking lot available for athletes which will be located at the Lewis and Clark Landing located at 345 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE 68102 . Athletes parking at this back up location will need to proceed to the Hilton Omaha or Embassy Suites by Hilton hotels to then be transported to the venue by shuttle. Walking time from the Lewis and Clark Lot to the Hilton Omaha is approximately 15 minutes, while walking time from the Lewis and Clark Lot to the Embassy Suites by Hilton is approximately 18 minutes. Please see the Shuttle page for further information on shuttle operations from these hotels."


Here

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

Thank you for that... that's going to stink if we have to do that. Fingers crossed it doesn't come into play.

Text sent to those that emailed me their cell #. If anyone else wants in on the fun, email me your cell #.

---

Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

How was it....was it wetsuit or not, was it a fast bike course or hilly, same for run?

I had a U 19 athlete racing, so texting back and forth with his mom.

-30 min delay because of parking issues.

Also she said no wetsuit, and I assume he would have worn it if it was legal even though he's a fish...so i'm assuming too hot.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Water temp 80.6 so non-wetsuit. The course was fine - swim was slightly long (between 50-100yds) by my Garmin and a couple others in the food tent after.

Bike Course had a few small rollers and one hill that hit 10% grade but it's not very long. Road surface had a few small potholes if you didn't pay attention. One railroad crossing that was covered with mats and I thought was ok. The back side is more gradual coming in for the turn around. Slight head/side wind coming back.

The run is dead flat and had plenty of aid stations that were well stocked with Gatorade, water, and cold towels. As Brooks said there was a 30 minute delay due to the backup of cars getting in lot so I thought that was a nice move to ease the tension. The temps were mild around 65 at the start and high 70's at finish.

Overall I think they put on a good event this year.

How did you do? We're in the same AG and I suspect I came out of the water DFL. My interim results had me 101.

Bike was OK. The tail wind on the way out of the back half turned into headwind. Minor but annoying.

Run was great. I prefer the two loops to the slog to the ballpark. The course was crowded in some areas and I did a lot of weaving to pass people.

Overall, a very good race. The cool dry weather helped a lot.

...and the water temp felt great. i had the swim as being 50-80yds long. meh. nbd.

the covered rail crossings were great. i still stood, but the carpet was HUGE.
i'm bummed that there's no 50mph descent (coming back in, on the 10% grade) in the sprint tomorrow.

+1

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

I was pretty happy as well. 30 min delay was annoying, but didn't really affect me because my start was moved from 8:48 to 9:18 - so just hung out at my truck a bit longer then wandered down to watch some waves go off before I got in my warm up.

I could have used a warning on the dismount line (if there was one I missed it). Jumped off at the last second two feet just at the line. Was coming in way too hot and did everything I could to stay upright and not get DQ'd.

Wish I was staying for the sprint tomorrow.

Edit: I will add they did a great job overnight filling potholes and sending out street sweepers. The road was terrible during my recon rides.

The delay was annoying.... and I expected it, too.

The road patches looked fresh (and some extra cinders, too); the roads were either great, or shitty. That carpet on the rr tracks, as I had noted, was so helpful.

I had the same experience at the bike dismount!!!

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

For the life of me I may not understand the AG qualification protocol in regards to aging up.

So 18 spots per age group. So what happens if 10 are aging up to next AG? Does only 8 from the older group make it?

Or is it 18 per age group on race day + roll downs....then they figure out which AG you actually will race in?

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

This looks like higher math, and I'm not an engineer...

Like, what if 10 ppl age up and out, and only 4 age in?

Um...... ....

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Really is easy.
At Nationals, there are two races. The first is AG titles, and that is based on age of this year, Dec 31.

Then there is the TeamUSA race. Since worlds is next year, you basically just shift all the ages down a year since when they age up for next year, they are a year older.
So, when I raced in the 60-64 AG for worlds, all the 65's went up, and all the 59's went in. So at the race, the teamusa folks are 59-63. It is then top 18 of these, with roll downs to 25.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Thx, I was getting caught up on scenario where people "aging up" outnumbered the next group that aged out.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I was disappointed. I was last serious about triathlon a decade ago. I got serious again last Dec or so. I'd not done an Olympic distance since 2007. I thought I'd be faster.

My perception is that the swim was 3-4min long for the fast folks, and 4-5min long for the slower ones. My swim was not the fiasco it could have been. My ride went fine. I had to keep dialing back the intensity because I was wary of running out of gas in the 10km, me having not done an Olympic in so long. I was pretty wiped out in the run. It felt like I was running thru molasses. I kept the pressure on, but it just wasn't enough. Better men beat me.

I think that we had 103 in 55-59. If I recall the #'s correctly, I was 38th out of the water, picked up a half dozen or so in the ride, and picked up 3 more in the run. Finished 27th. Somehow the math works out. I was hoping for a slot in Worlds. Gonna have to get faster.

Other than me not being as fabulous as I thought I was, it was a really fun weekend.

---

Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Where can I see overall results? The app only shows me people I search for.

Edit: found results.

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blog

https://www.teamusa.org/usa-triathlon/events/national-championships/2017/2017-age-group-national-championships/results




ranger says swim 3-4 minutes long (that's several hundreds yards)......how in this day and time can they be so off on measuring a course?

I think it is because the dock was at a pretty extreme angle. There were a very limited number of spaces on the dock that would have resulted in swimming a straight line through the sight buoys.

From what I could see the faster fish pushed off from the south side of the dock and swam a ways away from the buoys, targeting only the corner triangle buoys which you had to keep to your right.

I swam a decent line (I'm slow and cannot afford to zig zag), but was still about 160 yds over distance.

I wouldn't be too disappointed with that. I had a below average swim and it went downhill from there. The first half of the bike was on target but when I hit the turn around and right before the climb back up big hill my HR started to plummet. It picked up over the hill, but then started dropping again on the way back into town. By the railroad tracks it was abnormally low (zone 1/low 2) with shallow breath and dizziness. I was weaving all over the place for 2 miles into t2. My wife saw me enter and knew something was wrong. I pushed my bike over by her standing at the fence and immediately blacked out. Apparently she asked if I wanted a medic and that shook me out of it enough to jump back up, rack my bike and head out on the run. I don't remember any of that or the first 2 miles running until the first aid station coming back towards the finish line. HR was erratic as hell and my pace was at IM zombie march level.

I qualified in 2:29 but ended up finishing yesterday in 3:07. In hindsight I should have taken a DNF at t2 but I was completely delirious and the "never quit" side took over. Friends and family are all saying how determined I was and congratulating me on gutting it out. But I am leaning the other way and how stupid it was to risk a cardiac event for a medal.

Looking over my prerace meals and hydration isn't showing any issues that I can tell. I have some training buddies that are doctors including a cardiac surgeon who is already scheduling me for EKG and echo tests. I am very lucky that it didn't happen on the swim or probably wouldn't be writing this right now.

It's possible that AG Nats was my last Triathlon.

Dude, that's scary shit. Be careful.

10yrs ago I did an Olympic in Jacksonville (FL) that I should have skipped because I was way over-trained and needed to take a month off. Of course, you'd have had to put a gun to my head to take that month off. It was really hot. In the run, I immediately fell apart. I couldn't, well, I couldn't seem to run. But I was too bullheaded to stop. The last mile I did in some kind of pathetic shuffle, sure I could tough it out until the finish.

A couple weeks later, a guy my age back then, early-mid 40's, died in one of the Charleston (SC) sprints. He was fit and fast. 2 kids. Dead from the heat. It took that guy's death to make me understand how stupid I'd been in the JAX race. We had 3 toddlers back then, and I'd taken a stupid risk. My father died young. One of the things that has driven my obsession with fitness is to not let that happen to my kids. Yet I'd been willing to push way past the red line for a $5 plaque. I resolved to not be so stupid again. Unlike my own father, I will watch my kids turn into adults. Altho if #3 son doesn't learn to be more careful, he might not make it, lol.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

You actually blacked out and the race/family let you continue?

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I was on the ground right by the fence for about 20 seconds. Doubt that any officials were aware it happened or they would not have let me continue. My wife asked if I wanted medical and that's when I apparently popped back up and went to rack my bike and start the run. Like I said I don't remember it so it's not likely she was talking me out of it.

Time for a doc visit, just to be on safe side.

Thats scary. I had an junior athlete who I've worked off and on, his dad was swimming at the Y pool here in town on Friday w/ his wife. Said he felt "off" while in the pool, almost sick. 30 mins later he went full blown heart attack on the way to the ER. Take care of your health for sure Chris!

(not to scare or make it into something bigger). Just weird timing you said that, after getting that email on friday night. Shit can get real, real fast.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

If you followed the sight buoys on the return leg, you swam long. The buoys we're laid out such the they arced out (i.e. convex). This was not obvious from the start dock but very obvious if one looked from the swim exit.

Also, a lot of penalties given out during both races. USAT was enforcing everything in its rule book; unfortunately USAT hasn't provided a list of what the exact infractions were for each athlete. I was glad to see so many officials on the bike course. The athletes were forewarned at the race briefing of what officials would be really focusing upon - one of which was having your race bib visible on the front of your body during the entire run and especially at the finish.

--

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Straightenin' the curves; Flattenin' the hills
------------------------------------------------------------
Coached by Mike Plumb @ TriPower MultiSports
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1149072 - https://www.instagram.com/thoswoods/

Yes, there were a lot of race marshals on motorbikes. As much as I support penalizing drafting, I found myself, to my surprise, feeling kind of terrorized. I kept worrying about gray area situations where riders in front of me over-slowed for turns so suddenly I was unexpectedly right on top of them. Or I'd be behind and catching up, while maintaining some L/R offset. But then they'd shift abruptly left/right and I'd lose the offset. Or riders bunching up on each hill, sometime so bunched that the lane was entirely blocked.

I've been doing tri's, off and on, for a long time. But those races were tiny compared to Nats. There's always been few cyclists around me that the real problem is navigation, not drafting avoidance. It was new to my experience to have to worry about it so much.

I didn't have any experience with race marshals. I had no idea if, for example, there was informal agreement like "no one cares about proximity in a steep climb" or "no one cares if riders are (precisely) side-by-side for a bit".

In my mind I was very aggressive about making sure that I either stayed 4 bike lengths back and a meter left/right, or I hustled on by. But I worried constantly that some ref on a motorbike 40m behind me might be in a lousy position to tell 4m back from 2m back and decide that I was drafting.

Twice I had to dart left while passing and I touched, but didn't cross, the yellow line. In both cases I was in the middle of passing someone and they inexplicably darted left so I had to go left also. I was instantly mortified that maybe there was some ref behind me now noting my #.

I was just about to pass a guy and he suddenly darted left into my path. I hit the brakes and darted right to avoid. But that put me beside him and passing on the right, a big no no. So, grinding my teeth, I slowed down even more, got back behind him, moved to his left and made the pass.

There were an awful lot of slower cyclist that had to be passed, and many of them bunched up at turns, or they bunched up as they passed other riders that were slower still. Every time someone in front of me did something unexpected that created geometry that a ref at some vantage point might hold against me, I imagined a ref 30m behind me writing my # down. It was a frequent source of stress.

I guess I need to better understand what the refs are briefed so I can better read their minds. And I just need to get more used to high profile races that have refs everywhere. I'm all for strict rules re. drafting so I certainly have to be supportive of the refs being aggressive.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

It seemed as though many people were starting on the Iowa side, instead of the Nebraska side, and swimming to the first turn buoy. I swam from the NE side, for the turn buoy, made the turns as tightly as I could, and then sighted the swim exit.

I wound up w/ about 80m long on Sat., and 50m long on Sun. Talking to others in the NormaTec tent, this seems to reconcile with what others had for the swim distance, too.

Did you get a long course on either day?

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Just replying to the most recent post because it's handy.

Another point of reference about the swim...and a quick summary of my race.

I started at the far/south end of the dock and completely disregarded the orange sight bouys, but chose to swim directly for the first yellow turn bouy. I sighted every third or fourth stroke to make sure I was as straight as possible. My Garmin file shows a pretty straight line, but has my swim at 1765 yds. That's about 115 meters long, which explains the extra 2 minutes beyond what I was hoping for. Maybe I was not swimming as straight as I thought. Or maybe starting at the far end did actually add some distance. Either way, any added distance didn't help me at all as a weak swimmer (which is true for the olympic distance in general). I wasn't last (of my wave) out of the water, but there were ladies from the following wave running to transition ahead of me (I'm not a lady so they clearly weren't from my wave).

My bike went well. I really liked the course. A good mix of sweeping turns, small rollers, and a couple of steep climbs. I was geared wrong (39-23) and ended up mashing 350 watts for what felt like an eternity up the big hill on the way out. That left turn at the bottom of the same hill on the way back to town scared the sh*t out me when I drove the course the night before. By that time, I had already dropped my bike off in transition. I was confident my front brake was set up as good as it could be. However, my rear brake is finicky and I hadn't taken any extra time to dial it in precisely. The "Oh sh*t" factor got worse when I got back to the hotel and looked at some Strava ride of the same course in 2016. There were dudes hitting 53 mph down that hill. The speed alone didn't necessarily scare me, but the left turn certainly did. The result...I was the pansie sitting up and riding the brakes most of the way down. I'm sure I lost 30 seconds, but I lived to type this.

The congestion on the bike was a blessing and a curse. I've never raced in a large field like that. As such, I've never had to navigate through 200+ slower riders while trying to stay legal. VI was higher as a result, but I clearly got an advantage from slipstreaming past so many people. BBS had predicted 1:05:xx on 240 watts. I finished the bike about 15 watts under goal but in 1:04:xx.

The first couple miles of the run went fine, but it went downhill from there. I ended up walking the last few aid stations and going about 10 minutes longer than I had hoped to. I didn't understand what was wrong at the time other than my heart rate was high and I just couldn't run. I had consumed one bottle of water and a half bottle gatorade on the bike, but I'm pretty sure I was still dehydrated by the midpoint of the run. It took four bottles of water, a gatorade, a Diet Pepsi at Arby's, and about 150 miles of driving toward home before I had a good pee. Maybe I didn't hydrate well enough in the 48 hrs prior to the race.

Overall, I did not perform up to my expectations, but I had a fun weekend in Omaha at a great zoo with the kids and at the race.

That downhill was the fastest I've ever been on my tri bike.

About half way down I had to move off the bars to the hoods, if it was straight I might have stayed on them but the kink at the bottom was the clincher.

That was a fun descent. I sat down on my toptube, but kept my hands by my brakes, instead of keeping them on the extensions.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

yeah, i am super careful about the rules and drafting, but i got a penalty for my bib not being visible on the run. it is nitpicky i think and and i am a bit upset. my Garmin chest strap kept falling down under my trikit and i think it took me a mile to sort out that and other things and by then i had probably gotten dinged for the bib. i am a big fan of good marshalling on the course but just don't understand with how many race numbers we had on why this was so much of a focus for usat. most of the guys in my ahe group who got a penalty got it for race numbers. thst does not constitute a safety or a fairness problem.

besides that i was also super disappointed in my race. :(

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3

Does seem odd to be handing out a bunch of bib penalties. Given the athlete could be identified via the arm/leg tats to be penalized what's the point?

If those 10 aging up have a better time than people in the upper age group, they'll move them out of qualification. In my experience it tends to be a wash... but if you're in the 15 - 18 spot on race day, you're on the bubble about getting in that day. You will get in though eventually, I've never my AG slots get locked in other than Chicago.

They take the race time and create the AG with ages of everyone the following year for TeamUSA qualification. However that works out is a variable you just can't predict... if you're in that top 18 - 25 I'd say go to awards, see if your name is on the paper on the wall in the top 18 with this age up adjustment. If you're in the top 18, you go to another room they open as they start AG awards, look yourself up in the iPad, confirm/change your contact info... that's it. Wait for an e-mail in the following couple of weeks to pay your $50 admin fee.

Omaha went well for me considering I fractured my back in four places, major concussion, etc. on March 1st. I rode my 1x 54t and 11-28 setup and spun up the hill okay, just not in the cycling shape I normally am yet. I liked having the the run course adjusted to a 2 lap course. All in all, things went well and felt like USAT put on a nice race. Enjoyed my time in Omaha and found some things to do, breweries to visit and decent restaurants. The ability to leave your bike in transition for the Sprint was nice too.

It seemed like there were a ton of officials on the bike course... every time I made a pass I'd look left to make sure a motorcycle was creeping up beside me. The app was pretty good too, with updates, info and tracking... my wife, kids at home and others found it very useful. My now adult children got together with the app loaded and had the stream going on a TV and were able to see me finish... of course they gave me grief for not doing anything fancy at the finish line in the Olympic.

Looking forward to Cleveland! Locked in a spot for Australia, which was my wife's goal for me... she's pretty pumped.

I had a junior race, and he made it going to Aussie land next year. I liked the app as I could "follow" his progress (i assume they had timing mats along the course and the app just calculated where he was the whole time) on each leg.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Drafting up a steep incline. If the riders get bunched up because of a steep climb, is that drafting? If it is "theoretically" drafting, maybe there is an informal convention to not hold that kind of thing against the rider? On each climb I worked my way past numerous riders, but it almost certainly took me longer than 15secs to do it.

Bib # in front during the run. I had no idea this was a rule. I had my # in front, only because that's what I'm used to doing. I did see that lots of folks had their #'s in back. Geeze, I feel like I dodged that one only out of dumb luck.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Rule has always been bib number in the front. Do most folks race in Tri's but never read the rules, ever?

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I guess since I automatically put the bib # in front, I never actually paid attention to the fact that there's a rule requiring it.

I would say, yes, most folks doing Tri's haven't carefully read the rules. Culturally, this is not an American strength. Those that don't agree should go spend some time in Germany. Those folks are serious about rules.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Timing mats were at swim exit, bike start, bike turn-around (both races), run start, run turn-around (both races) and the finish.

yep

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I got hit with a 6 min penalty. Anyone know how I can find out what it was for? A small group of us got bunched up going up a hill on the bike and I saw a motorcycle taking notes but I'd like to know specifically what I did so wrong.

I'm not sure where to find the actual penalties, but 6:00 of penalties means you got dinged twice. 3 times and it's a DQ.

1st- 2:00
2nd- 4:00
3rd- DQ

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Often times you'll get hit with a position penalty, meaning you're left of a rider/pace line and you have only so may seconds to get ahead of them or fall back. If you're not single file, you'd better be passing somebody.

If you had 6 minutes in penalties, then you had two of them: the first one for 2 minutes, the second one for an additional 4. You should be able to set an email address from the USAT websie.

To the earlier poster: a lot of what you're wondering about was covered in the briefing on Friday. Bib numbers needed to be worn on the run. They would not penalize for drafting on the big hill, but would penalize for blocking. Your 15 second time starts either when the official gets close enough to see that you're inside the 3 bike length draft zone, or if they're behind you and see you're riding left and aren't actively passing the next rider up the line.

If you're back at least 3 bike lengths, you should still stay to the right, even if you're lined up with the bike in front of you. If you move to the left to try to show that you 'aren't drafting', but you aren't passing, you now might be riding too far left and subject to either a position or blocking penalty.

3 bike lengths on a crowded course seems like a lot. A bunch of us got packed together and if I remember correctly I moved to the left in order not to draft off one of the riders near me. If I got behind them it sounds like I was expected to really slam on the brakes or gun it to get ahead of them. Felt like a lose lose. I'll email and ask, thanks for the suggestion.

Moving left doesn't do any good. It comes down to one of 3 things:
Ride right, and keep back 3 bike lengths
If you come up behind a slower cyclist and get within 3 bike lengths, you must move up and pass on the left within 15 seconds. No yo-yo'ing in and out of the zone.
If you are passed, you must drop back the 3 bike lengths before thinking about passing again. They say 'immediately', but as long as you ease up as soon as you're passed and get out of the zone within 15, you'll be OK. No hard braking, just slow up a bit to re-establish the distance.

Yep. Always have to stay to the right. And do not pass on the right, penalty if caught.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

The only "official" numbers you had to have according to the rules briefing were:
1.) the written number on your swim cap
2.) seat post sticker on bike that is visible from the left side by the officials.
3.) run bib in front of body on the run.

I would also add that mandatory but not race related were the bracelet (to get in and out of transition with bike) and the sticker on the bag drop for your morning items if you used it.

Everything else was garbage. 3 helmet stickers advertising Rudy, 2 swim cap stickers advertising Roka and 4 tri-tats advertising I can't even remember who are just extra and not looked for by the officials. I get your point that they "could" identify you from any one of these 9 other markings but that's not what they officially look for.

Thanks for the clarification, interesting.

I'd intended to go to the briefing but the walk from the bus to transition & back was significantly longer than I'd expected. (I've got a decent list of rookie mistakes from my first nationals, at least I got no penalties)

My run bib was on the front of my body during the run, but was squinched up as I had to keep pulling my top up to reposition my garmin heart rate monitor so it would work. My bib was 100% of the time on front and some % of time wrinkled up (i have no idea what % that would be as I looked down just after mile 1 and saw it squinched and tried to fix it and assuming I did fix it after that, it would be 1/6th of the run that my bib was up front but squinched up) and I got a penalty for it.

I think it would be great for course marshals to either talk to folks or give a smaller penalty for a bib that was hard to read. With a squinched up bib that was hard to read, i certainly was not ignoring the rules but I got the same penalty as someone who sits on someone's ass in the bike drafting for advantage.

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3

Oh, thanks for bringing that up. Another point of emphasis made at the athlete briefing by head official Charlie Crawford was to not have your bib crumpled up.

yeah, i know, i heard it. i actively uncrumpled it for that reason. i didn't notice it right away though.

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3

Any word if the run in the sprint was short? I ran about 90 seconds faster than I thought my fitness level to be. Not trying to backdoor this, but I'm usually pretty good with predicting my fitness/times for races. And 90 seconds faster over a 5k is an astronomical amount to me.

If you're getting passed on the right, you're doing something wrong, yourself.

nope, but jump to conclusions.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Would have been nice if the contents of the rules briefing was provided on a piece of paper in the race registration packet. I find it a little surprising that the rules briefing would be the sole way to learn a variety of poorly understood yet critical facts.

The average participant thinks that they know the rules. They've done lots of races, half listened to lots of pre-race briefings, so they've reached the (in this case, erroneous) conclusion that they don't need to be at a rules briefing.

Just like the USAT site has a list of "Rules that get broken most often" or something like that, the registration packet could have had a single sheet of paper titled "rules and clarifications that we want to be sure you're aware of". Heck, they could have just had a piece of paper that said "if you've not been to Nationals before, be sure to come to the Rules Briefing because this isn't like any event you've been to before".

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Good lord is triathlon trying to make themselves look more stupid with rules?

Now we're gonna have a if your bib doesn't look pretty we are going to give you a penalty rule.

We have the number on us in 5 spots in most races. If the official can't figure it out maybe they should do something different.

....and why cant the get the sprint results by age group link active.....seriously, its only Wednesday....lame!

Hey now don't rush them... they only do results 10-15 times a year. It can get confusing.

They are probably doing it manually. (And no, just because it is on a computer doesn't mean it isn't manual. Using Excel is still manual.) USAT could benefit immensely from hiring a few good IT people.

IT guy: "You can do this with VBA"

USAT: "we don't have that program we just use excel"

IT guy: "yeah I'm gonna have to put in my 2 weeks."

Given that the average tri bike is somewhere around 5.5' long, you have to close at least 22' in 15 seconds to legally complete a pass. That requires a speed differential of a little more than 1 mph. For the elites, with their 10 meter long draft zone, the required speed differential is almost 2mph.


I'm a much stronger swimmer than cyclist. The passing rules make me hesitant to try a big event like a USAT National or an M-dot HIM. I feel like I'd spend most of my bike leg backing off of one pass after another, LOL.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Grant.Reuter wrote:

Hey now don't rush them... they only do results 10-15 times a year. It can get confusing.

The searchable results are here: //live.pttiming.com/MS.html?mid=1268

What are you having trouble with? It's pretty easy but let me provide directions: select Sunday, August 13th, click on non-draft sprint distance, click on the word "compiled" to get all the splits (if that's what you want to see), then use the fancy drop downs or text box to drill down further. It's pretty easy to dump into a spreadsheet but I'll save that for the advanced class.

Or just feel free to keep replying with IT geek responses.

Side note:
I went to the Lauritzen Botanical gardens on Sunday- definitely worth the visit.

Honestly it's not that bad, I'm weaker on the swim than the bike, so I often do a fair amount of passing during a race.

Passing weaker cyclists is pretty easy, I just hold my pace & I'm through the zone legally without them having to slow down.

There's three points where it's a little trickier
1) Passing someone who's only slightly slower. Normally for this I'll close to just outside the zone, back off for a few seconds, look for a good bit of road (no turns etc..) & then push through. Once I've passed I'll keep the power on for a little longer until they're a good distance back (to my mind breaking past their front wheel & backing off is fairly rude)
2) A slightly slower but skinny rider. As above but If there's a hill coming I might back off till the hill is past & avoid the yo-yo. (They're a good rabbit to chase up the hill in any case)
3) Multiple riders all passing each other at the same time. This ones tricky, as the chain reaction of one moving can make for a big mess.

USAT nationals was pretty good, the biggest bike course issue was near the dismount line, it wasn't particularly wide & there was a big variety of speeds/skill levels.

I agree with you. Maybe there's a good reason that I'm missing?

There isn't. Somehow running has managed to handle only using a bib for how many years without issues?

We need to simplify the rule book not add stuff like this, or interpret it to absurd levels like this.

The body markings are for the swim, the bike number for the bike, and the bib number for the run. Easier in run-only events with just a bib. The body markings that are visible for the swim often get covered up or washed away by the time the run comes around, which is why they require a bib number on the run.

https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/News/Blogs/Rules-Education/2014/February/16/Race-Conduct-Race-Numbers


They did mention in the pre-race briefing that you needed to wear your bib number on the run.

Agree... I just watched my finish line vid from Nationals and my bib is crumpled most likely from running and it being in my crotch area.

A friend of mine got hit with a drafting penalty near the turn around on the Sprint... my understanding is there is a "congestion zone" around these sorts of things that negate this penalty. I know both days I had to work my way through and round a couple of folks at the turns that aren't comfortable with turns I suppose.

If I'm verbal on a bike course turn arounds and the dismount line are where I'm letting people know where I am and where I plan to go at big races... for example sprint dismount I was coming up fast on a guy that was left and riding on his pedal to dismount and I was coming in faster... let him know I'd be on his right, saw him nod... we both dismounted side by side and I went on my merry way. Mount/Dismount felt tight but they were using the whole road, so not much else to do there.

I know what they're for and don't disagree with the concept of a bib on the run. Although I disagree that the numbers normally wash off, pretty sure I have destroyed washclothes trying to get sharpee off before. But that wasn't my point.

When you start giving penalties because a bib is crumpled up some we've reached the point of absurdity. Rules should have a function. If you are not breaking any rules during the race having a crumpled bib changes nothing.

How often does it even come up that someone has their bib so destroyed that you can't read it? So they basically interpreted the rule and gave penalties on it for the 1 in 10 million chance someone made it impossible to read the bib.

It's no different than the bib needs to be on the front rule. If the official can't see the bib number because it's behind the runner, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say give them a few seconds, you'll probabaly see it on the back of them.

There is a whole page in the rule book for how to pass someone during a race on the bike. Overall the rules need to be simplified and enforced at a does this make sense level.

For instance in football you could call a penalty on every play but it doesn't happen because the officials know how to enforce the rules based on the flow of the game not 100 percent based on the strict interpretation of the rule book.

Based on the rule book you're correct. You can enter the draft zone and leave it when making a 90 degree turn or more.

 
When you start giving penalties because a bib is crumpled up some we've reached the point of absurdity.
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here it is. usat this time. usually it's the itu at worlds.
peggy

The rule just says it must be plainly displayed, unobstructed and readable while on the course. Seems like having it crumpled up in your hand as you run doesn't meet those requirements.

As for the "bib needs to be on the front" rule, I can't find that one. I assume the officials are looking for it on the front, the side, or the back. I know the timers would like to see it on the front as you cross the finish line, as a backup. I wear mine on my back and then move it around to the front for the finish, and haven't had officials penalize me for it.

What I heard at the rules briefing was:

Number visible before exit of transition.

Number turned to the front before crossing the finish line.

I ran with it on the front out of transition so I didn't think about it afterwards.