Sunday, July 30 was the first-ever Tri-ing for Children’s triathlon held in Menomonee Falls.

The Race

This tri is held to help raise money to benefit local children’s hospitals. There was a children’s tri on Saturday, then Sunday there were Supersprint, Sprint, and Olympic Distance races scheduled. HFP Racing, the same outfit that does Spirit of Racine and a bunch of other races, provided the race direction.

The tri started and ended in Menomonee Park, with the swim and the run held in the park. Mrs. PJT and I signed up for the Olympic distance, intending to use the day as a “C� race. We woke around 4:45 and were at the park by 5:45. We were plenty early, and snagged some good spots in our transition rack. I was feeling pretty tired from IM training (including a 20 mile run and a long bike in the days before the race) in some really hot weather that had smothered the area. The day was clear and it was starting to heat up even at that early hour.

Right around 6:45, one of the race organizers on the P.A. announced that some website or other had dubbed this race one of the most successful first-time events in the country. Hearing this, my wife and I both shot each other a look, and we both voiced the opinion that maybe fate was being tempted here, given that we hadn’t actually finished the race yet. It was right around this time that the USAT officials on-site confirmed what we had already heard unofficially—the water was too warm for wetsuits to be worn & have the times count as official. Although the wetsuit is basically my big neoprene security blanket, I took the news as calmly as possible and resolved to just swim nice & easy without the suit.

Around 7:15 or 7:30 we all headed down to the beach for the start of the race. The Oly waves would go off last, presumably because the bike course was looped & that would help avoid collisions. Everyone was ready for the race to begin. Except for the lifeguards, who were nowhere to be seen. Turns out they had been given the wrong time to arrive, so we were going to have to wait a bit.

It was at this point that the skies started to darken ominously and, sure enough, thunder started rumbling in the distance. I suggested to my wife that we should mosey back to transition and put our shoes in some plastic bags that I carry in my transition pack. She agreed. Just after we had finished doing this, the rain began. Then the lightning. Everyone congregated in the beach shelter as we watched a torrential downpour and light show for the next 2 hours. In retrospect, it was probably for the best that the lifeguards were late, because that meant nobody was in the water when the storm started.

Around 9:30, the P.A. announcer informed us that we would race, but that there would be no Olympic event because the police were not available to keep the roads closed past a certain hour. We Oly people would join the sprint waves. I was actually pretty happy with this, because my fatigue, which had not improved by hanging around for a 2 hour delay, was really making me doubt that I would have an enjoyable Oly distance race.

The swim. Around 10:00 a.m., we finally got in the water for the Sprint start. The swim was held in a quarry, and the water was bathtub-warm at the edge. We swam out about 10 yards and treaded water waiting for the start. The swim course was a big 700M or so loop around the quarry—water was clear and calm. My times were slower than I expected, even considering no wetsuit. I couldn’t find a good draft and just felt out of rhythm for much of the swim. I finished around 16:50.

The bike. The bike course had us leaving the park and riding a 12.5 or so mile loop on the roads surrounding the park. The roads were very wet, so cornering was tricky. The route had a good number of hills and so even a Sprint was a challenge. I stayed in easier gears for the most part, and spun as much as possible. I finished in 40 minutes and change—a later check of my computer showed that my cadence average was 97!

I did hear after the race from some athletes who were actually stopped at an intersection by volunteers/police, while they let traffic through. I’m not sure how common this is in races but it struck me as not very fair, and potentially dangerous.

The run. The run course was on a road inside the park. It was mostly flat with some very small short hills. My socks, which were mostly dry in T1, were throughly wet after the bike leg. I squished by a few guys in the beginning, got passed by some throughout, and finished in 25:59. My final time was 1:25:57 – 133/333 overall, 16/24 AG.

Overall – I thought this was a fun race for a good cause and I will do it again.