SeeKCrun Photos of the Event

Friday – 12:30 to 7:00PM at Ultra Max 6911 Tomahawk Road / Prairie Village
Saturday – 12:00 to 4:00PM at the race site / Crows Creek, Smithville Lake, MO – This is a change from the 2:00 time previously communicated

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

The Broadway Bridge is closed if you are coming from the South. Consider this in planning your route across the river.

COURSE CLOSING:

Smithville Lake Parks and Recreation will be closing the course at 6:30 AM, and no one can get in or out from that point until the last athlete has left the bike course. If you arrive late it is seriously a 3 mile walk to the transition area from where you will be asked to park.

VOLUNTEER TENT:

The volunteer tent opens at 5:00 AM. If you are a volunteer you should have already received a message from your volunteer captain concerning your arrival time, etc. Remember, there is no such thing as too early when you volunteer for anything.

When you get ready in transition and start to have “doubts”, you can be confident in the fact that if you execute your routine, you already know how well you’re going to perform.  Very few people perform better than they train.  There will be no magic bullet the day of.  If you normally swim 500 meters in 15 minutes, then you’re likely going to swim that on Sunday.  If your 3 mile training finish in 30 minutes, you likely won’t finish on Sunday in 20 minutes.  Take comfort in the fact that you’ve trained, you’ve prepared, so your time will take care of itself.  All you need to do is follow your routine and execute.

I’ve been doing this for a couple of years, but only in the past year have I finally settled on a routine.  It’s my hope to share what I’ve learned, so you don’t have to go through the pains I’ve gone through.  The week leading up to the event is less about improvement, and more about getting your head right.  I’ve found that the best way to get your head right is through routine, and a lot of coffee.  Read on…

Training

We’re 2 days out from the event, so the only training you should have been doing this past week was the “taper”.  If you look at the curve of physical activity to benefit, the science tells us that if your event is on day X, your best workouts days are 2-6 weeks before that day.  With only a week or few days before the event, you won’t realize any gains from your workouts, but this doesn’t mean you just sit on the couch for a week.  You need to stay relatively active to keep everything loose.  Even the day before, I’ll ride the course for 30 minutes and take a short run.  If the lake is open that is better yet.  Getting in the water you’ll race in, looking for landmarks to sight on, and just plain trying to get comfortable are all good things to do the day before the race.  Other than that, stay off your feet.

Rest

The most important sleep night is two nights before the event.  For Mason’s Tri, this mean s Friday night.  I can never sleep the night before an event.  If I’m lucky I’ll get 5-6 hours, but with events so early in the morning the adrenaline just takes over and pushes you through.  I do everything I can to get into bed early on Friday, and not wake up until I’m completely ready.   I then spend Saturday with some light physical activity, relaxing and hydrating.  Saturday night I’ll have a decent dinner of some type of pasta with chicken.  Hopefully I’m in bed by 9 PM and with any luck I won’t wake up until 3 AM.  I’m usually so fired up and alert that should I wake up my mind will start racing.  If you don’t sleep all that well the night before, don’t worry.  It’s natural for the nerves  to be like this.  Trust in the sleep you got the night before.

Fuel

If I’m lucky enough to sleep until the alarm goes off, then I wake up with everything prepped and ready to go.  The bag is packed, clothes are laid out, everything is in its place.  I usually set my alarm for 4 AM or so and get moving immediately.  Here is where my routine is pretty strict.  The first thing I do is turn on the coffee.  Maybe it goes without saying, but coffee and getting your system moving is critical.  I know a guy who doesn’t drink coffee 2 weeks before his major event.  He wants that jolt of coffee the morning of his event to literally charge his body.  Once the coffee is on I’m putting on Glide (in all the right places), applying sunscreen, getting on my gear and putting in the headphones.  Is it too early for Motley Crue, Metallica and Foo Fighters?  Not in my head.  Once I’m dressed and jamming, I hit the kitchen.  Black coffee, banana, Greek yogurt with granola/honey/blueberries, bagel with peanut butter and 20 oz. of Gatorade.  I put it all down in about 10-15 minutes.  This is plenty of fuel for a Sprint or Olympic distance.  Now, about the coffee.  It’s tough to be delicate about this, but the fact is that you have to go if you’re going to be comfortable for the race.  If you don’t get to go at home, then the nerves will hit you in transition and you’ll be in lines for the portable units.  Finding the right routine on this is important, but at the same time you have to adjust for the elements.  For a ½ Ironman I once did my hydration true to my routine, but the weather turned out to be cloudy and cool.  On the bike I barely sweat at all.  Combine that with being 3 hours on the saddle and it’s a recipe for disaster.  I had to make the decision on whether to stop somewhere and go, or learn to ride and pee.  I feel bad for the shop that cleaned my bike.

All in all, the point of routine is to eliminate unnecessary thinking or worrying.  Why waste energy worrying about where your shorts are, or what you’re going to have for breakfast, or where you’re going to find a bathroom?  Turn all of these potential distractions into a routine and you’ll race better and have a better time doing it.

~ Anonymous Amateur Triathlete

Timing

• Participants are required to wear the designated Timing Chip strapped to their ankle, throughout the race.
• Relay Team Members must pass the strap/chip at each transition.
• After you finish, turn in the strap/chip at the end of the finish chute.
• If you pull out of the race, report to the finish line tent to turn in the strap/chip.
• There is a $120 charge for a lost Timing Chip.

Transition Area

• All bikes must be racked in the proper position before 6:45am.
• Bike racks provided will be numbered in groups. First come, first serve at your assigned rack.
• Only participants and race volunteers are allowed in transition.
• CPSC approved helmets are required during the cycle portion of the event.
• Helmets must be buckled in place during all aspects of the bike including transition.
• You must walk or jog with your bike in the transition area to the designated mount located outside the transition area.
• Cowboy UP Events, LLC is not responsible for lost or stolen equipment left in transition.

Swim Course

• Each athlete must wear cap provided by race.
• No fins, aqua socks, gloves, paddles, or flotation devices of any kind are allowed.
• Swim goggles or face masks may be worn.
• Wetsuits will not be allowed due to water temps exceeding the allowable limit.

Bike Course

• Roads will be closed to outside traffic. Homeowners that live along the route will have access to the roads. Pay attention!
• No drafting of another bicycle.
• Athletes must ride single file on the far right side of the road except when passing another athlete. Side by side riding is not allowed and will result in a blocking or position violation.
• The road inside the park, 1.5 miles, is narrow and no road lane markings exist. Its imperative riders stay to the right at all times as riders will be going in both directions. When passing, do not cross over into the left half of the road.
• Race number sticker must be placed on your bike with the number displayed on both sides of your bike. It usually is best to be placed on the seat stem or top tube or down tube.
• CPSC approved helmet is required during the entire bike portion. Helmets must be securely fastened before mounting the bicycle and must not be unfastened until after dismounting the bicycle.
• No aid stations on the bike course. Riders responsible for carrying hydration.
• Headsets or headphones are not allowed during any portion of the event.
• Each athlete must be individually responsible for repair and maintenance of their own bike.

** Epic Bike and Sport will have bike technicians available before the race. Athletes are ultimately responsible for their own bikes.

Run Course

• Athletes must wear their race number in front of them clearly visible at all times on the course.
• The run course will be an out and back on the same paved trail. Runners must stay to the right of the trial.
• 3 aid stations will be available.

Relays

• All relay members must pick-up their own portion of the race packet; swimmer picks up the swim cap (and timing chip race morning), cyclist picks up the bike number, and runner picks up the run number. Each relay member receives a goody bag and T-shirt. Per USAT rules, each participant MUST pick up their own packet. NO EXCEPTIONS!!
• All relay members must be body marked on race morning.
• Team members will pass the strap/chip at each transition.
• There will be a meeting for relay teams prior to the closing of the transition area to cover rules.

For the complete USAT Rules, please visit their website.

2012 Most Commonly Violated Rules and Penalties

Good luck and have fun!

Steve Zimmer
Race Director
Matt Mason Memorial “Cowboy-Up!” Triathlon

1. Each team member, whether it is a team of 2 or 3, must either purchase a one day USAT License or be a USAT member.
2. Each team member must pick up their own packet on Friday or Saturday (see website for details). The only exception is if the team member you are picking the packet up for has paid for their one day pass and signed the USAT waiver. All USAT members still have to pick up their own packets and show their USAT membership card.
3. There will be a Team Triathlon designated area in transition where your team will place their bike, helmet, shoes, race number, etc.
4. Your team will have only one number (in the packet) and only one timing chip ( to be picked up on race day at the UltraMax trailer). Once the swimmer is out of the water he/she will run to the Team Transition area to have the biker (fully ready to ride with helmet strapped) remove the swimmers timing chip and place it on his/herself. The biker will run their bike out of transition to the bike mount area and start the bike course. Upon completion of the bike course the biker will dismount at the dismount line and take the bike to the Team Triathlon transition area and the runner will take his/her timing chip off and put in on his/herself. At the completion of the race please make sure the team runner gets all 3 medals for your team or make sure you are all there to congratulate them and get your medal personally.
5. Once your particular event (swim or bike) is over please stay out of the transition area to avoid congestion.
6. Only the runner needs to wear the bib number so you don’t have to worry about switching that between each team member. Only the timing chip will need to be switched from one team member to the next.

Congratulations, thank you for your participation, and good luck to you you all!

Steve Zimmer
Race Director
Matt Mason Memorial “Cowboy UP!” Triathlon

Cowboy-Up!

The Cowboy-Up Triathlon Steering Committee