Lake George Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Oh man. Got a lungful right as the gun went off (stupid chop) and panicked. Lost at least a minute getting myself moving again, by which time I had lost my wave and any feet to hang on to. Also veered off-course after the second turnaround buoy. It was a U-shaped course and I took it WAY too wide. My watch had a 41:30 swim time and I cannot believe that according to the results I managed a 2:26/100 pace despite all that.

Oh, and memo to the bitch who PUSHED ME DOWN to try to swim over me when we're TWO HUNDRED YARDS FROM SHORE: Okay, if you're STILL in the water when I am and swimming my pace, you ain't exactly rushing to podium here. Those of us still in the water at that point were all just trying to survive the swim and that was completely uncalled for. Hope you enjoyed the elbow. (It's so funny - a lungful of water 50 meters from shore and I freak out. I get swum over and I get pissed and bust out elbows. Shows I'm much less afraid of contact than the water itself. LOL.)

Be more aware of the chop while warming up so I know which side to breathe on. Continue working on open water experience so I don't freak out when I get a lungful of water and start choking.

Man. Keystone Cops action in both transitions. Aside from the fact I was so tired from the swim I couldn't sprint to transition (my original plan since it was kinda far and I wanted to use my footspeed to my advantage), my wetsuit stuck AND I couldn't get my sunglasses on - the left earpiece kept catching on my pigtail braid, something that's NEVER happened before.

Maybe start adding swim/bike bricks to my training - I never transition and start off well on the bike coming off a swim. Also figure out hair issue. May be moot since I plan on chopping it before Ironman training starts.

Okay, I had to go into this tri blind - it was a last-minute substitution. However, everything I had read and heard about the course prepared me for a MUCH flatter ride. I was constantly climbing or descending and I wish I had brought my road bike. Oh, and did I mention that the slide-the-wheel in style racks they had were too high for 650 wheels and I ended up knocking the derailleur out of place so that I couldn't use my granny gear? I couldn't believe I ended up averaging 16 on this course.

Take the miniscule time penalty and load the bike front-wheel first in those style racks. Also, use a course I know as basis of comparison when asking about an unknown course instead of relying on people's definitions of "flat" and "hilly." (I.e. Ask "What is it like compared to Tinman?" instead of "Is it flat or hilly?"

More Keystone Cops action. The time doesn't fully reflect it because most of it occurred after I crossed the run timing mat. (Hey, at least that means my run time is better than showed. *G*) First the backs of my shoes had folded in and I had to fix that, then I cross the mat holding the Garmin and my race belt. I was stopped because there was water right there and I wanted some. Fought with race belt trying to buckle it from behind forever, and THEN the little loop that holds my Garmin strap was falling off, so I had to fix THAT before putting it on, and THEN I got some water. THEN I finally started running. Jesus.

Hydrate right before getting off the bike so I don't have to stop at the transition aid and can run while putting stuff on. Maybe a new pair of shoes for racing? The top of the heel cup folding over has been a constant problem. Buckle the race belt in FRONT and THEN turn it around LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES.

Hilly course again. A couple nasty climbs that I got to do twice since it was two loops. It was getting hot by this time (already crazy humid), but my plan of dumping (wonderfully ice cold) water on my head at every aid station worked like a charm. Can't believe I ran this well in the heat. Also drank some water at each station. In addition to the gel at the mile 4 aid station (closest aid to the halfway point), nutrition/hydration was PERFECT. Was very uncomfortable maintaining Z4 - body was totally fine with it, but I'm not mentally used to it. Ironic coming from a background where racing means Z5. Averaged around 9:30s if you don't include my "outside of transition" transition time.

Not much, just continue to build the engine in general (was reaching the end of my endurance towards the end) and continue to keep building my run back up.

Walked around a bit, had a Powerbar. Had a nasty cut on my hand treated at Medical. (I noticed it coming off the bike, but it looks like two fingernail scratches from the swim. And yes, when you're a martial artist, you know what fingernail scratches look like. *G*)


Lack of practice with transitions, lack of knowledge of the course, and still bringing my run back.


This was my first Olympic and I have fallen in LOVE with the distance. I've known for a while that sprints aren't quite right and assumed that the only other distance I had done, HIMs, were the right one. Nope. I loved the pace and distance of all three disciplines. I'm still stoked for Ironman next year, but think I have found my calling.

I know that next time I do this distance I am going to take a HUGE chunk of time off, but am still happy with sub-3:20 considering all that went wrong. My original goal of 3:15 was assuming a much flatter bike and run course.