Midwest Mayhem Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

we were 2nd wave, waddled onto the dock and starter says 15 seconds until start, so jumped in and weaved my way out away from dock to the inside line, then starter says 20 seconds...Each wave got a kayak to follow since the sun and fog was so bad on the first leg. Was able to sight off of the leaders and kayak while breathing for quite awhile. Started hard for the first leg and was at the front of the main pack while the kayak and fast swimmers pulled away. Eased up on the effort and concentrated on form, efficiency and breathing the rest of the way. Swam into and over the first 4 bouys including a solid punch to the pin bouy near the middle of the back stretch. Felt strong but relaxed the whole way, previous long race swim was 1100 yards but have had enough open water swims of 1600-2000 straight that it wasn't uncharted territory, so it was just a smooth comfortable start to a long race. A few hundred from the finish a gal from the 3rd wave passed like I was standing still with 2 or 3 others in her wake, it would have been a decisive pass on the bike, 1 breath she was half a body back, next she was even, then she was half a body ahead. No need to try and draft there, that goup was gone so fast it was like an illusion.

Swim more

First time with shoes already mounted on bike and a bike mount for the Garmin, went great. There are several steep but short hills right out of transition so I'd slip in 1 foot, pedal up a hill, slip in the other, climb another hill, strap one shoe on, climb a hill, etc.

I did run past my rack and had to come back to it, couldn't of been but a couple of seconds.

having just rode the course 5 days earlier I knew what to expect and kept up a good pace, the hills are deceiving, at times I felt like I was climbing then saw I was going 23-24 mph, obviously a slight downhill. Basically stayed aero and kept the cadence up with a slight increase in effort on the climbs. Ate 4 GU Chomps and drank 2 bottles of water, could've used more water, the GU's were a balancing act between feeling sick to my stomach and getting enough down to finish the run, they don't take near as much water to wash down as gels or Gatorade. Passed a bunch of people near the beginning, caught the last guy I could see (he was in the Team comp) just after the Iron Cross then rode alone for quite awhile before the turnaround. 7th at the turnaround but they were all way ahead.

not much

Switched Garmin from bike mount to wrist mount a mile or two out, pulled feet from shoes about right, it's hilly near transition so you want to keep the shoes on but it'll sneak up real quick. Took a couple of attempts to get the bike seated into the rack then put on and adjusted shoes and socks, not real fast but not slow either and I don't like running with doubled up socks.

rack bike better run without socks

got a side stitch straight out of T2, paid attention to deep breathing and pace control and it got better within 1-2 miles. I was worried about getting off course on the run but ended up guessing correctly at several unmarked/unmanned turns. The first turn there was actually a gravel arrow on the gravel road, I almost stepped on it before noticing it. Other than the uncertainty of staying on course I loved the run, some gravel, mostly shaded, small roads, great venue. Passed 1 guy about mile 2 and chatted briefly, saw a kid that couldn't have been 14 running back around mile 3-4, he was looking for the shortcourse. There were 2 guys about a minute or 2 behind me out of T2 that turned wrong at (I suspect) the gravel arrow, I kept an eye out behind me and they disappeared around that point. Mark the course or post a useful map with some turn pictures and this would be a fine run, how hard is it to send someone out on a mountain bike with a bunch of chalk?

not much, train more

walked back on the course to see some of the run finish but the guys behind me got lost so I stood in the shade for awhile then went and got some food and drink. Jumped in the lake to cool down.


not much, I think I performed better than expected, I won't complain about a 2:20 olympic, even if it was pretty short. The bike course hills were a big unknown for me, but went well. The swim pace seemed slow but I was right there with some good swimmers so the course may have been long.


I really liked the race, great venue, and everything seemed okay except the run course. Also, looking at the timing, I see a lot of questionable splits, chips started too early, perhaps the wrong heat, I don't know. I hope KLM gets this thing figured out or nobody is going to be at these events in the future and we don't need to be loosing events around here.