Washington Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I had a bad spill on the bike the Tuesday before the race trying to keep up on a group ride with several much more accomplished cyclists. It was raining and I lost traction going around a turn much too fast. I scrapped up my hip, leg and arm pretty badly and my shoulder took most of the impact. I was unable to train any more prior to the race and participation in the event was a race day decision. My shoulder was very sore by 200 yards into the swim and I could not fully extend my right arm which made swimming long in the water impossible and caused problems with staying on course and with staying level on the water. I tried to compensate by shortening my stroke and increasing my kick count. The increased kicking lead to cramps in my legs and so I was just happy to be getting out of the water at all by the end of the swim.

In retrospect, I probably should have just skipped the event, but I do love participation.

For as bad as the swim had been, it did leave me pretty rested for T1 and all in all it was not a bad transition.

Under the circumstances, not much.

I discovered, along with my valve extension problem, that I had left the straw to my aero bottle back at the Hotel so I had to remove it and its holder and put the cage and bottle back on the bike. I really missed the aero bottle on the ride and probably did not drink as much as I should have. My bike equipment Gremlins continued when my computer died half way through. My pace was right at 21 mph at that point but dropped off considerably on the return to transition. I think that my time would have been faster had I had the data to push me rather than just depending on other riders. The wind picked up a little on the return trip as well as my hip started to bother me where my skin had been scrapped in the previous week’s crash.

Do a better equipment check.

Since I had not properly hydrated on the bike, I took extra time gulping down some Heed in T2 which slowed the transition, but was absolutely necessary.

Hydrate better on the bike, be better prepared.

This was a nice course; plenty of shade, flat, and well supported. I probably drank too much fluid too quickly in transition so I held off until the first aid station in the second loop to take in any liquid. This was probably a mistake as I started to cramp up first in the left leg and then in the right leg, and then I started experiencing cold sweats which are all signs of an electrolyte deficiency. I gutted it out and finished the run, walking only when hydrating.

I need to work on my fueling and hydrating.

I felt very week and light headed immediately following the race, to an extent far beyond what I have felt in any other race to include the White Lake Half. I went back into the water and just sat on the sand for a while.


It is probably not a good idea to participate in any event while still recovering from injuries, no matter how enthusiastic you are about your sport. I do not regret having raced and did enjoy the venue, but in hind site, I should have allowed my body more time to recover rather then placing it at risk.


Once again, FS did a great job and this was a really nice event. It was very much on par with the Lake Logan Olympic that I did last year and that I passed up to do this one, which is a good thing, because all things considered, I do not know if I could have completed the Lake Logan Triathlon this year.
Lake Logan provides a wonderful Mountain setting for a race, while this provides an equally wonderful Coastal setting for a race. I am a Mountain Boy and will be at Lake Lure in four weeks for a Sprint, so this was a nice change of pace, and I will be back again next year.