Reeds Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was a very good swim for me. My only other one was the same distance and I managed to cut almost 2 minutes off of the swim only time. I felt really good out in the water. Started off in the middle and rear of the pack, mainly because I was talking with my family when I noticed others from my heat climbing in the water.

Took a few minutes for the wave to somewhat spread out and then I got into a good groove. Found myself between several people who kept swimming into me. Couple quick strokes and there was no one in front of me for several yards. Managed to keep my freestyle stroke through the first and second turn. Switched over to breaststroke a couple times on the way back into the finish.

Got out of the water and started to run up to transition. Then I noticed that everyone in front of me was turning right instead of going straight into the transition area. I was like WTF??? Ended up having close to what seemed like a 1/4 mile run from the water to the timing mat, which is where the transition area started. I was almost at the opposite end. Unlike my last one, I ran all the way from the water to my spot.

Considering how much I've been in the water lately, I can't think of anything I would do differently. This was by far my best OWS.

What can I say. I suck here. After the 1/4 mile run from the water to my spot, I was tired. Got my wetsuit down to my heels good and then it stuck on both heels. Finally got it off my left one and now it was stuck and turning the timing chip upside down. Unbelievable.

After I got it off, the rest of it went good. Socks, shoes, sunglasses and helmet went on well. Ran from my spot to the bike mount line, jumped on and was off.

Practice, practice, practice. My times were better than my first tri, but still lousy. I put on body glide on my ankles to help the suit come off quicker. I may cut off an inch or so on the bottom of each leg to help.

Almost hit 20 MPH average, which is very good for me. Course was decent, with only a couple major uphills. Otherwise relatively flat. Not too much to talk about here. Tried to stay on the aero bars as much as I could. Started to get uncomfortable after a while. I may need to go in and get a professional fitting.

Tried hard to maintain cadence between 85 and 90. Felt I did a good job here. After my last tri, I didn't want to push my pace too much and not leave anything in the tank for the run, especially in the last 5 miles of the course. So, I just eased back on the pace, but kept my cadence up.

Not much here. Invest money in a professional fitting. Contemplating on changing to a compact crankset, but don't want to invest a ton of money in an entry level road bike. I plan on buying a tri bike when I determine that my current ride is beginning to hold me back.

My T times are just terrible. Come on, almost 6 minutes???

I pulled one of the "WTF were they thinking" moves - I forgot to take off my helmet. This cost me some time, considering I was almost out of the T area. Turned around and then almost put it on the wrong bike. DUMBASS!!!

First race with the Yankz! laces. That aspect worked out well. I can't ride or run w/o socks, at least not yet. I need to start trying to get my feet out of my shoes while on the bike. This would have helped today, as the transition area was fairly long.

Once again, practice, practice, practice. Don't run off with your helmet on. Leave shoes on pedals. Did I mention practice?

Well, I wasn't DFL on the run, but I was close. In the bottom 10% is pretty sad. I know the run is my worst portion. I did not pass anyone.

For some reason, I struggled during the first mile to 1.5 miles of the run. My HR was racing. I ended up having to walk for what seemed like at least half to get my HR under control. I would walk for no more than 30 seconds, start running, find a comfortable pace, and within a minute, my HR was out of control. Once I hit the 2 mile mark, I managed to get in some consistent running. Tried to limit walking to no more than 30 seconds.

Once I hit the 4 mile mark, I decided to HTFU and not stop, which I did. This included an all out sprint at the finish where I picked off at least 6 people. That felt good.

Put in some serious weekly mileage and build up a good base, then work on speed.

Hit the nutrition tent. Had a banana, bagel, gatorade and water. Had some Hammer Recoverite on the ride home. Stretched out good waiting for the results. Got congrats from family and friends and got some pictures. Cleared out transition area and then went and got the results.


Lack of honest training for the past 6 months. I was pretty strict on myself for my first on in July. Since then, I've slacked off. If I want to step up to an olympic distance next year, I need to pick up the workouts and establish a plan.


Good race. Great venue. 27th annual race, so they've had time to perfect almost every aspect of the race.