Lake Lanier Islands Triathlon (Emerald Pointe Triathlon) - TriathlonSprint

I really feel that swimming has become my strongest leg, in relation to my competition. A 400 yd, wetsuit-legal swim really does not favor me, so I knew I would have to go all-out from the start in this one. I decided to line up on the outside edge (farthest from the buoy) in the front row. When the gun went off I dove in and started going as fast as I could.

Within about 50 yds I could see there were only about 10 or so swimmers from this wave I was even with. I kept pushing, rounded the buoy and was smooth sailing until I started to pass the 20-something male wave. There were a lot of guys kicking on their backs or breaststroking, so I had to weave around them. At one point I looked up and a canoe was heading right into my line to help a struggling swimmer. Needless to say, I'm glad there was only one wave in front of me.

Once I got to the beach, I popped out and began jogging toward T1.

It was a good swim for me. I still need to learn to hold a straighter line in the water.

Heart rate was really high coming out of the water, and got even higher jogging up the steep hill to T1. I don't think it would have been smart for me to run any faster up the hill. Wetsuit got a little stuck on my right heel, as usual, and putting my socks (gonna ditch them next year) and shoes on is always tough when my HR is spiked.

Gotta practice getting the wetsuit off. It didn't cost me too much time, but picking up a few seconds here is easier than anywhere else!

I was a little cold the first few miles riding wet, but it was a nice departure from worrying about overheating in previous races. I know there were a lot of beginners in this race, but it was still fun actually being able to pass a bunch of people for once! My legs felt pretty good pushing on the downhills and flats...uphills were another story entirely. There was still a little Augusta fatigue in my legs so I did my best just to make it to the top of hills then try and make it up after that.

The bike ride was pretty uneventful...my HR continued to stay elevated and pushed as hard as I could. I was glad to be in an early swim start wave because there wasn't much traffic. Those heading out as I was heading in seemed much more closely packed. Overall, my goal was to be over 20 mph for this race and I met this goal (20.4 mph).

Nothing really. I'm gonna start an intensive, bike-heavy training period after I recover from my marathon in December. 2010 will hopefully see some 21+ mph races.

This was definitely a slower T2 than I'm used to. I forgot to undo the strap for my Garmin from the bike before hitting the transition area. This cost me a few seconds. I also took more time than usual putting my running shoes on. I've stopped using Yankz because my feet fall asleep with them. I end up just keeping the shoes tied, loosely, then slipping my feet in. Gotta work on a better solution.

Stay focused and get my Garmin in hand before T2.

Great run for me! My legs felt great coming out of T2 and I was able to keep a good cadence right from the start. Again, my only difficulties came during the uphill portions. Luckily they were very short and not too steep. This was a very fast course and good for a PR. The weather today was also great for me (around 55 degrees) and I was able to keep from overheating, which is one of my biggest limiters.

I picked off a good number of competitors during the run and was passed by only a couple. I still have not beat the elusive 21 minute mark, but I feel that barrier going down in my next open 5k.

Nothing. Great run and new 5k PR! As good as I could do today.

I was the 1st ATC finisher to the finish line because of my early swim start so it was really fun to be able to watch everyone finish. As usual, we ended up with a great cheering section. Always love this part of the race day!


My biggest limiters today were legs that were not fully recovered from last weekend's HIM and my bike fitness. Given the proximity of this race to Augusta I was really pleased with my result.


I really enjoyed this race. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, but everything still seemed to run very smoothly. My only issue was with the day before bike check...totally unnecessary.

After last weekend's bike mechanical issues, it was fun to have a good performance today. I still got beat by Bethany (my faster half!), but she flat out crushed it today! 4th woman overall! I'm so proud of her and I'm still holding my head high because I felt like I gave it an all-out effort today too. We've both come a long way this year. I'm really looking forward to solid training in the off-season and great things in 2010.

Also, I'm so glad we found the Atlanta Tri Club and the camaraderie and fun it's brought to training. Never thought if would happen, but this sport has ignited a competitive fire I thought was long gone!