Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Solid swim due to current. Felt confident and strong the whole time, which is key for me because sometimes I allow myself into a panic and have to swim on my back for a bit.
Depending on what age group you are in, you can wait a long time.
Some people don't like to swim in Lake Michigan due to being unpredictable, but I've had good luck so far (knock-knock).

Mostly I thought the swim went well! However, I need an alignment because I tend to drift to the left. I found myself too many times needing to get back to the right.

Transition went pretty well except half-way to the mount line I realized I left all of my GU in transition. Doh!!! I decided to leave it and go with the house Power-Gel.
The transition was long (understandably;due to so many athletes) and had the potential to be crowded, but I had plenty of space to get to where I needed to go...probably because my wave was toward the end. OH! Porta Johns very available if needed...and I would in T2.

Grab my friggin' GU!!! (Especially my Roctane...great stuff!)

I had a solid ride. I stayed within myself because this was a tune-up race for me, but I didn't slack either. It was a steady effort.
It's a fairly fast course. There are some hills, but nothing monumental. Toward the end the hills seem longer/harder than what they are...especially if there is a strong-ish headwind (which there was), but it's an honest course with good traffic control.

Nothing. I believe I executed the ride well for my intentions.

Transition went well. BUT I had to use the porta-John which added a couple minutes, but I sure felt better!
Water etc. was offered at the exit of the transition.

Nothing. I did what I had to do.

I feel good about my run effort. It was a good test to see how the injuries I'd been nursing would do. I intentionally walked at every aid station, whether I felt like I needed to or not. Usually for only 20 seconds or so however.
OH!!! I did have one hitch with about a half mile to go, my hip and calf started getting tight and I walked a bit to help relieve this discomfort.

Nothing. I think I executed my run well for my intended outcome. It was a steady, controlled effort.

Quickly grabbed my gear to ride my bike with my brothers to the van before it started to rain!


Mostly my choice to not go all out. This was a "Dress rehersal" of sorts for Ironman Louisville, but this is not to say I slacked completely. It was still a solid-yet-fairly-comfortable effort.


This is a great event. It's well organized, it's not a kick-your-butt challenging course, but it's not flat-and-fast either. It's well balanced that way. The biggest X-Factor with this race is Lake Michigan. I'm thrilled we were able to swim, vs. last year when it was called off. The other downside, though I understand, and it's not a big deal, is the wait for your wave. I was (I believe) the second-to-last wave. This would not prevent me from returning. I'm sure I'll be back again.