White Lake Half II - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The hot days had warmed the water to 79, which is not wetsuit legal for points/awards, however swimmers have the option to wear wetsuits up to 83. I knew I would not be placing in this event, so I opted to wear my wetsuit. Since this is my first half and I'm not a strong swimmer, I didn't want to be out there f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

I thought I swam little better than this, but the water was choppy, so I guess that had an effect.

Nutrition = 1 GU 15 min prior to race start = 100 calories



Nothing. Goggles did not leak/fog and my sighting/navigation was great. Just need to improve speed.

Wetsuit came off fairly easy. Fumbled a little getting into shoes. Forgot Garmin.

Place garmin where I will not forget it. I really wanted the lap data from this bike!

The 12 to 13 mph headwinds/crosswinds were discouraging. Energy level was great. I got passed a lot in the beginning, but in the last 10 miles I passed a lot of people, including aero helmet guys with disc wheels (I have an entry level road bike). I guess they spun too hard and bonked! I kept an easier gear with a higher cadence which seemed ot work well for me. I think I spun around 80.

Nutrition: 3 bottles of Infinit, 1 1/2 bottles plain water, 1 Lara bar, 1 GU = 682 calories

I don't think there was anything more I could have done at my current level of fitness; just need to train more.

Racked my bike backwards and had to turn it around. Used a fuel belt so had to put that on before grabbing my run belt and Garmin. Then I had to reset my Garmin to run since I forgot it on the bike. I did this while walking, then ran as soon as I had it set.

If I hadn't forgotten the Garmin on the bike, I wouldn't have had to fiddle with it before the run!

I knew this was the wild card to my finish time. Legs felt good off the bike, maybe because I spun an easier gear in the headwinds, or maybe because I overdosed the infinit on the bike and had PLENTY of electrolytes running around inside. But it was in the 90s by now, sunny and scorching HOT! I had not stopped to use the pot-a-john during transition, so I stopped at the first aid station. I grabbed water and grabbed an ice towel, then started running. I was at about a 10 pace which is what I thought I could hold, but that pace slowly faded throughout the run.

I had so much Infinit on the bike, the I could not stand the thoughts of more of it on the run, so I drank very little from my fuel belt. I decided to walk through the aid stations. Each time I would grab an ice towel (or wet the one I had), then dump a cup of water on my head and chest and drink another. I took a couple of Endurolytes, but forgot to have the GU I had planned.

All through the run all I thought about was Brian's post in the White Lake I thread where he heard a coach yell to a guy behind him, "It's gonna be a REAL long day if you start walking now!" Thanks for the post Brian; that's what kept me going! Was fun to see you out there with your "White Bake" sign too!!!



I also saw Harold a few times and got a high 5 from Louie coming from the other direction on the run. I saw several other folks I knew from my Tri club, my coach, and even my chiropractor (whom I passed!). He is the one who got me started in Triathlon to begin with.

I was pretty heat drained by the time I got to mile 10, and slowed even more. I continued to run, albeit s.l.o.w. EVERYONE was suffering out there and many dropped out of the race. But I was in really good spirits the whole way and asked a few people if they were still having FUN and tried to get them to put a SMILE on!

When I got to the finish, my training partner Pete, and club President Jay, were there. I was 6.5 min behind Jay and 4.5 min behind Pete, so they didn't have to wait long for me!




I think I would have been better off without the fuel belt. I ended up carrying that extra weight the whole way and not even using it. I took in a total of 1027 calories (not including breakfast). I think I need to lessen the flavor strenth on my Infinit and put a more concentrated dose into only 1 bottle on the bike so that I'll have more plain water. The flavor got to me which caused me not to want anymore on my run, thus lugging around an unused fuel belt. But, considering I felt great the entire way and had no threats of cramps, I can only assume that the Infinit saved me? My legs even felt good off the bike, which is rare. I need to tweek this to have a bit more nutrition on the run, then I think I'll be set!

Jumped in the lake!!!

Later we met up with James, our club VP, and his family for dinner at San Jose'. Was a great way to end a great day!

Despite the heat drain, I actually felt really good during and after this race. The distance came easy enough, but I need to work on speed. I'm still less than a year into triathlon, so it can only get better. I just started last fall with adult swim lessons in July and my first road bike last September; so this half is a big accomplishment for me.

Yes, I smiled the entire way! I can't wait to do it again!




Heat and wind.


Loved it! Setup events always does a great job. Can't wait to do it again!