Midwest Meltdown - Triathlon

Standing wade start but with long course swimmers re-entering the lake during their swim/run/swim (They did two loops with a beach run in between). Had to pass a few long course swimmers so I swam a little wide of the bouy line. Swam right into last turn bouy, had to stop and start again to avoide s collision. Sighting is still a challenge without corrective lenses.

2009 Time: 15:15
2010 Time: 13:06

A much larger improvement in time, not sure if that's totally indicative of my swimming improvements. I'm wondering if the actual distance was shorter this year than last.

Get prescription goggles or switch to contacts.

Picked a decent transition spot that was easy to get to. I also walked the path 3 times before the race to make sure I wouldn't run past it. Helmet on/buckle secured was much smoother than before, but bad move putting glasses on after helmet, added a few seconds. Had trouble clipping in, maybe added 5 seconds to the bike ride, no big deal.

2009 Time: 2:03
2010 Time: 1:26

Put glasses on AFTER helmet.

A decent bike split for me, I was hoping for 21 mph or better. I took the time to down some gatorade on the flat straightaway near the run turnaround on both laps. Maybe lost a few seconds but I wanted to make sure my hydration was in check for the run. I was off the saddle for most of the short climbs.

2009 Time: 30:49
2010 Time: 29:13

I didn't ride the bike at all since the race last Sunday. I'm wondering if that impacted my time. I also ran 6.2 miles at Lunch on Thursday and went to masters swim that night. Got a bad cramp during my cool down swim, sat in the jacuzzi for 10-15 minutes afterwards. Did nothing Friday and Saturday. My biking has improved, just wondering how far from optimum I was during this race. Air temp. was 20 degrees or so cooler last year.


Not sure. Determine optimum plan for the week heading into the race in terms of taper etc. And of course if I wasn't limited economically a Tri-bike would be nice. O.K. maybe I could finally put on those aero bars I have sitting in the garage.

For me a good T1. Had trouble with getting left running shoe on. Took a few swigs of gatorade, grabbed race belt and exited transition. My fastest T1 since going to clipless.

2009 Time: 2:12
2010 Time: 1:08

Not sure. Maybe sit down while putting on running shoes or come up with a new way of doing so while standing.

Was hoping to have more in the tank for the run but still ran a good pace considering the longer than typical short course swim distance and the additional "off the saddle" time on the bike.

2009 Time: 23:01
2010 Time: 22:47

Last year the air temperature was something like 20-25 degrees cooler so comparing times is not exactly apples to apples, therefore the 14 second reduction in time is actually more of an improvement than appears.

Not sure, go easier on the bike, NO WAY!....it's a sprint! Do more intervals to improve 5K time.

Met up with my Daughter who missed my finish as there were many admirers of our little chihuahua (black and white long hair). Met my two masters swim-mates as they came in, took some photos. Drank some gatorade, ate a banana, grapes.


Mostly quality of training and lack of proper sleep habits (still average less than 6 hours of sleep a night.


My third Tri this season, my third AG podium. Top 10 out of 150, not bad for season 2. 1st in AG, I'll take it given only 13 in AG. Last weeks Tri had 39 in AG, got 3rd there. No rematch with the talent that finished 1st and 2nd there (probably a stretch to say I would keep up with them but who knows..). Is this how Phil feels when he wins a tournament that Tiger wasn't in?

Race was on time. Course was simple and straight forward, little room for confusion. Quantity of volunteers seemed a little lighter than normal out on the course (water stations etc.). I liked the computer station where you could enter your bib# and get a print out of your time. It only gave swim and run splits but at least total time and overall rank was available right away. No awards ceremony with KLM events but understandably so. I volunteered at the Bike Source Tri earlier this year and maybe 15-20 people stuck around for awards there.