Lake Geneva Triathlon - Sprint - TriathlonSprint

Third wave, 50 people. Did some dolphin diving. I AM COOL! Got behind some slower (Is there such a thing???) swimmers and had to believe I was faster, so went around. Didn't freakout or hyperventilate. Improvement is a wonderful thing. Powered around the buoy. Got into a groove and was done before I knew it. Felt good.

The other tab on my browser is a google search..."Chicago Master's Swim Programs."

Got back to my spot and while I was struggling with my suit, had to tell my husband where his goggles were (he hadn't swum yet). Apparently my sole purpose in life of knowing where everyone's crap is has crept into triathlon. So glad I could be of use. Was really worried about the cold/wet aspect so spent a bit more time putting on some arm warmers and gloves. I was really happy to have them but it did slow me down a bit.

Next year is the year of rubber banding shoes to my bike. And here you all thought it was the year of the Cat.

Remember that small ring thing I did? Yeah, well it worked great until I got up to speed and popped it into the big ring and my beautiful, brand new tri bike started making the most gawd awful sound...like metal cranking on metal, hmm. Pull over, look at bike, get passed by a ton of people, fail to fix, continue to ride. Get up the first big hill and start to crank. No need to call on your left as I passed...everyone got out of the way because of the HORRIBLE NOISE my bike was making. Shifted into the small ring. Quiet. Back into the big ring...fast and LOUD. A couple more down/up shifts and finally stopped again. Flipped bike over and can see derailleur is over the teeth in a very obviously bad way. As thousands are passing me, I push and push and push it until it finally goes back over the chain and ring and is no longer capable of making the horrible noise. Flip bike back over, hop on and promptly cannot clip back in because I now have mud in my cleats. Get passed by thousands more. Finally clean cleat out.

Proceed to HAUL AZZ. Never got passed for the rest of the bike...until, until, until: DISASTER STRIKES. This course has three spots where you can make a wrong turn...and I avoided them all. I was chasing about 3 guys and when I had caught the last one we came to a T that I don't remember from last year...we all went right and I motored off...and soon saw people GOING THE OTHER WAY. Pretty quick I realize something horrible has happened and ask the other bikers what race they're doing and they cheerfully reply "the sprint, and we're almost done." Oh yeah buddy, well, I'm doing the sprint and I'm almost done...shades of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles."

"You're going the WRONG WAY!"
"What?"
"You're going the WRONG WAY"
"What did he say?"
"Hey said we're going the wrong way"
"How does he know what way we're going" (makes drinking motion)

So I flip a U boat and ride like a bat out of hell.



Not get lost. I still cannot figure out what happened, but my ODO read 20 miles and I failed to start it until well into the first mile or two...

I honestly wish I knew where I went wrong...I was so bent on making up time from my mechanical that I allowed myself to follow the guys I was chasing down instead of double checking the route. I know I was fast, but fast and wrong is not better than slower and right...it gets you the same time.

Or maybe, just maybe, there is a tear in the space-time continuum up there in Lake Geneva and I just had the misfortune of slipping into it for a few minutes. It would make as much sense as getting off course at the point I did...I don't think I'll ever figure it out. Sigh.

Oh, and after getting lost and doing major derailleur work, you know my feet just had to fall asleep too. Makes running interesting. And by interesting, I mean excruciatingly uncomfortable.

NOTHING. Considering I came closer than I ever have to just walking off a race course at this point, I consider this a win. Or even a PWN.

Calves felt so tight. I was miserable and wanted to walk. Walk right back to the Taj Majal. I actually kept running because I didn't want my kids to have a quitter for a mother. Seriously, like they care. Did a gu right after transition...once it kicked in and I started regaining sensation in my feet, I felt a bit less maudlin. Got passed by a "Vision Quest Coaching" guy who gave me a boy scouty, "good form" shout out. Normally I don't like being passed by anybody and certainly not a VQ guy, but this just amused me. Mostly I concentrated on keeping my form compact and my turnover high as my legs were tight, tired, and sore. Took the big hill with my run 10 walk 10 methodology and it worked great. By the time I hit the turnaround right after the big hill, I really started jamming and was running normally.

Nothing. Not quitting was my success story for this run. Being in the middle of a monster build for the Marathon probably put me in a deficit, but that's the way it is for a B race.

Stand around and watch BabyDaddy (4th in his AG!!!) and our buddy doing his first Tri cross the finish. Slowly turn hypothermic. Gather up my soaking wet crap and shiver back to the Taj. On a cheerier note, BabyDaddy and I WON T3 (transition from the race to Coronas in the hot tub).


Write this sentence 500 times: I will check every gear on my bike before a race.

Also, the next time I train for a marathon, it will be during IM training. 'Nuff said.


The course saves this race. Everything else is frustrating. I know some boycott it, but there were close to 1000 people there, so that's not exactly working. I wish it were run in a more professional way (like if the course talk is supposed to be at 8pm, don't start it at 730; don't let transition turn into a free for all; have better markings on the bike; measure correctly, etc), because the organization doesn't do the venue justice. Fontana is so heartachingly beautiful. Sigh.