Onion Man Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Couldn't get my breath due to the cold, 1st swim open water swim in 2011, so wasn't expecting much. was cold going in, cold swimming, cold getting out.

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I had triple swim caps on to try to make the water warmer for my head, but when I went for my test swim, I still was getting ice cream head-aches. I went back to the shore, waited for the count down, and waited out with the men’s group. It is a 2 wave start, men then the women start 3 minutes later. I was unable to breathe easily, so I switched to breast stroke for a while to keep moving. At between 2nd & 3rd buoy’s I was finally able to get in to a small groove, but I was feeling really slow. I finally got out of the water, to be greeted with the 49 degrees, rain, & cold. Time: 17:22


Skip the swim? Move to California where it might be warm?

T1: Slow. Like last year, I had trouble getting my wet suit off. Once off, I put an my Ironman Canada hat before my helmet, and 2 long sleeve t-shirts, and a long sleeve bike jersey. I also noticed that there was a fair amount of folks who were taking a long time like me. Time 4:41

Strange as it sounds, the average T1 time for my AG was 3:51 due to the cold.

Practice getting the suit off.

When I was leaving the dam area, lost my thermolyte bottle & my EFX bottle. Didn’t worry about them, & kept moving. Rooster tails where long and cold. Passed a bunch of folks on the way out. On the way back about a 2/3rd of the way I was by my-self, no one in front of me and no one behind me. Very odd. According to folks they thought we had a strong headwind coming back, but I noticed it, I guess I’m just used to the eastern Washington winds. When I turned back into the dam, I slowed down so that I could get ready for the run, and 2 people passed me just before the no pass zone. One of person’s who passed me, was in my age group. Feet were frozen for the entire bike portion. 2nd fastest time on this course :1:18:45

Keep my nutrition in a newer bento box.

T2: Uneventful, 1:37

If it was dry, I would have worn my Zoots instead of my dirty brooks.

Run: I didn’t feel my feet until the 2nd mile. Went out a little fast on mile 1 but slowed down. Started to run out of gas about mile 5. My time turned out to be the 2nd fastest for this course as well: 56:55.

More nutrition on the bike.

got cold very quickly due to the rain and wind.


Did I say it was 48 degrees when we started?


1/3 of the folks didn't even show up for the race due to the rain & Cold! Funny e-mail went out from the race director asking for all the chip's back. Glad I still got the season started, but really this wasn't what I had in mind when signed up in February! Interesting swag this year, and athletic bag instead of a T-Shirt! Will be back for a 6th year next year.