Land Between the Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Bad swim which seems to the norm for my first race swim every year. Water was not cold. I never got into my normal breathing pattern and did a lot of worthless thashing around. I ended up breathing every 2 strokes from my left (strong side) the majority of the race.

Focus, focus, focus. Force myself to get into a every 3rd or 3232 breathing pattern and concentrate on technique. Poor mental toughness.

+26 from AG lead, +10 from 2&3 in AG so 4/7 in AG. TA was uneven, very wet and muddy. I took a little extra time due to knee. Overall I think I was just in "safe" mode.

Not much

Right at the beginning after a short uphill where I was out of the saddle my bike made a loud clank. There was an audible rubbing, the tire was hitting the frame. I stopped and tried to adjust, I ended up opening my back brake levers. I was working hard and there was some wind on the 2nd part of the course but my speed seemed slow.

After the race, taking my bike out of transition, there was very noticeable rubbing of the back wheel on the chain side brake pad. I'm not sure whn this happened on the course but it definitely was a factor in my bike time. My stop was less than a minute but comparing my bike speed to others I have rode time trials with this spring I should have been at least over 20 mph instead of 18.2. I have not had any problem with my stock wheels. I rode my race wheels on Sat w/Barb w/no problems.

I need to figure out the rear race wheel issue.

Not a good T2. Up to and including dismount were OK. TA was very muddy and slippery, I was overly cautious because of my knee. SOmeone had their wet suit on the bike rack in my spot (wtf?).


I've lost my transition edge. Especially with the poor conditions, uneven, wet, muddy, slippery I was overly cautious.

I thought the course was the same as last year, 3.5 miles. It was back to the original 4.2 miles. I know my run fitness is lacking, with knee issues I have not been able to train as much as I'd like. I was hoping for a 7:30 pace at the shorter distance so very pleased with the pace at the longer distance. My knee was a non-issue, I was running hard, careful of the few muddy spots and was able to maintain and even increase my pace. This was by far the best part of the race for me. Not great by previous years standards but excellent based on this years training.

They did announce the run course was back to 4.2 pre-race but down by the water it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

Lots of fluids and some muffins. Changed pretty quick. I did not stay for awards.


Rear wheel issue on the bike. I was still 12 minutes from 3rd so would not have podiumed but at least could have been in the neighborhood.

Disappointing results, not good mental effort on the swim, maybe could have handled bike issues better, not sure. Way exceeded run expectations. Need to get back my transition edge.

First race post knee surgery, happy to be racing, not sure how long I will be able to continue so have to enjoy it while I can.


Albert Lea does a nice job for a smaller race. They do need to find a better spot for transition area.