Finger Lakes Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

I was in the 3rd wave and lined up far to the right. My plan was to take it easy and stay in control. I wasnt going to try to chase the leaders, something I tried to do last year. I actually never found any feet to even think of following. It was more important for me to not overwork it and bring on dizzy symptoms.

I was successful in that endeavor. Having the lengthy warmup helped a ton. I knew what to expect from the chop. I had already burned off the initial HR rush of hitting the water. And to help even more, I stood up a couple times on the way to the first buoy to navigate and keep settled. Worked well.

After the first buoy, its too deep to touch. So I settled in. I breathed on both sides. The right seemed to be a touch easier from avoiding waves but the left was better for spotting the sun which helped me navigate. So I kept going back and forth. Worked fairly well.

Between the 1st and 2nd buoys, I stated catching up to the previous waves. I passed people pretty much the rest of the way in.

The chop was a challenge. It did interrupt breathing. It did slap you in the face. I was so, so glad to get in the warmup to experience it pre-race.

My navigation was unusually good. I stayed right on line and went right to the end buoy. Not surprisingly, had some traffic upon rounding. But they were slower swimmers from previous waves and I passed them without trouble. Made my way to the next buoy and went exactly next to it.

Ahh, the waves were behind us. Such a huge difference. It felt like they were pushing us in. I tried to lengthen my stroke and relax into the water. I felt like I made good time. The 5th and 6th buoys clicked off quickly. Site towards home.

For whatever reason, it seemed to take forever to reach the shore. I'd look up and the end still seemed way, way away. But I kept going, plugging along. I actually stayed swimming while others aroudn me were wading. I swam until only a few feet from shore before getting up.

Then the LONG run to transition. At first, I was a hint unsteady on my feet. But I got more comfortable with being upright and picked up my speed as I went along. I was able to get off my wetsuit top, goggles and swim cap by about half way to transition. I kept running faster and passed a few people, even after entering transition.

While this swim was slower than previous years, it went about as well as I could hope. I kept in control the whole time, which was my first priority. I felt strong getting out of the water without any real dizzy symptoms.

I forgot to check my watch on the actual swim time. But entering transition, it was about 28 minutes. So the swim was probably about 27 minutes. Not great for me, but again, it was good for me given the conditions and my conditioning level.

32nd overall T1 time.

Another change from prior years is they forced everyone to run a long way even in transition. I found my bike fine, it just took awhile to get to it. I sat down and took off the wetsuit the rest of the way. Different from last year when I had my shoes on the bike, I took the tiem to put on my shoes. I stood up and put on helmet and sunglass. Grabbed bike and ran the short distance to the exit.

I chose not to have the shoes on the bike. I had not practiced it this summer, and decided against doing that during the race. So putting on the shoes took a bit of extra time relative to last year. But given that difference, everything went pretty well and smoothly. Nothing to do differently.

This was a new course this year. The previous one was under repair. This one was not announced until a couple weeks before the race. I did not have a chance to even drive the course ahead of time. First race ever that I didnt even do that much. Turned out not to be much of a factor.

My goal for the bike was much like the swim. Keep under control and not bring on dizzy symptoms. Luckily, the bike brings on these symptoms least of the three legs. I also wanted to get in 3 gels during the ride to get in the calories and the electrolytes. Also get in a good bit of gatorade for the same reasons.

I ran with my bike out of transition. Moved fine despite being in the bike shoes. Got clipped in well and up to speed fine. Cruised out to 5&20.

The ride out towards Geneva went well. I made good time. Got in 2 gels in the first few miles. I felt pretty strong and pretty good. The course was rollers, but no big climbs. Fits my riding style very well. We turned south and caught a touch of headwind. I began to feel some fatigue here.

We turned back towards home. Some lovely country and farmland. More rollers, a few jogs back and forth through a couple of small towns. I kept pushing a good pace but was feeling more and more fatigue in my legs, especially hamstrings. At about the 20 mile mark, I had to stand up in the saddle just to change positions. I have to say, I was very happy to come to the long downhill because I could relax my legs a bit. It helped a good bit.

But it wasnt long and the road by FLCC that they were struggling again. But I kept pushing knowing I was almost done. I took my last gel here, knowing it would kick in on the run.

The cones were pretty narrow going back to transition. I did get my feet out of my shoes, which sped up the transition. Cruised to the mount line and got off well. Ran decently to my spot.

I had as good of a ride as I could expect. The lesser number of miles this year versus last certainly showed. I thought I had enough miles under my belt this summer to push a strong bike. But I faded at the end. Even so, I pushed hard to the end.

This course sets up very well for my riding style/strength. A couple of times, I said to myself that I could crush this bike course if I were really in shape. Maybe next year.

194 overall T2 time.

I got to my spot quickly and racked the bike without too much trouble. I made another decision different from last year in that I decided to wear socks on the run. So I sat down, put body glide on my feet and put on a finger sock. One vibram on. Then the other. Definitely took time to get these things on with their individual toe slots. It went as well as could be expected.

I grabbed my visor and put it on. Grabbed a gel to take with me. Picked up my race belt and put it on while running to the exit.

Holy cow did my legs hurt, especially my hamstrings. I could barely move. It was a long, long run to the exit.

Given my decision to put on socks, nothing. It went as well as could be expected.

I was most worried about the run. I was least prepared for this leg of the three. I had only once even tried 6 miles this summer and had to walk a lot of that due to dizzy symptoms.

It was tough. My hamstrings were super tight at the start. It hurt to run. But I knew they would loosen up and they did after a few minutes. Given my dizzy issues, all I can do is trot along. The limiter is not my lungs, but the dizzy symptoms.

I trotted along the dirt path in the park. I knew folks would pass me regularly and they did. I just had to stay within myself and not try to chase. I also made the decision to walk a lot of the waterstops to help keep in control. And the first one, I did.

It was good to see various folks along the run. Out lakeshore drive to the pier. Took my gel here and walked the waterstop to wash it down. This actually is the first gel I've taken on the run. I don't normally take them running but wanted to for the electrolytes.

Trot up the pier and back and back along lakeshore. Fatigue was setting in. I pushed myself through the park area. I was getting into some trouble. I HAD to walk the waterstop. I took a deep breath at the end and started up again. I was prepared to start walking if I got lightheaded. But I was able to keep going. Trot along Lakeshore. Walk the waterstop again. Pour some over my head to help stay cool. Out the pier and back.

I was able to slightly pick it up in the last mile. We turned at the bath house to the pathway. I wanted to pick it up more, but I could not. I pushed to the end as much as I could. I was out-sprinted to the finish by some people, but I could not respond.

As with the other legs, this went as well as could be expected. I was most worried about this one, but I was able to run the whole way except the waterstops. To not have to walk otherwise was a success.

I walked around a bit with some water, looking for my wife. I finally found her and we walked a bit more before I found a place to sit down. It felt so good to sit for awhile. While siting there, Kristine Mallory walked up and started stretching right next to us. I thought of talking to her, but I didnt want to bother her.

She left after a few minutes and we got up in search of food. It took a long time to find it as we kept bumping into folks to chat with. It was good to catch up with so many people. And we eventually made it to the food.


Where to start? Lack of training coupled with pneumonia and some dizziness issues covers it fairly well.

I realisticly had a great race. I could not have asked for better in any of the five splits. I executed my plan to the most. I got all that I could out of my body this race. I guess that's all we can ask.


A good late season race. Well run by Score-This. The change of transition area and subsequent walking areas does need some refinement. The sponsor tents were far more prominent than the general food tent. It was tough to move around and not traverse the course. I suspect this will be addressed next year.