Lake Geneva Triathlon - Half Extreme - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I have no explanation why my time was so long other than I swam an extra buoy at the end. I missed the race meeting b/c of arrogance. There was no verbal description of the course and the start caught everyone off guard. I though that sighting, breathing, drafting and navigation were all acceptabel. The first time I realized I had taken a long time wasn't til I was out of the water.

Nothing to do but be a better swimmer. Go to the race meeting.

couldn't find the zipper on my suit. otherwise everything went fine.

. Instead of trying to make up time on the bike and run (because there was way too much time to make up) I just stayed on plan to see how my body would respond. The bike was a two lap course with several smallish hills and 90 degree turns. I imagine it is quite similar to the IM-WI course. It's a good course for people that can maintain good cycling efficiency under constantly changing conditions. The was a 1 mile flat before a steady 1 mile climb at 9% grade. After that, its rolling at maybe 4% with about 950ft of climbing and descent per lap. My plan was to maintain an average HR of 147 BPM and I was going to achieve this by beginning at 145 BPM and increasing it by 1 every 10 miles, finishing at 149 BPM. At the start of the bike leg the HR was up to 155 briefly but back down to 145 with 8:00 minutes. I was really happy to see that. I finished the first lap of the ride in 1:13:40 with average HR of 145 and speed of 22.4 mph. Beginning the second lap my HR went only up to 149 on the first big climb before coming right back down. Second lap went a little slower with a total time of 1:14:32 (~22.1 mph) and the same HR of 145. Total time for the bike was 2:28:12, speed 22.3, HR 145. I was in a great mood about my bike numbers at this point. I was definitely feeling a little fatigue in the legs, which was why I couldn't get the heart rate going on the second half of the bike. I made the conscious decision not to push myself up to 148 BPM because I knew I was going really fast and that I would probably pay for it on the run. One last note, I only managed about 2 bottle of sports drink on the ride. It was fairly cool and I wasn't sweating. I couldn't drink more without feeling sick so I didn't. I also at three bags of fruit snacks on the first lap (~100 calories each). They're much cheaper than chomps and I tolerate them better than a sports bar.

Nothing

don't know why T2 was so slow other than I had a really long way to go from bike in to my spot and then back to run out.

Started the run feeling solid. The run course was a two-loop out and back affair about 3.3 miles to the end. There were about three short steep climbs in the first two miles all with grades up to 15%. So, lots of hills up and down to contend with. Overall, 2000ft each of climbing and descent over the whole run. I walked (briskly) all the climbs and all the aid stations, of which there were five per lap. Heart rate hovered between 145 and 150 on the first half before going completely haywire. I finished the first lap in 54:45 minutes at a 8:33 pace. I wasn't completely happy with this but also not completely disappointed. I was hoping to get closer to 8:00/mile but 8:33 was so much faster than my last race that I was happy. I could have pushed much harder but not without risking a complete failure again so I opted against that. On the second lap I just went on feeling because my heart rate was no longer a useful indicator. Pace was also no good because of all the hills. Second lap was in 54:41, which was wonderful. I was happy to have an even run split and a final time of 1:49:26. Average HR for the run was 146.

I would like to be able to take on some nutrition during the run but don't know if the stomach can handle it. Also would like to get the pace down below 8 minutes.

I sat in the lake for 10 minutes


I was limited only by my conditioning. I executed my race plan and it went really well. I took in as much nutrition as I could without making myself sick.


Packet pick-up was a mess with long lines. Transition area was stung out over a really long distance and you had to cross a foot bridge at least twice. Announcements were unclear or non-existant. Sprint and long course of swim crossed paths. No posting of waves and so there was confusion taking off. Races started late. There were no, and I really mean no, spectators for support. No after race activities. Not even a radio playing. Food offerings were bad news.

Now for the good. Lake Geneva is a gem of a lake to swim in. Water temp was perfect for wetsuit/nonwetsuit. Crystal clear. Bike course was a decent wisconsin course. Rolling hills. Road conditions were acceptable to good. Only a couple tricky intersections with high auto-traffic. Run course was very challenging but doable. About 1.5 mile on each loop had heavy auto traffic. Otherwise, quiet streets.