Otter Limits Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I just have to accept that I am a really, really slow swimmer. I feel like I'm doing okay and try to focus on technique, but then I just see the feet disappear in front of me and then it's all quiet for about a minute until the next wave come cruising by. It's a complete mystery to me. At one point I was sure I saw somebody doing breast-stroke at the same pace as my freestyle... Oh well, back to the drawing board this winter.

On the plus side, this is the prettiest swim I've ever done in a race. The lake is set in a deep valley, with wooded trees on both sides. You swim up the lake, turn around and swim back down, so no complicated course to worry about. And I had nobody around me to spoil the view...

Definitely get some help and work on technique. Maybe try to build come core strength also

Average transition. Still need to work on getting wetsuit off smoothly.

Practice stomping on the suit to get it off while I do everything else.

This is my least-bad event and I made up a few places (before giving them back on the run...). It was a very hilly course, with a strong headwind for much of the mostly uphill outward leg. The winner did about 22 mph average and I would guess that most people were considerably slower than their normal race pace - I was 3 mph slower than normal. I would love to see the actual height gain overall. The turnaround is at the high point of the course, but you still have to go up 2 substantial hills on the way back. To give you an idea, my average speeds for each mile were as follows - 13, 11, 22, 16, 16, 15, 9, 26, 15, 12, 16, 15 (turnaround here),20, 18, 23, 22, 8 (really!), 25, 21, 20, 10, 25, 18. So bring your climbing legs!

All that said, like the swim, the ride is fairly scenic, passing through a couple of small villages and climbing a pretty valley. The road is not completely quiet, but there were good intervals between cars and wide shoulders for much of the course. I felt I worked hard on the bike, but didn't push too hard. And the downhills were definitely fun.

Not much. Although I was not super-fast, I was okay with my overall placing on this and would have blown up on the run if I had tried to take much more out during the ride. I feel like I know my own body a little better now and can pace myself for the Olympic (this is my 3rd)

Pretty good transition, aided by a very small transition area. Lost a few seconds putting shoes on, but nothing else to complain about on this

I was hoping for a better run, with a cool day and having really focused on not putting too much into the bike. However, it was not to be. I felt my legs beginning to cramp about 1/2 mile in and despite slowing down, had 3 times where I had to walk it off. Not as bad as in previous races, but still disappointing. I did not feel tired, but my thighs just kept knotting up. So there was probably about 90 seconds of walking in this time and a lot of slower than normal running in between. The uphill and downhill definitely didn't help with avoiding cramps.

Still need to work on basic fitness. Perhaps with a flatter bike (and run) course, I think I would have been cramp-free. I definitely can't blame the weather today.

Felt very good after the race - nowhere near as nauseous or tired as normal.


Swimming technique and a hilly course. One I can change, the other you just have to suffer, knowing everybody else is doing the same.


This was the inaugural race and it came with a few teething troubles. Course marking was not so good - at the swim finish it was unclear which buoys we needed to go round. For the bike, the signs were present but minimal. Several people missed an important turn on the bike race and did not finish as a result. There were just about enough volunteers and drink stations, but it would have been good to have volunteers at the missed turn mentioned above. Transition area was not fenced or secured and signage for in/out was absent.

But none of these things were critical and there was a whole bunch of stuff I liked. There were police where you needed them. The registration was very easy, the vibe was great and everybody was friendly, perhaps because it was such a small race (60 entrants). The after-race food (pizza plus lots of other goodies) was very good. And as mentioned above, the location is first rate and very scenic. Most importantly for me, this is a late-season Olympic, which gives me a good target to train for during the summer, so it fills a need for me for this kind of race. Kudos to the director for getting a new race going in a nice location at a very reasonable price. I would definitely come back for another go in a couple of years, but would get some hill-work in to prepare.