Lake Saint Louis Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon

Swim was rough. The cold I had made breathing difficult. I got through the first 500 m fairly well, but things started to fall apart after that. Got a calf cramp with 300 m to go. Work through it. This swim was all just about managing it and surviving. I really felt the cold kick in during the swim and knew that the whole day would be a struggle.

Get more open water experience. Relax a little bit more in the water. Things are getting better each and every race.

T1 was pretty smooth. It was tough to see a friend down getting medical treatment. He rolled his ankle and sprained it in his cycling shoes. Rough way to end a season for him.

Nothing much.

Great Bike leg. Felt very comfortable. The cold was still coming on making things tough. Dropped some of my nutrition which would get back at me on the run.

Figure out a way to hold onto the nutrition better. The pockets on the jersey were a little small for me.

Again....need some speed laces to save time. Had to use the extra gel and water here. Took additional time. I needed the nutrition I dropped because this single extra gel I had here wasn't enough later.

Speed laces.

Heat came out VERY strong in the first mile. The dropped nutrition cause me to start running out of gas at the end of mile 2. Tried to make up for it with drinking some HEED on the course. Didn't really help. The combo of a cold coming on and the lower nutrition slowed me down through the last 4 miles. It became all about finishing.

Pay attention to the body leading up to the race. Been more proactive about the cold. Managed nutrition better to make sure that I still have gas in the tank.

Drank a Gatorade and spend time with my wife and son. Walked around transition toweling off and changing clothes in the porto-john.


The cold and dropping my nutrition.


Very nice course. Extremely well organized. It was a definite challenge for me. This has been my first year ever doing triathlons and to complete an Olympic distance triathlon is a major milestone. I was impressed with how I stood up to adversity and finished with all that happened (a cold and lack of nutrition). I'm definitely going to race this next year and I know I'll perform MUCH better!!!!