Lavaman Waikoloa Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

My time was slower than last year despite being much faster in training. The pros went off with very little wind chop or swell and by the time we started there was a significant lump and wind chop made it a difficult swim despite being well trained for such conditions. At low tide the start was made even more difficult by the shallow water having to wait for the front of the line to start. Ended up passing many of those in front within the first 100 yds, including the Mayor of Hawaii who should have been in the back. I took an outside line as there were several hundred swimmers clogging the inside trying to make the turn that we could see from the start. This was a wise choice but limited my ability to find anyone to draft.

Find someone earlier to draft. Take a more direct path to the turn.

Transition was a bit slow following a hard swim as I wanted to get some water down. My neighbor in tranistion, despite having been in an earlier wave landed in transition shortly after I did. Fortunately he was in no particular hurry and let me finish and get out before clogging it up too much.

This was probably a minute longer than necessary and can be reduced in fresh water swims or those with better conditions.

Good ride for me though it could have been faster. I didn't push the hill as hard as possible due to all of the slow riders and this took a lot of mental effort to not be frustrated.

Pushed the hill harder.

Pretty good transition for me. This is about my average time to make sure my shoes are on comfortably, I have my nutrition, and I get out at a good pace without feeling panicked.

The cooler conditions and less cramping this year lead to a better overall run. I had a lot left in the tank at the finish and was far too conservative given the cramping issues that I had last year. I could have pushed the overall pace to 8:30 likely without issue. It actually sprinkled a bit on part of the run which was a nice mental boost.

Pushed the pace given the relatively cool conditions.

Hydrate and looked for other BTers


My experience from last year having had cramps that never materialized but were in the back of my head the whole run.


This is a great overall race. The swim start is not really conducive to the number of participants but it works ok. Debating a retun in 2014 or to run the Keahou sister event instead. Had a very brief opportunity to meet Metafizx but couldn't find him after the event. It's always nice to have a friendly face to meet you in pre-race transition!