Belews Lake International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Buoys seemed to have drifted. Swam around triangles then beelined for Wiggly Man after last turn.

Kick more. Despite all my kicking at Master's still keep forgetting to kick in races.

Very short transition and immediate steep uphill. Knew I couldn't get into my shoes on my bike so I put them on at rack then ran out of transition in them. Smart move for this venue.

Nothing.

Good pace for me, probably could have shifted down a gear on occasion during the headwinds, but winds weren't constant. Drinking from aero bottle was not that great of performance for me, plus the mix that worked for me in training was too strong for race day. Need to work on that. Also, one aero bottle was just short of what I needed for this distance.

Carry an extra bottle.

Pretty much have my transitions locked down. Among the top T1 and T2 times in age group, 22 overall.

Nothing.

For the most part, I did everything right during the swim, bike and transitions. I was super-stoked that my self-designed plan was paying off for me. But, just about the entire first mile of the run was uphill. The first hill out of transition was killer then no real relief from the uphill slope until just before mile 1. I started to doubt myself on this stretch, but as soon as I passed mile 1, things improved. Still very hilly throughout the course, but I drank perfectly (small sips every other aid station) and opted to use my "emergency" gel even though I was certain I could finish fine without it. I kept a good pace and a smile on my face through the finish. I was tempted to bust out the last 2 miles, but that wasn't the purpose of this race and there was no one within sight for me to catch and no one in my age group creeping up far as I could tell.

Nothing. Actually surprised at the pace I ran. Thought I would be slower as comfortably as I ran the last 5.

Water and a slice of pizza. Once I cooled down, I got a massage. That was a first for me and will become a tradition.


Speed work in training, but that's next!


Great race. Loved the 9am start. Loved the time trial start. Clean clear lake. Scenic bike course. Post-race pizza was awesome - that should be mandatory at all triathlons.