Folsom Olympic Triathlon - Triathlon

Before the start, I couldn't get a good sighting of the buoys marking the swim course. There were about a million of these tiny rowing lane marker buoys scattered across the course (okay, probably more like several hundred). There were also several large orange buoys to mark the sprint race course. Off in the distance, to the east, I could faintly see some yellow buoys marking the Olympic course. But the sun was glaring, so I couldn't see all of them. The RD told us to simply look for three yellow buoys and turn left at each one. Easy enough -- or so I thought.

I felt lethargic warming up -- not a good sign. I figured I'd take it easy at first and hopefully wake up as I progressed. With the sun glaring, and a bit of a chop in the water, it was really difficult to see anything at all for the first 600 meters. I just kept my head down and followed the bubbles.

I made it to the first buoy without actually seeing it until just before I clobbered it with my out-stretched arm. I made it to the second buoy without a problem. But after making the second turn, I couldn't see the third buoy, so I just followed the bubbles again and kept moving.

Eventually, I reached a third yellow buoy, and followed the lead of several other swimmers who turned left -- just as the RD had instructed. But after about 75 yards of paddling, I saw a lifeguard on a surfboard frantically pointing me to the right. Apparently, I hadn't yet reached the "official" turn yellow buoy. There was still yet another yellow buoy ahead -- ugh. I turned right and kept paddling until I got to the "official" third yellow buoy and then turned left and headed to the shore.



In future races, I'm going to make sure I clearly see and count every buoy on the swim course before I start. Nothing is ever as simple as it sounds.

No mishaps -- always good.

They say you can't have a good bike ride in a triathlon unless you follow it up with a good run. Well, unfortunately, this was true in my case. In hindsight, I overcooked myself on the bike and my run suffered. I was staring at a power meter for the entire ride, yet for the first half of the course I exceeded my average power goal by 15-20 watts. I guess that must have been about the time when the caffeine jolt from the pre-race Red Bull and the GU jell kicked in. I also had problems keeping my effort under control on the rolling hills and dealing with the wind. The majority of the ride is in the wide-open expanses of the Sierra foothills in an area known as "Prairie City." It was about 30 degrees cooler than the day before, but the wind was quite active.

I saw about 15 or so flattened snakes alongside the road -- some of them rattlers. The roads were mostly smooth and wide open. But they got noticeably bumpy from about miles 18 to 21, as we threaded our way through an industrial park area. That's about when my power output started to drop off. The last 3 miles or so were straight and flat. I end up averaging 20.1 MPH -- a PR for me. But I paid for it dearly on the run.




I need to pay attention -- and react -- to the numbers on my power meter. I knew what numbers I needed to hit, but I ignored the readings and kept churning away. I would have been far better off with a slightly slower bike if that would have saved my legs for a decent run.

I couldn't get my Garmin watch to connect with a satellite until about 1/2 mile into the run. But I knew within about 100 yards of putting on my running shoes that I wasn't going to hit my goal of breaking 50 minutes for the run. My legs just didn't have any spring to them. I held up okay for the first 3 miles. The rolling hills were relatively mild, but after overcooking the bike, I couldn't move at more than an 8:15 per mile pace. By the turnaround point, I was fading fast and struggled to stay under 8:50 per mile. Payback time. I somehow held it together until the finish. Good thing this was an Olympic distance race and not an HIM. Otherwise, I would have been in big trouble.

Don't bake the bike -- leave some icing for the run. I know better.

Staggered around a shady expo area next to the lake. Did some high steps. Didn't feel like jogging at all. I should have stretched.


I was lethargic on the swim and paced the bike poorly -- at least I hope that was the core of my problems.


I'm just glad it wasn't as hot on Sunday (race day) as it was on Saturday. Otherwise, I would have turned into a pretzel by the time I crossed the finish line. Great job by the support/production crew keeping the bike course well-marked and open.