Bartlett Lake Olympic Triathlon - Triathlon

The swim was a standing water start with a 500 meter buoy layout. The olympic distance triathletes were required to make three loops.

The race included a sprint and would be followed by olympic distance swimmers. The race organizers highly recommended wetsuits as the lake temperature was a chilly 60 degrees. Everyone waded into the water around 7:45 and the sprint distance participants started at 7:50. Three minutes later I was swimming with my fellow olympic distance racers. It was cold! My hands and face were freezing but they were second in my mind as I was pushing through the group of people trying to get through a fairly narrow set of buoys that would start the race. Due to the course length it was fairly chaotic through the entire swim.

I kept the pace easy and finished in about 30 minutes. The beach was rocky so I had laid out my sandals at the start/finish. I slipped these on and jogged the quarter mile to the transition with the timing mat mid way in between.

Time was built into the bike. Uneventful. I slipped on my socks, shoes, helmet, and bib belt and almost hopped on my bike. Not sure what I was thinking as there is no riding in the transition area.

The bike course was an out and back that was to be repeated twice.

I knew that there would be a lot of climbing and I definitely wasn't disappointed. The ascent started immediately out of transition. There were times when I was struggling to push nine miles per hour but I still managed to pass about 40 people over the course.

I was pleased that nobody was able to pass me on the climbs but there were two brave souls that passed me on the downhills. I have to admit that I was a bit timid on the descent due to wind and higher speeds than I was accustomed to. At one point I hit 40 miles per hour and a strong gust pushed me around the road. After that I tapped the breaks and kept my speeds in the 30mph range.

My nutrition went well as I had brought two bottles of Mike's Mix sport drink and a packet of Clif shot bloks for the ride. I finished a bottle and a serving of shot bloks during each climb and focused on staying alive for the descent.

Another uneventful transition. Slipped off the bike shoes, slipped on the running shoes and tossed on the beanie I like to wear when running. Grabbed another shot bloks and headed out.

The run course was a single out and back with a water station at miles 1.2, 3.1, and 5.

The run followed the bike course for the first half mile. The climbing was steep during that time but increased again when we separated from the bike course.

I was feeling pretty good and started feeling really good around mile two. Over the course of the run I was able to pass another six or seven people. While tough, I enjoyed the course. It was nice knowing that I could push myself on the uphill and could recover a bit on the down.

Near the end I still had plenty of energy and I picked up the pace for the last descent. I passed another runner and finished strong.

This was a well organized event with plenty of volunteers. I'd participated in one other race by the organizers, Tri Family Racing, and they do a good job. I look forward to doing this one again next year and moving up in the ranks.

More details and other race reports at http://tritoachieve.blogspot.com/2014/03/race-report-3162014-bartle...