Bear Lake Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon

I was planning to go off hard and get on some fast feet. After the first 100 yards my goggles were fogging up and leaking. I tried to just swim through it but realized I had to do something about it as I could not sight for crap. I ended up stopping and emptying the goggles and magically they were fog free and sealing so I was on my way again. I really did not feel comfortable until the last leg into the beach on the first loop. There were 4 of us in a line exiting the water and tried to get right on their feet for the second loop. I felt awesome on the second loop and really felt fast...wish this feeling was there for the first loop. I felt great exiting the water and saw 23:30 on my watch as I run up the beach and the big hill to transition.

It would have been nice to get off to a better start and not have the goggle issues - could have easily knocked off another 30 seconds here.

T2 went pretty well - I was able to get my wetsuit off pretty easily with just a little trouble getting it off the ankles. I actually was able to buckle my helmet quickly and get on my way.

I really eased into the ride and built the power over the first 3 miles or so from 225 up to 235 and then eventually started to stabilize around 240W. The course is fairly flat until you get out towards Lake Michigan and the big blockhouse hill with some rollers and then it flattens out again.

I started to reel in a few folks in the first few miles and then was all alone for the most part.

On the blockhouse hill climb I really kept the watts in check by not going to much over 280 watts which was hard to do because usually I attack and just get over it. I hit about 40 mph on the way back down.

The next 12 mile out and back section I averaged 23.6mph as it is mostly flat. The wattage around 240W just seemed to feel right in my mind in order to run fast off the bike so my NP really did not fluctuate from that 237-240W the entire ride after the first 6 miles.

Nutrition: 1 bottle Infinit completed 10 minutes prior to T2

I would like to experiment with some higher power numbers to see how well I can run off the bike.

T2 was pretty quick. The bike next to mine was at a 45 degree angle which was annoying but really got in and out quick here.

I felt pretty good coming off the bike and was ready to run. I clicked off the first mile in 6:38 and felt great and could feel I was getting faster - similar to alot of my brick runs off the bike in training. The second mile ticked off 6:31 and I was feeling really good. As I started to make the turn for the second loop is when the pain under my rib started to come on and am not sure if the effort/pace caused it or what but it hurt.

At about the 3.5 mile mark I stopped for about 5 seconds and that did not help, so I figured I would just have to tough it out. My pace dropped to around 7 min/miles and that was really frustrating. Finally at about the 5 mile mark I started to feel better and pushed the pace again getting down around 6:30 to 6:40 pace. I had to push again because there was somebody coming on my heels and I did not want to get passed...and I did not!

Nutrition: Nothing (that is the plan)

I did not get passed on the bike or the run. I made up a few spots on the bike and 1 or 2 on the run. I just needed a better swim today although 23:30 is pretty good on a legit course. Tough field at the front.

Not sure why I got the stitch.

Talked with a few racers and then did a 1/2 mile jog to loosen up.


Goggle issue on the swim and stitch on the run.


The race got moved up about 5 weeks so really the only early season Olympic in the area and the fasties turned up.