Mountain Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Hmmm....where to begin. As mentioned I was not mentally ready. Furthermore they were moving quicker than expected so I literally jumped in line about 2 minutes prior to my start. The swim was hideous. I am not sure the water was deeper than 5 feet at any point. You ran into the water...and could have waded for the first 100 yards. Some people were trying to dolphin, others were running.

I chose to run the first 25m then try to swim. Well as I pulled through the stroke my hand was grazing the bottom of the lake. Then one of my goggles filled up with water. That will mess with you mentally. Instantly my stroke was off as was my breathing. I still pulled it together but as you rounded the buoys you could still feel the weeds below you. They were in your hands, feet and face. I stood up with about 50 meters to go and just started running...in fact I passed someone.

Get myself mentally prepared better. Swim in cleaner water.

I wasn't happy coming out of the water. Heart rate was down for the most part. You had to run about 30m up a small hill and then down a sidewalk to get to the transition area. I found the sidewalk clogged with walkers and tough to navigate that stretch. I found my bike without a problem...got my helmet and shoes on. Then I again had that moment of am I forgetting something? I took off with the bike, made the u-turn to the dismount line and then was about to get on the bike when the guy behind me ran into me. I saddled up and was off

Sprint out of the water. Get on the bike quicker. I thought T1 would have been faster.

I had driven and ridden some of the course the day before. I knew it was mostly flat....with some unsuspecting inclines. I rode with some cytomax in my aero bottle but the local water was nasty so it tasted funny. I was only passed once on the bike and that was in the beginning. The road course was not too crowded and I never felt any pressure to pick up the pace...as it seemed that I was racing against myself. I still tried to push it but I knew I could go faster. My hamstrings were a bit tight but never in too much pain. I did manage to go through the entire bottle on the ride. I likely passed 100 people out there.

Pick up the pace. This is the only problem with the starts by age group then swim time. Other than the one guy who flew past me on a QR Tequilo with a disc wheel...no one was in my rearview mirror. It was a good ride...just could have pushed it a bit more.

I did manage to slow up as I approach the dismount line and got my feet loose and out by the time I hit the line. It wasn't the most graceful thing I have done but I did run barefoot. Running shoes were on quickly and I was off.

wasn't bad...still need to get quicker

Good overall run. I wanted to run comfortable for the first mile. Pick it up at the turn around and hit the last mile hard. My only complaint was that the running path was small and you had two way traffic. Path was about 6 feet wide. Made it difficult to navigate the path. Plenty of volunteers and water stations. I was passed by 2 people. One in my age group and one younger.

Not much. I would still like to lower my splits to sub 7.30.

I was out of it today. I cruised it feeling fine. My hamstrings were in a bit of pain. I grabbed a water and a red bull at the finish line. Why the hell was I drinking a red bull? I met up with my parents and walked around the course. I also showed them a Cervelo P2C and a QR Caliente. They didn't buy either for me.

I hung back for about an hour. Had a banana, orange and some more water. I did check out a demonstration on the new Computrainer. I wish I had $1500 to drop on something like that.


Fresh legs. My legs are still raw going into races. I felt like I tried to taper but it didn't work. But I am pleased with the race.


Great race for a PR. It is flat, flat, flat. Great facilities and location for a race. I personally didn't like the swim location. I also would suggest trying to alter the run course...it was too crowded. TONS of volunteers (almost too many).