Hagg Lake Triathlon - Sprint Course - Triathlon

I swam freestyle the entire loop! I hadn't planned on that, but after getting through the first buoy, I felt like my breathing was really controlled, so I decided to push through the 2nd buoy. I wasn't going to allow myself to die on the home stretch, but the 2nd to 3rd buoy felt good, so just kept going. My right shoulder was feeling a bit out of sorts, but able to push on without any pain. Felt great to accomplish this distance full on!

I really didn't gain much time by going freestyle the entire way, which tells me that my pull was really ineffective. This was probably due to my right shoulder, so something I'm going to need to work on slowly.

This was a really good transition for me. My only short falls were pulling my tri top over my body from my hips. I had already started running my bike when I realized I didn't have a top on! Also, my right heel got stuck on my suit, so I had to take a seat to get it off.

My sit down didn't cost me too much time. The run from the lake to the transition was long enough that I should've focused on getting my tri top over my shoulders before getting to my bike. That would've cut another 10 seconds off of my transition.

A beautiful setting and a beautiful morning for a bike ride. I really pushed the pace, knowing that it was going to go fast! I moved up from 52nd place to 18th place in only 37 minutes, so that was very encouraging. Lots of rolling hills and turns, which made it a very exciting course. Lots of fun. I put down one gel at about 20 minutes in.

Nothing.

I opted to leave the socks off, which probably saved me up to 30 seconds. I don't recall doing a sub-1 minute transition yet, so I was really happy with it.

Nothing.

I really pressed the first mile through a very rough and curvy single track trail. I felt strong and confident over Scott Hill and to the turn around. I had to take the foot off the gas a bit after getting over Scott Hill on the return and not seeing any competitors behind me. Ended up with a smooth coast into the finish line!

Not much. If I was primed for this race, I probably could've put a strong push for the last half-mile.

Walking in the transition area and light stretching. After cheering Stew across T2, I took a 20-minute bike flush out on the main road, and then a 5-minute cool off swim! Then some solid stretching.


Muscle fatigue from Ironman! Swim technique. Bike.


This was a great race, with extra icing on the cake by taking home a 3rd place age group medal! It was a great day, with lots of good social time with competitors afterwards. Sporting some Ironman gear felt like it gained me some props from other athletes, along with the feeling of starting to actually compete in the event!