Steelman Triathlon - Olympic Distance - Triathlon

They told us right before the race that the chips had to be outside of the wetsuits so have to clump up my left suit leg to do that. 110 people in my wave the third wave of the day and all had to funnel 1 wide over the mat then into the water so it took a little while to get every on in the water. I found a spot on the right side fairly far up with some open water so started there. After the picture we were off. I think I only was lightly bumped once as I stayed outside of the traffic and pushed to the first buoy and then got into a nice smooth rhythm. Good steady swim after that point, stayed well outside on the first turn and drifted far left on the down leg and had to angle back but didn't add to much extra and stayed very contact free. as we rounded the peninsula and headed into the pier I was surrounded by green caps (the previous wave so I label that a pretty good swim.

Not much. Should have swam more since Williamsburg but it wasn't bad at all.

Short jog up the boat ramp to transition, over shot my rack. Pulled off the legs of my wetsuit and flood of water from my left leg where I had to bunch it up. Little problem getting my gel in my suit but pretty good transition.

Might consider taping a single gel to my bike vice fighting to get it in that small pocket.

Started out and boom you are on the marina hill. I stayed seated and in the big ring and just grinded my way up nice and steady but it also helped me get warm. at the top of that hill I got going and had a few people pass me in the park. Avoided the speed plank on the outboard and had a guy with no shirt and a aero helmet pass me. I ended up going back and forth with this guy the rest of the ride as we repassed everyone who passed me in the park. We got another member of out group a guy with a disk wheel and an aero helmet and we passed each other 5-6 times. The course wasn't too crowded during the first loop and I got into a great rhythm but when ever I let down, one of my buddies would pass me back, until I got going again. The second loop was a lot more crowded as the folks from the sprint were coming up. Got very confusing as occasionally someone would pass but you would catch an S on there calf. Unfortunately most of these folks did not understand the whole ride to the right concept. Two lanes of closed traffic (and a very smooth section furthest right but on one occasion I literally had to go over the yellow lines to pass. Lost a lot of momentum at times which messed me up. Coming back up the hard hill had to pass a weaver who almost smacked into me and then was pissed off I didn't give him enough room, good thing I was well past him when I realized what he said. Back into the park there was another speed plank you had to be very careful off as it was on a slight downhill. The ride back to the marina was ok and I braked hard down the hill as the sharp right at the bottom is not a high speed turn. Good ride!

I did a lot of weaving the second loop which got me in to a few boxes and forced me to slow. I am programmed to ride as far right as possible but I guess I needed to be more conscious of the fact that there were a lot of less experienced folks in the sprint who just didn't know the rules/etiquette. Did good staying within myself early and building my effort.

Nice smooth transition. Found the balloon and didn't overshoot again, had a small issue racking as I missed on my first attempt. Good quick transition and took a last drink from my bike bottle before heading out.

Not much.

Got started on the run and I tried to let my legs come in an get a good turnover, but It just seemed like it took forever for my legs to show up. THe path was absolutely packed. Saw Chris and Stephanie one their way back. My legs finally showed up about 2.5 miles in and I picked up the tempo a bit but still never really was able to shift to the fast gear. Got some water at two of the aid stations but probably should have gone for the Gatorade a bit more. Lots of folks and again very confusing trying to figure out what race people were in. Probably let that get me off my game mentally, but it is hard to get feedback when you are passing and being passed by so many folks.

This is a flat and fast run that I ran in the 46s in 2008, so I know I should have been able to go at least that fast this year. Need to stay mentally sharp and go by feel not what I'm seeing. Could have gone sub 2:30 with a decent run.

Got my iced towel and the hose shower a then got some food. Got my bike and packed up transition and walked my stuff out and up to the car. Loaded up the car and finished my juice from this morning and headed back down met up with Stephanie and then found Chris for a Team Rev 3 picture. Chris was 3rd OA and won his AG, and Stephanie was 3rd in her AG in the sprint two weeks after IMLP. THey texted the results to your phone which was pretty cool.


A poor run and letting race traffic slow me down mentally and sometimes physically (ie boxing me in) Since was a PR by 2:09 over Rev3 Maine in 2012 and a course PR by over 5 min from 2008. Top 20% OA and top 10 in my AG is a good day!


Good race! 10th annual race, really nice swim and bike course and a fast run course. Lots of shade and great swag. Full sized high quality backpack was bigger and nicer than the ones I got at IMC and IMLP. Cool awards even though I didn't get one.