Cutting Edge Half Classic - Triathlon

The swim was a mass start, and I had never done a mass start before. The race director had advised that we were to start knee deep, but some were up to their shoulders. It didn’t matter really since the first leg was parallel to the shore. I started about thigh or hip deep, in the middle/front of the group. They counted down from 10 to the race start. At the start I immediately pushed forward and began swimming while others were walking towards the “start line”. There was some bumping, but not hard hits. Sighting toward the first buoy was ok, even though we were heading east. Less than 100 yards in we reached the underwater foliage for the first time. It was tough to swim in and I couldn’t get a full stroke because my arms would get tangled in it (I guess I need to be stronger!) and I started to panic. I pushed through, but by the time I was through to clear water I was gasping for air. I flipped onto my back, which didn’t help and eventually I worked my way out of the group and just floated for a bit. I had to collect myself. I don’t know how long I was stopped, but thoughts were racing through my head. I couldn’t quit – My wife and daughter had endured my hours of training to this point, traveled to the race and were prepared to stand in the heat for hours waiting to offer encouraging words – I had IM coming up and I couldn’t have a DNF on the swim of a 70.3, it would mentally deflate me – My T3 friends who I’d trained for hours and hours with had been so supportive and encouraging…Enough already, suck it up and swim!
I put my head down and got back in the mix. I quickly found my rhythm and was on my way. Around the first turn buoy. I found some feet to draft down the entire backstretch. When we rounded the second turn buoy we were heading straight into the sun, I looked up but couldn’t see a buoy but I could see other swimmers, I decided to follow the pack. About that time the feet I was drafting stopped and I swam into the person. Turns out they stopped to clear the goggles to try to see better. I got to the beach, called out my number and began lap 2. While stopped I peaked at my watch 18:24! Wow, I’ll take it – that helped me relax even more. Lap 2 was uneventful. There were a few swimmers near that were about the same pace, so we bumped a few times, I touched some toes, had mine touched…by the time we rounded the last turn buoy they sun was high enough that I could see the buoys and the swim exit. I swam until my hands touched the sand, stood up and walked to the beach. I walked while stripping my wetsuit to my waist then jogged into transition. When I saw the race clock I was excited! A 37 min swim was better than I expected!


Obviously, avoiding the panic would be key.

Got to my bike, finished stripping my wetsuit, which went quickly. I grabbed my shoes and towel, wiped the sand and grass from my feet one at a time and put the shoes on. I grabbed my glasses from inside my helmet, put the helmet on and jogged out to the bike mount line.

Wiping off my feet took the most time. I was riding without socks, but I couldn't handle all of the sand and grass on my feet.

2 loop course with the turnaround for loop 2 on CR1600 before turning South on Beach Rd and heading back to transition. At the start I spent some time just spinning in the small chainring. I was set on sticking to my nutrition plan, so I was focused on that. I was also keyed in on my heart rate and tried to keep it in the 150s BPM. The start of the bike was about as rough as the start of the swim. My hips were tight and I didn’t feel like I could make much power. After about 10 minutes it seemed as though my body suddenly remembered what it was like to ride a bike. The rest of the ride felt good.
Loop 1 – Started out heading N to CR1600. Headed West on 1600 and there was quite a bit of traffic and some back and forth for positioning. I really had to pay attention to ensure I didn’t accidentally end up in a draft zone. At the first turn around there were several bikes bottled up and one guy was off the road changing a flat with the help of an aid station volunteer. Heading back to the east I could feel the South wind picking up. When I turned south for the out and back to Altamont and felt the head wind, I knew it would split up the bike traffic. I found a comfortable gear and spun into the wind. I checked my speed a couple of times and I was moving faster than what I thought I was, my heart rate was into the upper 150s, but not alarming. The American flags at the turnaround in Altamont were reflecting the South wind, but they weren’t standing out straight. The tailwind back to CR1600 was fun. I turned to the East on CR1600 and had a nice ride to the turnaround. I was laughing at myself for the speed I was going, but I felt like I was controlling my effort where I needed to and I was sticking to the nutrition plan. Just before the turnaround I saw my wife and daughter. They had driven out to the course and were set up in the bed of the truck in a church parking lot. It lifted my spirits to see them.
Loop 2 – When I made the 180* turn and headed back west I could feel that the wind had shifted to a SSW direction from a due South. This made the ride back out to the turnaround a little slower. 180* turn and heading back east brought a little relief, but the wind was really picking up and I spent the short time to the Altamont turn trying to prepare my brain for the strong headwind. I made the right turn, heading south into the teeth of the wind. Again, I found a comfortable gear and peddled. This time when I would glance at my speed it was lower than I expected. I tried to keep my HR under 160. Coming into Altamont I could see the American flags and this time they were standing straight out. After the turn the ride back to CR1600 and on to Beach Road were smooth. Turning South onto Beach Road was a reminder of the strong S-SW wind.
This was a good bike ride – I didn’t feel like I pushed too hard and I kept to plan on nutrition. I didn’t really want the last couple of gels, but I forced myself to take them.

Improve nutrition. Not push through the headwind on the second loop, but rather, relax, keep the HR down and eat/drink.

I walked my bike to the rack, then walked to a nearby trash can to empty out my gel trash from the bike. I removed my helmet and glasses, then shoes one at a time, dried my feet and put on socks and run shoes. [I forgot to hit lap on my Garmin coming in, so I did that at some point.] I put on my number belt, visor, and sunglasses and headed out on the run. The race clock was positioned to read @ run out. 3:35:xx. I had 2 hours and 25 minutes to run 13.1 miles and finish in under 6 hours. I was feeling really good about my effort and my time.
I really took my time in this transition. I could have pushed through and made up a little time, but it felt good to break the pace and get my mind ready for the hot run ahead.


I pushed too hard on the last 10-15 miles of the bike, and with the heat I was pretty tired. It took took too long to 'collect' myself in transition and get moving.

My head was in the game. I hadn’t had any sign of leg cramps and I was feeling pretty good – tired, but good. I took an Endurolyte going around the loop after T2. My plan was to get one just before ending the bike, but the bike was faster than I planned and I forgot… Just over ½ mile in I realized 3 things – my quads were sore, my gut wasn’t great, and it was HOT! I pushed on with my plan - run aid station to aid station, walk through and get what I needed, and stay on top of my nutrition. The first two miles were okay – I knew that a 10 min pace would obliterate my PR. I stuck to the nutrition plan, which was gel ever 30 min and Endurolyte every 60 min. I still had sore legs and my stomach was increasingly cramping. Before reaching mile 3 I had to walk some in between aid stations, my short term goal had become, “Make it back to transition where there are bathrooms.” By the mile 4 aid station my plan was out the window, with sore legs and a cramping stomach I knew it was going to be a battle to the end. I started taking Gatorade at the aid stations in addition to a cup of water and some ice to put down the back of my shirt. Fast-forward to the 6 or 7 mile mark, back at transition. My wife and daughter were here waiting on me to come through. It was another good time to see them both, my confidence was long since gone and my daughter cheering me on was a pick-me-up. There’s an aid station on the edge of the loop before lap 2. I grabbed ice and water. I stopped at the porta-john to pee. With more walking and slower pace my stomach was feeling better. Maybe it was the Gatorade…? I walked around most of the loop and grabbed a cup of Gatorade and took an Endurolyte and Montana Huckleberry gel before heading out for loop 2. I got my legs going again, plus I had a tail wind, and felt pretty good. My pace was back below 10min/mi and my HR looked ok, high – but ok for this point in the race. I thought I might have a chance to negative split the run leg and finish in under 6 hours. That thought lasted for about 1 mile. The tail wind on this portion made the temperature feel very hot. I was looking forward to feeling the crosswind and headwind just to make it feel a little cooler. The last 5 miles were a battle. It was hot. My pace slowed to a 12+ min/mile average as I executed run / walk survival trying to fend off leg cramps and stomach cramps. My first 70.3 I walked across the finish line because my legs were too cramped to run. This time I was able to run the last .5-.75 miles to the finish. It turns out the distance on my Garmin shows that the run was a bit short @ 12.89 miles. I lost track / gave up trying to keep up with my nutrition intake on the second loop of the run.

Nutrition was lacking on the bike and the run. I paid for it on the run. I have a lot to learn about race nutrition. I'm ditching Heed and Endurolytes for one...

None. My legs were sore and my stomach was still cramping. I never did get leg cramps, the run walk strategy and forcing down Gatorage, gels, and Endurolytes must have helped. I walked over to a nearby bench in the shade and took a seat. My wife and daughter came over with my cold bottle of Recoverite, which tasted great! I sat in the shade for a few minutes, walked over to the bathroom, packed up transition and loaded the truck. We walked down to the beach area and back to the truck before heading home.


The heat and under-nutrition.


This is a great race in a beautiful lake, with a flat bike and run. It is VERY well organized and supported. If you're looking for a huge race with lots of extravagance, this is not the race for you. If you want a small field / small town feel with great race support, this is for you.