Heart of the Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonLong Course

This swim was fine, but could have been much better. I was trying not to go out too hard, and in hindsight, I think I held back too much, especially at the beginning. There were a lot of people in each wave, and it was really, really crowded when the horn went off. I usually try to plow through the crowd at the start, but was hesitant to do so today so I hung back a bit.

The middle of the swim was fine; crowded around the buoys, but nothing unusual there. Felt good on the long straight stretch coming back in to shore. I was navigating well, drafting a bit, and generally just swimming along. As I approached the shore, I thought, "No, I don't want the swim to be over! I don't want to get on the bike! I'm afraid of the run! Can't I just stay here and swim some more??" I was generally just being a baby, and probably caused myself to slow down. But, eventually my hand hit sand, and it was time to stand up and get on with it. :)

Since this was my first longer-than-a-sprint race, it was all about trying to figure out pacing, and now I know that in highsight, I could have gone out faster at the start and been ok. And next time the fear of the rest of the race won't hold me back at the end either.

3 minutes is a long time, but this transition really was fine overall. I took the time to put on socks (since my blister from Minneman is just now finally healing) so that added time, as did the long run from the rack to the bike exit.

Work on getting the new bike shoes on faster

Ok, starting of with a request for opinions: I had some major frustration at the start of the bike as I dropped my damn water bottle (Yes, Autumn, the one I just bought!) no more than a half mile into it! (For those who rode the course, I dropped it before we even got on to Hwy 55!) CRAP! So my dilemma was, do I turn around and go pick it up, or do I go on without it. I knew I'd probably get an abandonment penalty if I left it, but on the other hand, at that point in the race, there had to be 100 cyclists on the same stretch of road since it was just barely outside of both transition areas. I made the decision that my turning around inthe midst of all those people in an attempt to get it would be more of a hazard than letting it roll to the side of the road, so I kept going without it. Both me and the guy next to me asked the voluteer nearby to please pick it up, so hopefully it didn't cause any crashes. So, my question to you all is, did I do the right thing?

Anyway, once I made the decision to keep going, my next thought was that it was going to be a looong 21 miles with nothing to drink. I was desperately hoping there would be a water stop on the bike course. (No such luck.)

Once I calmed down a bit an got going, I actually really, really liked this bike course. I was really surprised by that! There was one big hill, and then some smaller ones, but I felt good nearly the whole way. Right around 15 miles I started to get tired, which isn't surprising considering that is the distance of many of my training rides and all my previous races. I did have an accelerade gel with me so I ate that even though I didn't have any water to wash it down. It was evident by then that weren't going to be any water stops, so I just had to use what I had and hope for the best. Luckily, the gel went down without incident.

I got an energy boost from that and really just cruised along the rest of the way. There were a few times where I wanted to go faster, but I kept reminding myself--"You have five miles to run after this. Don't be stupid." So I just stayed with the plan--today was about pacing.

Not drop my water bottle. Otherwise, not a lot. I would have been happy with anyting over 16.5 mph, so to get 17.1 mph was really good for me. That's two races in a row now with a 17+ avg.

I felt like I was moving is slow motion for most of this transition. After the dismount, it felt like such a loooong way to run with bike shoes on! I eventually got to my rack, but it just seemed to take forever to get there. Then I quickly changed shoes, grabbed my visor and race number, and took off again for the same loooong run back out again.

Somehow commandeer a spot on a closer rack. Practice running with bike shoes on. In my defense, though, I was wear brand spanking new cleats that were very shiny (slick) and I was purposely trying to be very careful so that I didn't wipe out.

So, Ben (benihana) previously described this run course as "pancake flat." Ben, you must eat some lumpy pancakes!! :) Actually, it wasn't too bad, but there were a few unwelcome climbs right in the middle of the course. I started off well and was averaging sub-10:00 for the first three miles, but then started to feel pretty worn out after that. This didn't really suprise me since I can count my number of 5+ mile training runs on one hand, and those weren't off a 21 mile bike ride.

But, overall I was pleased. Again, it was all about trying to figure out pacing, and making sure I could complete the distance. I had planned to walk through the water stops and even though a couple times early on I didn't really want to, I told myself to stick to the plan because I'd need that energy later. So I walked a few steps at each station, was sure to get a good drink in (rather than the sloppy dribble I get when I try to run through the stops), and made great use of those fabulous cold water sponges they were handing out. I was worried about my typical overheating, and did start to feel very very hot by the fourth mile, but the water of the head and sponges kept it under control.

Push harder at the end. I can never kick at the end like everyone else for some reason. Other than that, I stuck to the plan and was happy. I finished without feeling like I was going to drop dead, and that was the goal.

Sucked down a bunch of water, stood under the very cool mist showers they had, and talked with Steve, Bryan, Kris, and a few others. Some light stretching while waiting in the results receipt line.


General conditioning, but I'll keep working on it.


This is a very excellent race! Highly recommended! I've never done this race before, but I'm sure to do it again. I'm pleased overall with my first longer-than-a-sprint effort, and look forward (!) to my first full oly next month.

Great as always to see the BTers! Great job everyone!