Loveland Lake to Lake - TriathlonOlympic

Apprehensive but semi confident. I ended up lining up way left (along the buoy line) and just a bit back. Felt like I was swimming lazy but doing alright, unintentionally worked myself into the pack as I was trying to avoid going left of the buoys. This was probably the most congested swim I have taken part in - struggling to imagine what FL will be like or what the 5430 sprint was like. I ended up behind a guy doing breast stroke so I moved off of him and almost into someone else. Then somehow I drift way right, made a correction and turned on the buoy. I felt really choppy with my stroke on the next leg but at the next buoy I think I picked up some folks from the next wave, or maybe it was the previous, I don't know I couldn't remember the color of cap assignments for anything but the first wave and my wave. Anyway I followed these feet all the way to the last turn and manage to lose them shortly thereafter. This leg was a long straight (or at least it was supposed to be) stretch back to the exit. I went from being in a pack to having no body around me but still swimming straight for the finish with a pack up front and like a V shape envelope of nobody around me. Next thing I know, there is still nobody around me but I am way to the right. I struggled with this frustration of swimming a massive "C" or "bow" shaped leg for the last Finally got back to the course right at the finish. I admit I considered trying to swim straight instead of correcting my course and just run back west.

Swim a little bit the week before the race? Have more confidence in the stroke. Antifog the goggles.

After the journey to T1 from the lake, got to my spot and struggled with the wet suit. Took about 3 attempts to get it off my left foot. Slowly put on the socks and shoes. Grabbed the headsweats, helmet, glasses and just kept feeling like I was forgetting something.

Be smoother with the wet suit, and confident in what I am doing.

Mount the bike and get rolling and it doesn't appear that anything is registering on my bike computer. I am playing around and realize the cadence sesor slipped. Mileage is regestering but it seemed slow. After about a tenth or two I figured just switch to MPH and go with whatever it has and just ride. Took a little bit getting into the rythm of the ride and let some people go by me. Ended up leapfrogging with a guy racked right by me for the first couple of miles. Flat and downhill he came by and I went back by on the uphills. Went by him on 22nd (about 3 miles) and never saw him again. Approaching a corner I went by another person who had passed me, but I didn't feel I could safely get by the next guy (not knowing how he was going to take the corner) so I backed off and the other guy came ripping between us. To make sure the one guy had room I tried to snap the corner a little shaper, and bounced my pedal exiting - little scary moment and just a grating sound to the ears. Took in a "pre-planned" gel at this point and after that I started feeling good and just going. There were so many people out ahead of me (I guess 321 in the swim would do that) that I seldom had an open area to just ride. I was feeling good and HR was mid 160's. The I came up on this kind, entrepreneurial soul who had "volunteered" to be the rabbit for the low cost of one dollar for everyone who passed her. Found out later that was Colomingle. I guess I still owe her ;) For the way things felt, the end of glade road came up rather quick. I was ascending better than I have in the previous times I had ridden it. It didn't seem like as much work. Turned onto hwy 38 and got ready for the "climbs" to come. These surprisingly went well, although a number of people passed me here. One nice thing about this year is that I was not looking for "One more gear" to drop down to climb. I felt good. Then on the descents I started to push a little and then just thought pick it up and let gravity do its work. - Pet Peave Moment: When you are going downhill and you are not passing anyone and there is a gap to the next person MOVE RIGHT!!! You are not going to hear "On you left" when you have the wind blowing in your ear at 38+mph - I was coasting and gaining on these folks and one guy kept drifting left - I had about 2-3 feet between him and the yellow line. I shoot that gap about 45 and keep on going. He catches me on the uphill and then on the next downhill, same thing. I played leapfrog with several on this stretch going up they go by and going down I fly through. On the last downhill out of horsetooth, I come up on a bunch and don't feel I can safely get through so I am sitting up and hitting the brakes -yuck). Come out of the corner and I just take off towards Taft. Approaching that turn I am thinking there are 30 miles of road and I hit a traffic jam at this point. I figure I might as well take in a gel at this point on the flat section before the rollers and with the "traffic" ahead of me. Going downhill, I pick it up and go by a number of the people, including on lady who I had been leapfrogging on the ups and downs for 10 miles already. We continued doing this for the next 8 miles. She flew on the flats and the uphills. We must have passed each other a dozen times. I got through the rollers and was crusing comfortably at 23/24 and my HR was coming down. I realized "she" was pulling away and thought, I could pick it up a gear or so and still not be working the way this section felt so I did and cruised back into town at 27/28 and feeling good except for this bloating/pain on the right side that wrapped from front to back. Weird feeling it in the back. So with a mile left, I back off and try and stretch a little, had a couple of people go by me there. I had a burp that I (at the risk of sounding gross) couldn't match to anything I ate then realized it was like the lake water mixed with stuff. Yuck!!! Got off the bike and felt like I was moving in slow motion to transition because of it.

Ensure Cadence sensor set properly.

This transition felt longer than this. I was surprised to see the resulting time.

Have tums for the ride.

Got started on the run and debated hitting the head, but I didn't know if it would help. Kept turning the feet over unsure how I was moving, skipped the first aid station because of how my side felt. I prayed for deliverance from this ailment and then it started to "pass" (sorry to anyone that was behind me, I tried to make sure it was clear, but it made me feel immensely better). Speaking of passing, scores of people were passing me on the early stages of this run. Got to aid station #2 and took some water to drink and dump on the head - walked while I drank. Still feeling awkward on the run but kept going. Saw Greyhound coming the other way at this point - I was closer to him than I anticipated - and was slightly encouraged by that. Next aid station was short of mile 3. Took water for me and my head and walked this station too. I hit mile 3 and then I started feeling good. Had a swallow of water and dump on the head at aid #4 as I kept in motion. Went by a guy who recognized me from the Fed Cup - how I have no clue but that was kind of fun. Aid #5 had no cups left but I ran through the hose - felt good. I tried to pick up the tempo a bit here or at least increase the RPE to a level I believed I could sustain to the finish. Was picking out people ahead of me to try and catch and it worked for me. I come around and they added the loop around the goose pond back in and that was slightly tough mentally to deal with but kept on going. I saw a guy in my age group up ahead, I tried to pick it up more to catch him but I couldn't raise my pace and I didn't know if I had enough distance left at the paces we were going. There seemed to be two timing mats, one in front of the TNT tent (with a sign that said 100 yds to go) and then the finish line. Well I catch and pass that guy inbetween those mats but looking at the results, it is as if it locked our positions in at the first one. when you factor in the differences we had the exact same run. In my report, I am taking credit for what I know is right, but I am not going to follow up anywhere else, in the grand scheme of things 32 or 33 in age group 148 or 149 over all is not worth it. But here in my own race report, I will take ownership of it. When it was all said and done, this was a 10k PR for me by nearly 4 minutes.

Catch the guy ahead of me earlier so there would be no confusion. See above Tums comment. Build a larger base

Drank gatorade endurance, and water. Some mild stretching.


Extreme taper instead of normal recovery week (or maybe that was a good thing). Pulling a muscle in my low back a week before the race. (Thank God that He healed it and it presented no issues during the race.) Maybe drinking too much lake water on the swim.


Well run in a good location. comfortable post race setting with the amphitheater etc.