Land Between the Lakes Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

There were two waves of men and the third wave was all the women and relay teams. We started in the water next to a dock. I got myself in front b/c I learned my lesson last time about being modest with my swimming ability. Once we started it was a little rough, and some dude even climbed right over me! I am comfortable in the water and didn't panic or anything, and it didn't hurt, but I just thought "wow was that REALLY necessary?" But it thinned out just fine after 50 yards or so. I felt good but kept stopping to sight. I think I would have done better to just plow ahead, it was a hard course to mess up.

Not stop to look around so much!

My wetsuit came off pretty easily considering I didn't have bodyglide (although I slapped a ton of lotion from my elbows and knees down, that seemed to do the trick just as well). Had a tiny bit of trouble getting my cycling shoes on but nothing major. It was the clipping in that screwed me up. I had to try like, four times before my right foot would clip in. That was annoying.

Not be such a spaz with my shoes on the bike.

My bike felt good. I just tried to keep a consistent effort and not lose any speed on the inclines.
Coming out of transition, Lynette Bacon passed me. She won the last race I was at. She is a crazy good triathlete.
At one part of the course we went from northward to eastward, and got hit with a bunch of wind. On that strip I picked off about 8 men in a mile. That felt pretty good. I was passing a bunch of dudes (since they started ahead of the women for the swim) and a few of them had funny things to say. About 7 miles into it, a woman passed me. I kept her in my sights for most of it, but she was just too fast for me. Those two women were the only two to pass me on the bike. More than a few guys passed me. After my two marathons are over, I will focus more on biking. It's absolutely the weakest leg for me. But I still felt good on the bike and felt like it was a good effort on my part. Maybe I could have gone faster, I still need to find out how fast I can go without burning my legs for the run.
The course was really nice. Flat with rollers through the country side, the course was really well marked. I enjoyed this ride. Had a gel at mile 15.

Mehhhh, I dont't know. Ride more to get my legs stronger I suppose.

I did well with getting my shoes unvelcro-ed before the transition area so I could just hop off my bike barefoot. Had a bit of a delay b/c this guy in front of me got in my way coming in. I will look into getting yanks laces or velcro sneakers b/c the shoe lace tying is definitely an area to get some time back. Grabbed my hat and was off!

Get shoes that don't need to be tied.

Legs felt good coming off the bike. Was breathing pretty heavy the whole time so I knew I was working hard. The second lady to pass me was within 1/8 of a mile the entire time but I was kind of apathetic about catching her. At one turn she saw me in back of her and then really pushed her pace to put more distance between us.
This run wasn't really remarkable or anything. It felt good. Perhaps I could have ran harder, but I wasn't really in the mood to be miserable. I kept a pace that felt strong and steady. I passed quite a few more dudes, had a couple pass me.
The run course was really nice. Flat and shaded, mostly along the lake. There was one water stop on the run but I didn't take any.

Maybe push harder. But I just wasn't in killer mode today. Strong and steady was fine with me. Maybe if I had really turned it up and passed that second lady I'd be saying something different. But third place is fine for me.

Walked around. Wished I had someone else there with me! I need to get some friends to go to races with me. No shady men hit on me this time but I still didn't like just sitting around by myself unitl the awards ceremony. I chit chatted a bit with some people but for the most part sat on the grass by myself and watched people come in.


I need more time on the bike. Must get faster on the wheels!


This race was very organized. The course was great. Volunteers were wonderful. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. I wasn't really in the "go wicked fast" mood, but I wasn't lazy either. It was nice to be able to just enjoy myself. Maybe next year I'll come back and give Lynette a run for her money!