Tugaloo Olympic Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I am ultimately happy with this swim. This is my first Oly in two years and the last time was on this course so I was anxious to see improvement. I was 4+ mins. faster than 2006 which made me happy. I had a registration snafu that put me in the back though so while my first 200 to the first turn went well, I was forced to swim through a lot of bodies along that very long backstretch. I was clobbered in the nose once pretty good and got banged more than any HIM or IM I've ever participated in. Weird for a TT start. My final turn to the beach was good so my start and finish were performed as I wanted. I was out of the water in :30.12 and then crossed the mat up the beach :30 secs later so I need to stretch to that mat for a better time.

I need to focus on those long stretches and not worry too much about navigation. I'm never off that much but I seemed to struggle with siting on this one because of the fog and also the buoy colors. They matched the swim caps so everything kind of blended in out there. Swim like I did at the beginning and end and my results will be even better.

Not a great T1. I had a really great bike rack position right by the exit which is a first for me. I did probably poke around a little w/ the socks and bike shoes. Most of this time is lost in the run up from the beach and then to traverse the fairly big transition area.

I would like to say 'run faster' but I was trying to manage keeping my HR in check. Might just be a little out of practice on this for short course performance.

I was faster this year by a couple of minutes, but frankly, thought I was a lot faster so part of me is disappointed. This was my first time on this course on a tri bike and it did seem windier than previous years so I was glad to have it. The 11/23 may or not be a mistake here. Many of the hills required me to really gear down. I was surprised at some of the levels of rider out there this time. Tugaloo is usually a pretty buttoned down group of racers due to the difficulty of this event. It seemed like there were a lot of folks out there who aren't sure of the rules.

I might really force myself to get my HR in check before I move forward to fast. This will be my challenge at SC HIM. I definitely was over the HR speed limit for the duration. Also, I might lift off the saddle more to keep up momentum on some smaller hills that I can carry with the inbound speed.

I've had better T2's but as usual, it takes practice, especially on short course races. I didn't run with Yanks so I slipped my shoes on and exited quickly to the water stop where I tied up and grabbed some yummy liquid refreshment.

Not much. I did kind of stop and stare at my set up for a couple moments due primarily to being out of practice.

By biggest disappointment. Two years ago I broke :50 here! So I while I seemed ok, I was pokey. With the reverse direction, they really throw you into two big hills early. One is right outside the front door of T2 and the other is in Mile 2 so my HR was jacked from the get-go. I was really trying to focus on keeping it low but at around the 1/2 way point I thought if I don't step up a little I'm going to really tank. My hamstrings and calves were talking to me and I was starting to get concerned about cramping. My mechanics seemed a bit off as well.

Really try and be disciplined more with some walk breaks early on and then I can still unload later. Also, managing my HR on the bike would certainly benefit my run.

My right hamstring started to cramp severely just steps from the finish. I was supposed to re-hydrate and go back out for a 45 min. run. I lasted about 20 mins. and ran into a friend who commented on my lousy condition and convinced me to turnaround and head back. No true postrace run for me beyond that.


Weight for sure. I had planned on being down below Clydesdale by now. I need an intervention to be where I want by IM FL. Also, HR management is the key to long course but I think for me it also applies here to some degree.


I've always like this race because it's very challenging. Flatlanders need not apply. I was glad to be back after missing last year due to IM Wisconsin. I do believe I am a better triathlete now than in 2006 however the clock doesn't show it so there is more work to do. It was awesome seeing so many of my friends/training pals here. It's amazing how many more people I know in this sport just a few years later. And it's also been great to watch them all excel too. A final note and tip of the cap to race management. Active.com screwed up my registration way back in April and we never noticed it until Friday before the race. I brought all my gear but was not having much hope that I would be able to get into this race. That would've been ok, but I really wanted to race and see where I am training-wise. The folks who run this were very gracious and accomodating and got me in. They even got me a t-shirt at the end of the event although they told me upfront that it wasn't guaranteed. Very cool. Now, hopefully, next year the lake will return to full pool and that will make things just about perfect!