Capitol View - TriathlonOlympic

The start times were well organized and clean. The lake as an awkward 100 yard shallow beach. I could not figure out if I should swim it or walk it. I ended up swimming before most because I thought I would need to save my legs. Once I started swimming I had trouble sighting. I ended up trying to sight on each stroke. It wore me out more than I realized at the time. After half the swim I started having arm pain that I could not explain. I was not prepared for the amount of waves/chop, thus I ended the swim portion with a horrible time and I was beat. Just a sign of things to come

Should you run or swim when you have 3 1/2 feet of water???? I tried to watch the elites but they too were not consistent. Practice sighting in rough waters. Any advice?

Out of the water I was winded from wading/running through the 3-4 foot of water. I was also winded from my crazy sighting/swim melt-down. I had little problems pulling off my wetsuit, grabbing my gear, and exiting. The only small issue was that I could not pull my bike from under the rack. I did practice this but once all the bikes were loaded on the rack it must have sagged

Aside from being winded I had a great transition. Thanks to Wild Trak Bikes and my new tri-suit I did not have any problems.

After the heavy swimming and quick transition I could not seem to get my HRT down on the bike. I ended up not paying attention to it, which may have cost me. On the way out I kept feeling like something was dragging or holding me back. I assume it was the wind but at one point I was so tired and wore down that I actually checked my bike to ensure something was not rubbing. I really felt like I was cycling in quick-sand. The ride back was much faster, but my legs never recovered.

I am guessing that my legs were not rested for this race but it could just be that I did not practice enough hills for this race. Practice more hills and focus on HRT.

Once again a great transition for me. cycling shoes off and running shoes on went prefect.

Leave the hat! While running my hat was more of a problem than help.

This is were it really gets ugly. I was just asking on BT about hitting the wall/blowing up.....I should have knocked on wood. During the run leg my hope was to focus on keeping my HRT in the HIM zones. Since my legs were dead, I could not keep the rate down. I ended up doing the run walk thing for 4 miles. Around the time that I should have been taking a GU my stomach was pissed off. I would not have anymore GU this day. This being my 3rd oly any my 6th tri I was confident that I would understand my body enough too keep from blowing up like this. I was humbled. After being passed by half the racers, it really became a fight against my mind. With my ego out the window and my self-confidence ready to jump, I had to dig in....'just finish' was my war cry.

I drank the HEED at the watering stations, which I had not practiced with. I know this is a no-no but I could not help it....I needed something. This was a mistake but not something I have had trouble with in the past. While I am not sure what my downfall was I am guessing it was due to my lack of salt. I ensured that I took all of my water and Gatorade on the bike but during the run my stomach felt sloshy. It was hot, I was displacing a lot of sweat without replacing those salts. Any one have any other thoughts?
This being a OLY race I figured I could get away without taking anything to replace salts, but next time I will not make this mistake. You never know how much sweat you will displace or how long the race could go.

Finally prepare for the race not just the distance. I did not practice trail running.

Walked to the lake and swam a little. I also stretched and ate whatever food was left over. Since I was so slow coming in most the food was gone and the party was packing up. I also did a pool hot-tub combo at the hotel. It seemed to help a TON!


More training with hills and heat.
Better race nutrition
Keep myself from mentally breaking down. I was not down-and-out but I was the closest I have even been in a race.


Despite my horrible experience during this race, I actually like the course. It was hard but that is why we do these races. I enjoyed the trail running and the beautiful bike course. The volunteers were great! A couple of them were not aware of the distances but that's not a big deal. The organization of the race was awkward at times but I chalk that up to it being the race's first year. I am glad that I got to do this race simply because it is GREAT preparation for tougher races to come.