Pokagon State Park Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

So this was the only part of the race where I was disappointed with my performance. I was seeded in the front left portion of the 85 person wave and with the first buoy only 50 yards away it was a mess. There was just no room to maneuver and got bumped around a bit. I am not quite sure why they would set the course up that way (my only beef - I promise). I could not get into a groove the first 400 yards with all the traffic and there was some chop on the lake as well. I began drifting towards shore as I neared the second buoy and navigation was a little suspect on this day. I got into a groove as we neared the turnaround buoy and HR under control. The swim back in I got into a groove and stroke felt strong although my kick is weak to non-existent.
There were alot of good athletes at this race and it was just hard for me to look ahead and see all these people ahead of me on the swim - but I have put alot of time in on the swim and hoped for a better result. I started to cramp up in my legs about 50m from shore but was fine as I got out. I got out in 27 min and change (1:40 per 100 pace) which is not horrible but I thought 1:35 or below was an attainable goal. The official time includes the climb up 65 steps to T1.

I obviously would have liked to get a couple OWS in before this race - but lake temps really did not allow it. I also should have done more race specific swim sets in my preparation.

2/105 OA so I am a transition All Star - they have no award for this however. Wetsuit came off like smooth butter (thanks Body Glide). Strapped the helmet and off I go.

Nada!

I was a little upset about the swim and decided to take it out on the bike ride. The park was hilly going out and then police did a good job letting us through when we were adjacent to I-69 although the pavement was horrible here. I passed about 4-5 people in the first 5 miles and then settled in. The weather was decent at this point and did not notice the wind or light rain too much. The course was non-stop rollers it seemed like - some much larger than others. I would have never averaged over 21mph on this course last year but I have been focusing on the bike and it is coming around. As we got to the Turnaround point is when I noticed the consistent rain and the headwind. The wind got worse as I got closer to transition and the driving rain was tough on the eyes. I drank one accelerade with 16 oz water in my Aerobottle on the course and that was it - I could have used another 4 oz but I was alright. I was glad to finally make that turn back adjacent to I-69 (except for the potholes of course) becuase I knew transition was close and I could get off this bike. There were a couple tough hills in the park and then making that turn into transition there were alot of fans with words of encouragement and clapping which was nice - Rachael finally got a good pic of me on the bike. I was so concerned about getting to T-area fast that I forgot to undo my shoes and get my feet out prior to dismount - ooops.

get my feet out of my shoes prior to dismount like I normally do but somehow forgot - race pace was good for this ride and I pushed quite hard - wind and rain made conditions a little tough today.

3/105 OA - I have found my niche!

visor on and slip into running shoes (no socks) - no bibs for this race so no race bib belt to throw around the waist either.
Little did I know the sloppy mess I was about to encounter.

Nada!

I had never seen the course before today so did not know exactly what to expect. I had read some previous race reports and they said it was hilly and challenging but you never really know until you go through it yourself because everybody's interpretation of the course can be different. The first segment of the course is not to bad and is short ups/downs - I was able to pass a competitor prior to mile 1 and then the signs got confusing and I made a wrong turn but the guy I just passed yelled at me right away to go left (Thank you very much to him for doing that) whew! There were several pockets of mud pits and standing water that were slippery but manageable and had to be careful through them. About mile 2 I passed another competitor and then got out into some of the grassy areas for mile 3 and 4. These areas had some short steep hills that made the legs scream and skyrocket the HR but I tried to just short step them and breathe through the nose to keep it contained. I spotted another competitor up ahead in the open area and was able to pass him at the 3.5 mile mark. After this section, my body and mind was screaming at me and I'm thinking "oh yeah, I voluntarily signed up for this" and thinking "Rachael is definitely driving home and I am sleeping". After mile 4 I was just in the zone and looking down and concentrating on keeping a steady rate. There were several people saying kind words as i was heading back as they were going out but I was just concentrating on getting to the finish line and had no spare energy to speak (thank you though they helped). I saw mile 5 - ok 1.2 left thats nothing - passed an aid station and then....down I go on a mud slide...no problem but now my entire right side and hands are soaked in mud. I get up and just re-focus. As i pass mile 6 I can hear the people at the finish and am glad this is about to be over. I have not been passed by one person and actually moved up on the field which would have never happened a year ago. I would always lose ground on the run and now I am holding my own. It was uphill to the finish and I was very happy to be done (2:27:47). I crossed the finish line - they gave a nice finisher medal and bottle of water. The volunteers were very good.
My shoes were completely covered in mud - as were my legs. I gave that run course everything I had and it beat me silly.

I probably needed some more calories for this run as I was out of gas near the end. I pushed really hard on the bike and run and needed some more fuel I think.

I just drank water and walked around - my quads and hamstrings were really tight - got my stuff out of transition and loaded the car. I changed out of my gear and put on dry clothes (that felt good) and then had some pancakes and waited for awards.


I really needed to get a couple OWS in prior to racing and do more race specific swim sets to prepare for the start. The weather and trail condition was definitely a factor but it is what it is.


This is a great race and very well run. The race bag had lots of good stuff including great race tech shirt and beer mug. The pancakes were good and award plaques were the best I have seen.
That swim course needs to be revised so there is not a turn buoy 50 yards from the start. Very good and challenging race.