Lake Havasu Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

In a word, pathetic. I have been working on swim technique all winter, and have made a lot of improvements, but they don't matter a bit if I can't get my mind straight on race day. Four or five strokes in, I felt uncomfortable and couldn't keep my head in the water. I felt my HR climbing, and couldn't get my breath. It wasn't a feeling of panic, but I wasn't right. I thought I would try to make my way to the first buoy and collect myself. When I reached it, I saw that my HR was at 152 - for a swim, it should be in the mid-thirties. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. The best theories I have are that I was in a new full wetsuit that I have only worn once before, and my chest was more constricted than I am used to, and that my HR was climbing every time the chilly water was getting into my nose.

I turned the buoy to head into the channel, and the sun was so bright that I couldn't even see the channel. My goggles were fogging and there was a severe glare - this didn't help mattters. I started to come to grips with the fact that wasn't going to be my day in the water - I had already punted away the swim, and was just looking to get through it and hope that the bike would go better.

I awkwardly made my way around the rest of the course, head out of the water, and way behind the field. I came out of the water disappointed, but not traumatized.

Practice a little before the start, instead of just bobbing in the water. I might have realized that I was having issues and had a chance to correct them before the horn. I also might have tried using nose plugs in practice. If I could have prevented the cold water from getting into my nose, it may have helped. I know I can swim okay, but open water variables prevent me from showing it on a lot of race days.

This was a long transition for a few reasons. The shore was extremely rocky, so I was having trouble getting my footing, and stepping very delicately. I took some extra time to apply sunscreen, and there was a long distance to walk the bike up to the mount line. Also, since I was so far behind the field, I didn't feel the urgency of having competitors around me.

Nothing - it really wouldn't have mattered in this situation.

Before I left transition, I talked to J. Even though I had a rough time in the water, I told her that I was over it and the bike is a whole new day. We had driven the course the night before, and I knew there were some challenges, but I felt ready.

The course is a eight mile out and back, all rolling hills, with two detours into neighborhoods that make up the additional distance.

Three miles in, you turn to go into the first neighborhood. There are some decent short hills in the the development, and some tight turns. I watched my speed and stayed at a comfortable pace. I knew there were bigger hills in the other neighborhood, and didn't want to be spent when I got to the steeper stuff.

The five mile section of the out and back was quick - rolling hills and a nice tailwind. I was moving quickly, making some passes, and feeling strong. I probably should have taken the opportunity to drink a little more in this section, but I don't think it hurt me too bad. I made the turnaround and prepared for the climbs in the Crystal Beach section.

Turning into the second neighborhood, I knew it was about to get tough. I was looking at the faces of the people on their way out, trying to gauge how rough they had had it. I knew it was going to be rough, but my hope was that it may hurt me less than others, and I may be able to close the gap that I had given away on the swim. The section had very steep climbs and descents, but they were very short. It was good because if you timed it right and geared properly, you could use momentum to get a good way up the next hill before having to resort to the lower gears. I did well with this with one exception. On one particularly steep climb, I dropped my chain near the top. Instead of putting the chain back on and trying to get going on such a steep uphill, I rolled the bike the 20-30 steps to the peak and put the chain back on there.

As I was coming out of the back half of the neighborhood, I was thankful to have the triple, because I needed to resort to the small ring on a couple of occasions. I passed some people who were walking their bikes, which made me feel a little better. I really felt that the work I have done over the winter on gearing, power, and getting out of the saddle (which I did a few times) showed some benefits in this section.

Coming out of tghe Crystal Beach section, I was relieved. However, the challenges on the bike were not quite over. The tailwind that we had going out was now a headwind, and made the going slow. I managed my gearing and cadence as well as I could, being mindful of the fact that I would be running soon, and rolled into T2 a little faster than I had estimated.

Drink a little more. I finished my aero bottle of Infinit, and refilled at the turnaround, but I should have been well into my second bottle before getting to T2. Other than that, it was a good bike leg (with the exception of dropping the chain).

Another somewhat slow transition. I didn't feel like I was within striking distance of anyone, and didn't feel like 30-60 seconds one way or another was going to make much difference.

Heading out of transition, the run is along a path next to the channel. The first 1/4 mile is through sand, then up some stairs, and over the London Bridge (yes, THAT London Bridge). The course is out and back, so the return is the same way.

I had trouble in the sand. I don't pick my feet up high when I run, so I was shuffling in the sand a bit. I saw J along the boardwalk path leading to the bridge, which gave me a boost. After crossing the bridge on the out, I started experienceing some muscle ache in the middle of my back on both sides. The aches lasted for about 10 minutes or so. I remember the same thing happening in a couple of races last year - still haven't quite figured out what they are.

I stopped at the aid stations for water and Gatorade as it was starting to get hot. My pace was not where I wanted it, especially after integrating mile intervals over the winter. I thought I would be faster, and I might be able to catch some people, but it wasn't to be. I made the turnaround and headed back. I was tired and ready for the race to be over.




I might have been able to push the pace more, but with no one in sight to chase, I lacked the discipline to do it. I guess you can say that by falling behind so far on the swim, I ended up hurting my run a couple of hours later.

A quick refill of Gatorade, cheered Dane in on the run, congratulated Blaine, and headed back to the hotel.


The swim kind of messed up the day. Even though I recovered from it and had decent bike and run segments, if I were a little more toward the thick of the pack, I would have had more people to target and catch, and been more motivated to push harder and go faster. It was a race I was doing for fun, and I might have approached it a little too much that way.


Overall, it was an okay race for me. I wish I could get another chance at the swim - being successful there would have changed the complexion of the whole day. I feel good about the bike, as I was able to see improvements from a winter on the trainer. I was a little disappointed in the run until I put it in perspective. I was comparing the pace to what I do on a standalone run, and it looked awfully slow. When I started looking at times from past events, I was able to see that I am a little faster than I was at some similar events from last year. Overall, it was okay, but not exactly the race I was hoping for.