Pokagon State Park Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

The sent the swim off in two waves. 1st wave was the males. 2nd wave was the females - all 18 of us. The lack of a crowd made for an easy start!

Despite having plenty of swimming space, for some reason I never got a good rhythm going on this swim. I struggled a bit with navigation at the start - had trouble spotting the bouys. Without many folks swimming around me, I was sure that I was going to swim off course. I fell into the breaststroke for a bit while I got my bearings before finally settling on sighting off the crowd of yellow swim caps up ahead. The water was a bit choppy and I managed to gulp in a big lungful of water. Breaststroke again while I sputtered. Calmed the breathing and it was back to freestyle breathing on my right side only to avoid the chop. By the turnaround I settled into a better rhythm and swam a decent second half. My goal for the swim was 27 minutes - I exited the water at around 31 minutes followed by a nearly 2 minute trudge up the big stairway to transition.

Highlight of the swim: The water was crystal clear and not too deep. About 500m left in the swim and I spotted a Bud Light can sitting on the bottom of the lake. If it had been unopened I might have stopped on the spot and swigged it!

It was my first OWS of the season. While it could have gone better I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it. Just need to get in some OWS practice.

Feet were still a little numb from the cold water and I was winded from the stairway to transition. I couldn't seem to get enough coordination to pull my feet out of the wetsuit.

I threw on my helmet and jacket. Stepped into the bike shoes and I was off to the mount line.

Still had a decent T1 time - not blazing fast but didn't linger either.

Ahhhh...the bike. This is where I psyched myself out. Coming into the race, I knew I was lacking bike fitness. My strategy was to just relax on the bike and save enough for a decent run.

I got clipped in and up to speed. Legs felt a little dead for the first few hills but once I got warmed up I settled into a nice cadance. For the most part, it was a flat course with rollers. It was a little hillier than I normally encounter but not too out of my league.

I hit the turnaround, checked my watch and saw that I was right on target for my goal time. I was still feeling good. And then the wind and rain kicked in. It seemed like I was riding into a headwind the entire second half of the ride. I felt like I had slowed to a crawl. I was dripping wet and my shoes were full of water. Coming back into the park I think I mentally threw in the towel. I was just downright miserable on the bike and I let it affect the rest of my race.

Highlight of the bike: I had a couple two or three exhiliratingly fast downhill runs. If only the whole race had been downhill!

Life has been crazy the last few months. I let my bike training slide. I was not race ready for a 25 mile bike but I felt like I could hold 17 mph and still be okay for the run. Not so much. All it took was a little wind and rain to throw me off my game. Time in the saddle is the answer to all my problems.

Little slow in T2. The grass had been cut recently and I had clippings stuck to the bottoms of my feet. I took the time to clean them off before slipping on my shoes.

As it turns out - I shouldn't have even bothered with the feet. I picked up so much muck on the run course that my feet got tore up anyway.

Oy. I knew in advance that this was a trail run with some hills so I wasn't expecting blazing fast speeds. I wasn't prepared for how hilly it was though. There seemed to be no gentle slopes - I felt like I spent half this run doing the tip-toe baby step run up steep hills (and I have the sore glutes and hammies to prove it!).

There was over two inches of rainfall the night before the race and it was raining again on race day. The trails were a big sloppy mess. I was ankle deep in water more than a few times. Other times I was ankle deep in mud. *squish, squish* with every step. In hindsite, it was kind of fun. But, at the time, it caused a lot of cursing.

I had a good first mile but slowed significantly over the next two. There was lots of walking during mile four. I caught up to the dude that I met before race start and we ended up sticking together for nearly the rest of the race. Miles five and six were better because I had some company but still slow. Durning mile five I sloshed into a muddy mess and ended up getting gunk between my shoe and my foot. I've got a nice big spot on the outside of my heel that is rubbed raw.

Highlight of the run: The course came out of the woods into a grassy area. There was a nice pond with georgeous, giant lilly pads. I could hae stopped and stayed for awhile. Beautiful.

For some reason I got it into my head that there was no point in killing myself on the run, that I wasn't going to make my goal, that I couldn't do any better than this. I mentally chickened out.

I wouldn't have been displeased with my time if I had really given an all out effort. But I didn't. I gave up. I'm really disappointed about that.

Turned in my chip, got some water and a finishers medal. I got my gear packed up and loaded then grabbed dry, warm clothes and got changed. Then it was over to the pavillion for pancakes! Best post-race food ever.


More heart, less brain. Bottome line: I talked myself out of racing.


This was a well run race. The water was cold but clean and beautiful. The roads were a little rough but well marked and staffed with volunteers. The run was a crazy, challenging mess. It may not have been fun while the race was in progress but somehow I still came out of there feeling like I had a blast - bad race and all. I'm already ready to take my revenge on this course next year.