Clear Lake International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I went out with a pace I thought I could keep the entire race and managed to do just that. I cut my hands as I was getting in the water, wading in three foot water so as not to cut my feet. Cut my hands again as the swim started when my hands hit rocks on the bottom. I know I don't have gorilla length arms, just a super shallow start on rocks. Didn't hurt during the race but the day after I have no less than six cuts or scrapes on on my hands. Not too much bumping and kicking during the start or through out the rest of the swim. Stayed on the outside for most of the race and didn't draft at all. Swam through good part of the previous swim wave. My average pace makes me think that the course was a little short.

Nothing.

Getting out of the water was a little slow. Everything else was okay except getting my bike off the rack. Except after I was let back into transition post-race, my goggles were gone. Probably my own fault for not taking better care.

Nothing . . . put a lock on my goggles? Practice transitioning with shoes clipped in.

Started out not having reset my timer/odometer on bike computer and was fiddling with for a mile because I inadvertently reset certain settings. Once that first mile was over, I got into a rhythm and kept an even cadence throughout. My average pace was good and the effort was a little harder than expected. I was passed by more people in my age group than I had passed but was probably passed by more people in later swim waves.

I had one gel with about 15 minutes left till back in transition. I wasn't sure how much I drank during the ride but once I got home, I realized I had only drunk about 24 oz. on the bike, which may explain my problems on the run.

Drink more frequently. Think about getting clips aerobars for my road bike . . . or next season, a new bike. Train more on the bike.

All went fair. Duct tape on the left heel stayed on throughout the swim and bike.

Nothing.

Quads were sore from minute one. Hoped they would loosen up by mile 1, but no luck. Paces slowed continuously through the run going from 7:45 on the first mile to 8:45 on the last mile. Started walking through water stations at mile 2, drinking gatorade and dumping self with water each time. Got passed by Matt B at mile 1.5 (who finished 11th) and knew I couldn't keep up with him. Had three others in my age group pass me (including trin2bfast) and I may have passed 2 or 3 in my age group. My goal was to keep it 8:00 pace or under but wasn't going to happen.

Had some stomach cramps during the run which was a combination of drinking too much during the run and gas/bloating from prior night's dinner.
From mile 4 on, the quads were were on fire. The blisters weren't a problem on the left foot though I thought was getting a blister on the right. Ends up it was opposite, got another blister underneath duct tape on the left and right heel was fine.

Drink more on the bike. Do some more brick workouts with high intensity rides to get legs better conditioned for the run. Lose weight.

Stretched a little bit but I really was tired and sore. I was really zonked and didn't feel like walking around, eating or talking. Just wanted to lay down in the shade. Drank water, gatorades, sodas, ate some watermelon and slice of pizza. Took ah hour-long nap later in the afternoon around 3:30.


Heat . . . heat . . . poor hydration on the bike. I think most people's run was a little slower than usual as a result of the heat.


Pretty well organized and good volunteer support. Will do it again next year as I like the distance and is a good set-up for late season races. Only suggestion/comment is to improve or move the swim start/finish. Too many people got their feet cut on the rocks.