The washing machine was definitely on. We were all swimming over each other and being grabbed left and right. The wind was creating quite a chop, and we were swimming directly into it for the first 500 meters. I like to train in chop. I know too many people who only go to the lake on good days, and they tend to do poorly in races with choppy swims. There were a lot of people in this boat at this race. I on the other hand, was ready. I found a comfortable pace and was soon passing people from the wave that started 5 minutes in front of us. When we hit the turn buoy at the 500 meter mark, there was a big bottle neck. I decided that instead of waiting, I would push through. This worked out well, and I had clear water for a bit. I had also passed a few people from the wave 10 minutes in front of me. I felt great, and was sighting well. On the way to the next buoy, I noticed a couple of blue caps, which were from the wave 15 minutes ahead of us! I was having a great swim. I rounded the final buoy, made a few more passes, and climbed the ladder to the dock. I stripped the wetsuit while running, and passed another couple of guys on the way to transition. My swim was slightly slower than normal. At Belews, I went sub-30. With the chop, I was expecting to take longer, and told Emily to look for me around 32 minutes. My prediction was pretty good. Later, I found out that a bunch of people got out of the water early or cut the buoys, because they could not handle the swim. Yes, it was cold; Yes, it was choppy; but DQing in the swim shows a major lack of preparation.

Just get more experience in the water. I love to swim, but I'm still relatively new to it, and have not yet developed my speed.

I was feeling great after a pretty good swim. I made fairly quick work of transition, but I did have a bit of difficulty with my wetsuit when it got stuck on my heels. I managed to free it quickly and the rest of transition was pretty routine. Bike mount went well, and I got up to speed pretty quickly.

Just practice more. My transitions are strong, but they could always be faster.

While setting up my transition area, I discovered that my bike computer was not working. I was not thrilled about this, but there wasn't anything I could do at that late stage, so I decided to go by feel. When I got out on the course, I got up to speed and settled into a good cadence in my aero position. After a couple of miles, There was a noticeable headwind, and after a couple of miles it picked up. I was having to work hard, but I was maintaining what I assumed to be a good speed and not getting passed, expect by one guy who was all "aeroed out" on a bike that probably cost more than my car, and some chick who didn't stay in front of me long. After about 12 miles or so, we turned, and the headwind was gone. It was time to put in some work and make up time. When I made the turn back toward the lake, I got a sweet tailwind that helped propel me onward. I also made the pass that bumped me to 4th place in my age group. I felt really good about my nutrition plan for this race. It wasn't much, just an aero bottle of HEED and a flask of Hammer Gel. I finished the HEED and took two hits off the flask. It was just about the perfect amount of calories. Overall, the bike went very well. I came off knowing my average was at least 20 mph, based on time, and my legs still felt great.

Double check the bike computer the day before the race, and have extra batteries.

T2 is always one of my big strengths. I have made passes in T2 before that are never reversed. T2 at this race went perfectly. I did everything I needed, but no more. I rode to the line with my feet out. I hopped off without losing a shoe, which is a first for me at White Lake, and ran straight to the rack. I slid the bike under, dropped the helmet, slid on the shoes, and grabbed my hat and number.

No complaints here. One of the faster T2s in the race.

I started the run feeling great. No discomfort anywhere. This was pretty much the case for the first half of the run. At the turnaround, I started to feel a little soreness in my left quad and the day had warmed up significantly. To help replace electrolytes, I drank HEED and three of the aid stations. My quad loosened up some as I ran and I found a good pace that I was able to keep until the end. I was really glad the cross the finish line.

While the amount of calories I consumed on the bike was good, I needed more electrolytes for the run, so I should increase this in the future. I felt really good about the run overall. This was my fastest 10K in a triathlon.

Food, and sitting on a bench.


The usual.


Great race, great venue, the added challenge from the cold and wind made it more fun in my opinion. Planning to be back in September for more!