Well the swim was a struggle and that is being kind. I had been getting in a lot of swimming at the highschool this year but they started rennovating the pool a couple weeks ago so I haven't been in the water for three weeks!
Also this was my first open water swim this year and first with the wetsuit this year. That made the first 400 Meters very umcomfortable and difficult. I felt good in my warmup swim but once the horn sounded it all went south.
I couldn't get comfortable and when I finally did get my rhythm down my navigation was horrid. I probably swam an extra hundred yards!
That said I was surprised to get out of the water in 0:34:xx. The official swim time did not stop until crossing the mat into transition which was 50-75 yards up a hill.
I did this race two years ago and had a swim of 44:02 so there was a big improvement so I can not be totally disappointed although I know I can do better

I need more open water/wetsuit swims so I'll be joining the group at the biweekly Lake Terramugus races to get in more time in the water.

No official transition time listed from the results but according to my watch I was in transistion for 2:32.
Had problems getting my wetsuit off. Even though I had practiced getting the suit off during the week it is different on wobbly legs.
Once I got the suit off though things went fine. Shoes on, helmet on and strapped, gu & spare tube in pocket and out of transistion. I did have trouble getting my second shoe clipped in so I didn't get up to speed as fast as possible.

Not much. With practice for open water swims will come practice in getting the wetsuit off.

Earlier in the season I raced aduathlon and had a dismal bike ride so I was looking to improve here on a longer and more difficult course. I was hoping to average at least 16 mph and when I finished that was exactly what my computer read.
THe hills are rolling with a couple long descents and a few long climbs.
Dropped my chain once on the ride which probably cost me 1:30 with geting it fixed and getting back up to speed.
I used Accelerade for this race for the first time. I had been using it for long weekend workouts with no problems so I thought it would work out for me. It did on the bike but ........
The initial descent went very well and the climbing was muc better than the duathlon I did earlier so overall not a bad ride though again I know I can do better.
Two years ago the bike took 1:48:47 so this year I cut 14 minutes off it so once again I improved.

Ride more hills but due to work and my kids soccer that is difficult. Also need to get the bike into the shop for an adjustment so the chain will stop falling off in races!!!!!!

Forgot to hit my watch going into transisiotn but I think my transition ran about 1:00 to 1:30.

Nothing, everything went according to plan

I mentioned the Accelerade on the bike...once I started running I developed a stitch/cramp almost immediately. I had used the accelerade on a couple brick workouts using the same diluted down mixture and amount so I am not sure if it was the Accelerade or just the increased intensity of a full race but the first lap really hurt. I took one cup of water at the beginning just to rinse my mouth and the started the painful shuffle for my first loop.
The first 3.1 miles were very painful and I could never get into a rhythm.
Once I started the second loop though things started to work out. I was able to get rid of the cramps by concentrating on my breathing and doing some stetching while I jogged along. After about a half mile into the second loop I was fine and was able to really pick up the pace. I am sure I ran a negative split for the second loop and finished the run in 54:41 which was a10 minute improvement over my time of two years ago!

Need to do more bricks but I was very happy that I got through my initial difficulties and had a pretty good run.

Got rid of my chip, grabbed cheeseburger and then had to leave immediately to get home and cleaned up in time to coach a 1:30 soccer game!!!!!


Overall I am pretty happy with my time 3:07:45 is a big improvement over 3:39:29 which was my overall time two years ago. I was little depressed after the race but once I got home and checked my time from two years ago I knew I had made improvements and I just have to be patient.
I need to swim more and get in more bike/run bricks. That will help the most. Now that soccer season is over (I do enjoy coaching but allow me to say Yippeeeeee! More time to ride!!!)
I think my nutrition plan is okay I just need to get used to it at race pace so I will have to pick up the intensity of some of my workouts. I probably need to swallow less lake water as well!


This is a great race, the director, Tom Wilkas is a triathlete and does a great job. If you want a challenging race, this is the one!