i love open water swimming! always have, always will. maybe my surfing and windsurfing background helps or maybe it's the other way around. either way, i enjoyed the swim to the max.
this was my first OW experience in a race and i couldn't have felt more at home. no problems at all with sighting, drafting, pacing. i never considered myself a fast swimmer, but i've got to say - this experience is very encouraging for me. apparently being fast in the pool isn't really all that it takes. i saw a group of people veer off the course so far they had to be stopped by a kayak and herded back. there's a lesson - if you find somebody to draft off make sure they know where they're going!

nothing

this transition sucked! i'm pretty good at taking off the wetsuit (done it thousands of times with many different ones)

the problem was that the path between the racks to the bike start was very narrow. i got stuck behind somebody who decided to walk the bike, and unfortunately i was set up almost as far away from the bike start as one could be.

come earlier, get a better spot.

leave my goggles and swim cap on until i'm out of the top of the wetsuit. changing from hand to hand was awkward. didn't cost me any time, but it was stupid.

biking is definitely my worst discipline. i guess i'm just too new at it to be any good. i sure was glad to have that triple front!

another thing is that i have no idea how much cornering my armadillo tires will take. they're the equivalent of tank tracks and about as far from racing tires as you can get. i hit 46 mph on the downhill back to the lake and passed a guy in a turn. i wish i knew if i was being foolhardy or well within what the bike/tires can do.

NOT go out the day before the race at noon in 90 degrees and scout out the whole bike course. plus, my friend had a flat on the descent, so i did the climb up to the pass 1 1/2 times.

maybe invest in a pair of racing tires again? my first experience was lousy. (Specialized Mondo S-Works) the rear one blew up on the first ride after only 45 miles, so i'm out about $90, because i can't just use one of them. $2 per mile is a bit much.

mine must've been close to the worst transition time.

everything went wrong. i got stuck (again!) behind a guywho couldn't immediately spot is shoes. how hard can it be to remember a rack number for 2 hours?

i had rolled up my socks to make it easier for me to get into them (i bike without socks). when i tried that before it was a great time saver, because i knew where the front and the back of the socks were. well - now i didn't and i didn't realize that i didn't until i had one of them on. upside down of course! pretty damn stupid. that little move cost me at least a minute.

still - transitions are not my forte...

not roll socks.

maybe get speed laces. but then again maybe not. i like my shoes tied just so. gotta check the prices and experiement.

it's tough to pace oneself in a race at 6000' when all the training happened at sea level. the legs want to move at pace they're accustomed to, but the lungs just can't provide the air.

i had a bad moment when i choked on some Gatorade. i don't like to walk through the aids stations and i never had a problem with drinking while running before. i hyperventilated for about a minute and got close to puking.

but i never stopped running. i'm such a badass.

jeez - train at elevation maybe? usually running is what i'm good at. up there i didn't feel so hot.

haha. jump in the lake.


1) the altitude
2) the heat
3) the dumbasses in the transition area (that includes me)


i wish they would turn down the speakers a bit at the finish. it's a debilitating to wait 1 hour for friends to come in and not be able to hear oneself think.

other than that - a great event! not an easy one, especially if you don't live and train at altitude, but well organized and it's a classic!
(i didn't know it when i signed up, but the Donner Lake has been around for 24 years! that's ancient, considering the young age of the sport)

overall, it's recommended. the enviroment is beautiful, there's tons to do if you want to plan a vacation around it and the people are great. rain is highly unlikely. just be prepared to gasp for air like a fish out of the water climbing up to Donner Pass!