As I mentioned in the course description, the swim leg was changed to a 1500M run because of unhealthy bacteria levels in the lake. So the triathlon was actually a duathlon. I was disappointed because I'd spent most of the winter focusing on improving my swimming. But the race organizers made the right call.

I ran at about a 6:30/mile pace for the first 1/2 mile or so, and slowed down to about a 7-minute pace by the end. My legs never really loosened up. In hindsight, that was to be the least of my problems...

I probably should have done more of a warm-up run before the start, especially since the first run was a fast-paced 1500 meters.

T1 almost ended the race for me. Beforehand, I had scoped out a less-traveled route around the back of the transition area in order to avoid the congestion. Big Mistake. Just before I reached my bike, I awkwardly tripped over a curb and twisted my right ankle (call me "Mr. Smooth"). Somehow, I managed to limp over to my bike, and I made it out of T1 in one piece...

No shortcuts! Always follow those little white chalk arrows completely through the transition area!

After nearly snapping my ankle in half in T1, I felt fortunate just to get on my bike and start pedaling. But things quickly took another turn for the worse. After I changed gears for the first time, my rear derailleur suddenly downshifted all the way down to the smallest sprocket... "What the...?!!" I immediately shifted back up again. And it happened again. I tried again - same result. A few miles down the road, I finally stopped, got off my bike, and tried tightening the cable on the derailleur. Same result. Exasperated, I had to hold the rear gear shift lever in place with my right hand for the entire 40K bike ride! My fingers, hand, and forearm were completely numb by the end. The most difficult part was trying to hold low gear in place while going up the hill at Mile 15. I couldn't stand up and get any leverage. Argh. Meanwhile, I lost focus and didn't pace myself well at all. My legs eventually paid the price.



Check and double-check EVERY bolt on my bike on race day! This is the second straight race-day mechanical issue I've had -- very frustrating. Everything worked fine the day before the race. It turns out the bolt on the gear shift lever had mysteriously worked itself loose overnight. The bike gremlins must have been working overtime...

No mishaps during T2 -- at least none that I remember. I was mostly worried about how my sprained ankle would hold up during the 10K run.

My race couldn't have gotten much worse at this point, could it? Well, fortunately, my sprained ankle wasn't much of a factor, and I managed to hold onto an 8-minute mile pace for a while. But my quads tightened up at about 2 miles out, and I slowed down a bit. Then, at the halfway turnaround point, I noticed a burning sensation down on my left ankle -- the velcro timing chip strap was chafing! I initially considered swapping the strap over to my right ankle, but that ankle was ALREADY sprained. So I just tried to tough it out -- I didn't think it was that bad. By the time I reached the finish line, I was hurting a bit. It was then that I looked down and saw a thick line of blood trickling into my shoe. Ugh. That was a fitting way to end the day.

I guess I need to wrap some sort of tape around my ankle before I put on the that darned timing chip strap. This is the second straight race in which I've had an issue with chafing.

I sat down on some steps in the shade and drank two bottles of water and a snow cone. I looked around for some tequilla, but couldn't find any.


Ummm... (see above)


The race itself was fine. The organizers made the right call turning it into a duathlon. But maybe a change in location should be considered in the future(?) Duck poop and triathlons do not mix well.

As for my own performance, I'm just going to write it off as "one of those days." I'm simply happy to have survived to finish the race in one piece...