There were probably 150 or so men in my wave. I picked a spot as far to the right of the "fast" line as I could. Intending to stay on the edge of the mayhem. This worked just okay. There was a bit of a pinch point formed by docks near the start. Once I was past the dock it was a clear shot to the anchored patio boat. Even trying to stay outside of the main flow of traffic it was still a very crowded race. I was elbowed many times as I was squeezed between other swimmers who were not swimming parallel lines. More than once I came up on someone doing breast stroke or an easy back stroke that I had to move around. I passed a lot of swimmers in the first half of the swim. At the turn I outside and it was at least 5 wide. I swam the longer distance around, but didn't have to endure too many elbows and kicks. On the return stretch I just tried to be smooth and maintain good breathing. I typically breathe bilateral, but the sun was low to my left on the return so I did most of my breathing to the right. It's funny that I didn't notice the sun so much on the way out to the turnaround. As we approached the last 50 yards or so I caught a moving road block of swimmers. 5 or 6 across and all swimming about the same speed. I just pulled up and followed them in rather than forcing my way through.

Maybe try starting closer to the front and sprinting the first 200 before settling into a routine

There is a long way up to transition from the lake. The race director had emphasized not to "run" up to and in transition. So I was walking for the first 150 to 200 feet. Then since everyone else was jogging past me I started jogging too. I wrapped the goggles and ear plugs in my swim cap (as suggested by one of the Asphalt Junkies) and held it in one hand while pulling the suit off. It worked like a charm and those items were all in the sleeve where I left them when I returned later to clean up my transition area.

jog right from the swim exit and shave of the 15 seconds I lost while walking today.

My transition spot was very close to the bike mount/dismount line so getting there was fast. I leapt on the bike at a jog and rolled past several folks trying to clip in before starting. The ride through the campground was good, although there are plenty of pavement issues with bumps. Some of the climbs were tough but the descents were a blast. My left calf started to cramp at about 4.5 miles on the bike. It held off going full

Ouch! Cramps in both calves as soon as I started going uphill. Jog/stretch calves/jog/walk/stretch calves/jog/walk/stretch until the first mile mark. slow jog from there, gradually increasing speed as my calves settled down. Coming downhill after the turnaround was easier and I could open up the throttle some. Picked up quite a bit over the final mile. Finished very hard.

Train for hills and hydrate properly beforehand. Getting a good night's sleep would have been good too.

Walked around trying to catch my breath then got some water. Light stretching then gathered my things from transition and grabbed some water and sliced orange.


Insufficient training for the hills and lack of hydration and sleep the preceding day


It's a fun local race, and raises money for a good cause. I'm glad I did it.