Race Report – Blue Lake Triathlon 2009
June 14th, 2009 | by fredrik.eriksson |Today I raced my first Olympic distance triathlon at Blue Lake. I didn’t know exactly what to expect but figured 2 hours and 20 minutes was a realistic goal. If everything fell into place, 2:15 was a possibility.
I finished in 2:13:31. 37th overall (out of 444) and 6th of 47 in my age group. Not only am I very happy with the result, I’m flabbergasted that the swim leg is what made it possible. Here’s how it went down (some pictures mixed in):
Arrived early to set up my transition area and get in a good warm-up. Sipped some GU2 and felt good.
Swim – 1500 m – 27:40 – 181st Place
This is still my weakness and based on pool times I thought 30 minutes was an aggressive goal. If figured if I hit dry land with a time like that, the 2:15 finish was within reach.
Triathlon swim starts are alway chaotic and something always goes wrong. My goal to pace myself to allow for bi-lateral breathing went out the window after ten strokes. So it was right-side breathing on every other stroke. I can’t say that it was easy, but I felt in control throughout and never reverted to breaststroke, which was a first!
I have no way of determining my time when I swim but was sure I had passed 30 minutes when I rounded the last buoy and headed for the beach. Imagine my surprise when I stepped ashore and my Timex showed 27:40. That’s when I realized this could be a really good Olympic debut.
T1 – 2:27
Not much to say. I got rid of the wetsuit and was off with my bike. Didn’t waste too much time.
Bike – 40 km – 1:00:35 – 22nd Place
My strongest leg of the day. I decided to go hard from the start and never slowed down. I might have pushed it a tad too hard because the legs were VERY tight at the end. But it’s the longest part of the race, so this is where you can make up some serious time. I passed a lot of competitors and moved up to 51st place overall. Solid performance.
T2 – 1:46
As soon as I got off the bike, I realized the run would be tough. My legs were not in good shape. To add insult to injury, I must have looked like a headless chicken trying to find my transition area. Maybe there’s a leg-brain connection that causes your brain to short-circuit…
Finally, some helpful spectator pointed out that I was getting warm and I spotted my towel.
A weak transition, but it didn’t really affect my overall position.
Run – 10 km – 41:02 – 33rd Place
This is my strongest discipline and I fully expected to break 40 minutes without much trouble. That’s why 41:02 was the biggest disappointment of the day. My legs were heavy getting off the bike and I never found the speed or the form I’m used to.
Two lessons:
1) Maybe hold back the last 500 yards on the bike and start stretching the calves and hamstrings.
2) Do more bike-run transitions in training.
Finally, I’d like to point out the members of my “support” group who came out to cheer me on. It really does make a difference to have familiar faces and voices shout encouragement as you struggle with the pain and transition from one event to the next.
Xan, the kids, and my two brothers-in-law made up the family contingent. Navy came with cowbell in hand.
Sven and Marcus were there (Sven, I look forward to racing WITH you at Hagg Lake).
Last, but not least, Lisa and Jeff. Without them, I wouldn’t have all these cool pictures (Xan took some, but she has to kids to look after). You guys are awesome and make every race more enjoyable.
