Lake Holiday Race Report

Ever get so disappointed that you just wanted to forget it? That sums up the QC Triathlon for me perfectly. I can recap the race very quickly.....just over 16 minutes of straight hyperventilation during the 600 yard swim, exhausted on the bike but managed 20.5 mph average speed, and 26 minutes on the run course after slipping in the mud on a downhill and snapping my hip. Somehow I managed an overall finishing time that was slightly faster than last year.

Having the panic issue in the open water...I committed to spending as much time practicing in the lake as I could. In the last 3 weeks, I've completed 8 OWS sessions....each time showing improvement in my comfort level. I came into the Lake Holiday Triathlon feeling better about the 500 yard swim.

After a good warm up on the bike and a quick 8 minute run, I hit the water to see what my swim day would be like. My swim warm up was short but it felt good....and I felt quite comfy in the murky water. I started in wave 2 and swam the first 100 yards non-stop and noticed I was leading the pack. I slowed to site and make the first turn....only to allow my enemy (my panic attack) to creep in. I did some breast stroke for a bit and got passed by 5 or 6 guys. After I cussed myself out for being such a sissy....I did something I haven't been able to do before....I pulled on my "big boy" tri shorts and put my face back in the water and began to swim again! Other than some hesitations to site, I managed to swim the rest of the distance without issue. My swim split for the 500 yards was 9 mins and 39 secs....much better! The biggest advantage for me was that I didn't come out of the water exhausted.

Having a good swim (for me), I was ready to hit the bike hard. The conditions were perfect for the 12.5 mi sprint ride....very little wind and only a couple of minor rollers to deal with. I knew it would be a fast ride and I wanted to push it pretty hard. I passed many people on the bike and finished with a split of 32 mins and 34 secs. This resulted in an average speed of 22.3 mph and the 7th fastest bike split overall (154 competitors).

I felt pretty good through transition and started my run feeling decent. My run pace was slower than I wanted through the first half of the 3.5 mile run. However, my legs started to fire quite well just after the turn around. My garmin showed me that I held a 7 min 5 sec pace for the last 1 and 3/4 miles of the run....giving me a finishing time of just over 25 minutes.

My final overall time was 1 hr 9 mins and change....which landed me a second place finish in my age category (13 men total). It was nice to place 2nd and get a cool award. However, the story of my day was the happiness I achieved by finally overcoming my fear in the open water.

From a training perspective, I will continue to work hard to improve and ready myself for DeWitt Crossroads Triathlon and the Hickory Grove Triathlon....both of which take place in August. Training is going well and I am particularly please to have slowly inched my weekly long run up to 9 miles. Overall run volume for each of the last 3 weeks has exceeded 24 miles. I am also making some gains on the bike....thanks to members of Team Tri Fit and our Sunday afternoon time-trials.

Keep your chin up and your spirits high. And....when you think you can't overcome something...ask yourself to reach down deep and try again. You will be amazed at how much is still inside you....ready to dig in.

Happy training!