Lake Logan Olympic Triathlon

This past weekend, we trekked out to Lake Logan in western NC for my first Olympic distance triathlon. The course was set up as follows:

1) 1500 meter swim in Lake Logan
2) 1/2 mile run to the transition area (due to low water levels in the lake)
3) 40 K bike (a little under 25 miles)
4) 10 K run
5) pass out and wake up next week or so

I came far from setting any course records...in fact, my times were just good enough to put me in the top 75% (as in only 25% of the males had longer times). But after the way it began, I was more than thrilled to finish the thing.

The swim is by far my weakest event and without realizing, I started off much faster than my normal pace. After the first few hundred meters, I thought I was going to die. I had to roll over and back stroke it and tread water for a minute or so just to catch my breath. To be honest, I was really doubting my ability to finish. I managed to start up again and was extremely slow for the next couple hundred meters. Then, I finally got going at my normal pace and finished up the swim in ~41 minutes.

I jogged SLOWLY back to the transition area and put on my bike clothes. Finally, I was in my most comfortable event. The bike went really well and I finished in 1:11.

I changed into my running shoes and took off for the 10K. In case any of you are wondering, it's much tougher to run a 10K after a swim & bike than it is starting fresh. I came in at ~56 minutes (more than 10 minutes slower than my fastest training run).

At any rate, I finished in 2 hours 58 minutes, and I'm pretty sure I've never done anything this physically grueling in my life. Fortunately, I was accompanied by a good friend, Eric Aldrich, who finished in a much more respectable 2 hours 28 minutes.

Most importantly, I was supported by an amazing wife and three beautiful children who cheered my on the entire way. The kids really enjoyed the race and were completely fascinated by all of the people running by and passing through on bikes.