Lake Marion Triathlon Race Report

Not much to say about today’s race because I didn’t finish…

My dad and I left for Lakeville around 5:00. I got the best spot on the transition rack, got my packet, got marked up and was feeling great and ready to race hard and fast.  The wind kicked up as the start time neared and it was only a matter of time until the rain followed.

Swim:

It was only a 400yd swim so I opted to not wear a wetsuit. It was a bit chilly standing around and waiting but it felt nice diving into the water. I started off strong and made it to the first turn buoy in first place.  On the way to the buoy that turned us back into shore I was passed by a group of 3 kids who swam for Lakeville, but I was staying close to them. We rounded the last buoy and the boys beat me to shore by about 25 yards.

T1: I ran quickly up to the shore and caught and passed all of those younger swimmers.  It was fast, and I was the first person to start the bike.

Bike: I was in the lead and hopped on my bike. Right away, literally 100 yards into it, we left the park. There were cones splitting off to the left and right.  The ones on the left had a big yellow sign saying “Run course” with an arrow, so I stayed inside the cones pulling off to the right. No volunteers yelled at me which way to go or that I had done something wrong, so I kept going.  As of then, I was going the wrong way and kept biking for 5 miles,  I KNEW it didn’t feel right, but I biked hard just incase I was that far out front. Well, I stopped at a corner and no bikers came for a few minutes, so I knew my day was over.  I biked back to the park to turn in my chip, the race director pretty much only said “sorry man, good luck at the rest of your races”, and my dad and I left for home.

Thoughts:

• I swam great, and biked well into the wind for the 4-5 miles that I did.
• To all future volunteers: BE LOUD.
• In the end, it’s my responsibility to know the course, but it’s super annoying when volunteers don’t do what their job is. Athletes do rely on them.
• Maybe I’ll race tomorrow to make up for today…