2012 Heart of the Lakes Triathlon

I am not sure what is going on with my legs this year.  Is it the heat, the humidity, did I not put enough time in earlier in the year?  I am not sure, but I don't feel strong coming off the bike this year.  Basically, the only race I felt strong coming off the bike was Lake Minnetonka, which has probably been my best race of the year, up to this point.
 
I am not a fast runner, I would never claim to be, but I know how I feel when I run faster, over when I run slower.  This year my legs just feel tired coming off the bike.  I think I am well conditioned for a 10-15 mile race pace bike and then a fast, for me, 5K run.  Anything longer and my legs feel cooked off the bike.  I have never been a fast distance runner, but this year I feel more sluggish than years passed.  I would chalk it up to the fact that I spent less time in Feb - April, on both the run and the bike.  Not much I can do about it now.  Just something I had been thinking about this year.

I waffeled on two things before the race started on Sunday.  The first thing was my disc wheel and the second thing was wearing a wetsuit.  I got a flat on my disc at some point after the Lake Minnetonka Triathlon.  I noticed the flat while walking my bike back to my car.  It has taken me a few weeks to buy a tire and get around to changing it.  I finished changing the tire on Saturday night and I was a little unsure about the mounting job I did.  I was a little leary about riding on the wheel.  About an hour before HOLT started, I walked my bike back to the car and swapped the 808 for the Sub-9 Disc.  Everything worked out ok, so it was not a bad decision to make the change.
The other decision, the wetsuit, I made about 20 minutes before start time.  HOLT is not a USAT event so there are no rules about wetsuits.  An informal temperature measurement gave the temp to be 82!  I was concerned about overheating, but if I don't wear the wetsuit, when others can, I am losing a possible advantage.  I went with the wetsuit.  It was warm, but not as bad as I thought it would be.  I think I was hotter running the long run from the swim exit to my bike with the wetsuit halfway on.

I think the wave I was in, Wave 5, consisted of both male and female age group 30-34 and 35-39.  It was probably about 100 people.  I got on the outside as usual and avoided most of the traffic.  I had an uneventful swim, which is good thing, and was 5th fastest in my AG, out of 17.  More on my AG later.

The bike had more hills than I remembered.  There are some decent climbs on it.  The temperature during the ride did not seem too bad until the last half or so.  I felt pretty decent for most of the ride.  I pushed it hard and it was my fastest ride of the year.  I do believe that some people in my AG took advantage of the fact that it was a non-USAT team race.  It appeared that there was some drafting on the course.  I don't care if it is a USAT or non-USAT race, I don't like drafting.  I think it is cheating.  Unless it is an ITU race and it is in the rules and ok, it is cheating.

Now to the run, I got off the bike and I was already hot and my legs felt heavy.  The run course is around Lake Pleasant with very little shade.  It is not flat, it has longer climbs that are low grade, so they are draining.  It was a tougher run than I remember.  Luckily, and thankfully, they have a number of water stops and they have COLD water.  Some cups even had ice in them.  A couple of stops also had sponges with cold water.  Having cold water, and sponges, made the run possible.

I felt like I barely finished the run.  I was cooked.  Luckily, this race has a great supply of cold beverages and food at the end.  They also have "showers" setup.  Basically, a wood structure with some water spraying out, but it provides some relief.

As you can see below, I was a little slower than 2008, mostly due to the run.  23.2MPH remains, to this date, my fastest average bike speed in a triathlon or duathlon.  The 22.7MPH average this year is my fastest average this year. 

As I finish this post, I have already finished Chisago Lakes Sprint Tri.  I am running a little behind.

2012 Heart of the Lakes Triathlon Results
Swim (880yards) - 14:42 (1:40/100yds)
T1 - 3:00
Bike (21miles) - 55:37 (22.7MPH)
T2 - 1:40
Run (5.3miles) - 46:07 (8:42/mi, see my run from '08.  This run was slow.)
Total - 2:01:03
Overall - 102/292
AG - 7/17
Pace - 4:31/mi

2008 Heart of the Lakes Triathlon Results
Swim (880yards) - 16:42 (1:54/100yds)
T1 - 2:57
Bike (21miles) - 54:13 (23.2MPH, fastest average in a triathlon)
T2 - 2:02
Run (5.3miles) - 40:58 (7:44/mi)
Total - 1:56:50
Overall - 151/460
AG - 14/39
Pace - 4:22/mi