The surprisingly strong winds made for a very interesting swim. Lake Tahoe looked more like the ocean than a lake. By my untrained eye, the swells were in the three to four foot range. You be the judge.
It was fun trying to body surf the swells during warm up. Water temperature was comfortable, although the wind was a bit chilly. They decided to cut the long course swim to one lap, I assume due to the hazardous conditions. My voice was the lone "boo" amongst a chorus of cheers. The swim was a bit frustrating, but wasn't that hard if you were a smart swimmer. The keys were to judge the wind/current and adjust the 1st and 3rd legs accordingly, sight effectively, and try to time your breaths so you were not breathing at the trough of the swells. It was not a perfect swim for me, I still ended up breast stroking on two occasions to spit out some water or find the next buoy. I was 9th overall on the beach, and 15th overall/2nd in age group after the long run to T1. As has been typical for me this season, the swim was my fastest discipline in the race.
The bike course was both challenging and fun. Here I am starting the bike course:
After the climb up Tunnel Creek Fire Road, the Flume Trail was a lot of fun. This section felt like a bit like an individual TT. I passed a couple people and got passed by a couple people, but mostly rode on my own as fast as I could. I was feeling good until we started the climb out of Marlette Lake to the Tahoe Rim Trail. I forgot that this is a tough climb. The Tahoe Rim Trail continues to gain elevation until you reach the switchback downhill to Tunnel Creek Fire Road. I bombed the downhills, especially Tunnel Creek Fire Road. It felt good to rocket passed several people that had gone around me many miles before. I entered T2 several seconds behind two others in my age group, and left T2 even with them. Unfortunately, they ran away from me within the first quarter mile of the run.
The run course is pretty fun. It is very technical with short rises, bridges, logs, turns, etc. I ran about as fast as I could without blowing up. I wasn't feeling too bad after the first lap, so I slowly started to increase my pace. One positive to take away from my experience on the run is that my second lap was a few minutes faster than my first.
Here's the obligatory finish line photo:
A good result for me. Swim time 18:50, bike 2:23:54, run 1:02:20, total 3:45:04 9th in my age group, 12 minutes behind 8th place.
The Xterra season is over and I ended up 11th in the Western Region in my age group.
Thanks to my father in law for the pictures, and thanks to my brother for the coaching.
