It rained for few days leading up to the race, but thankfully it was clear and sunny on race morning, The temperature was in the low 40's at the race start, but at least it wasn't raining. The lake level wasn't too low either.
After checking in, setting up in transition, and warming up with a quick jog it was time to get in the water. The water wasn't just cold... it was feet burning, hand stinging, ice cream headache cold. My feet eventually went numb, but the ice cream headache wouldn't stop.
They called us up to the start and we huddled together like penguins. Soon the horn sounded and we began our 0.5 mile swim, 16 mile mountain bike, 3.5 mile run adventure. Once the race started, the cold faded out of my mind and wasn't a factor. I felt good on the swim and cruised out of the water in 2nd place in my age group and 14th overall.
A quick transition and I was out on the bike with the lead group in my age group. The course was very fast with a couple muddy sections. I got passed a lot on the first lap, then held my own on the second lap. I came off the bike 11th in my age group and had a good transition before starting the run.
I held my own on the run. I felt pretty good. I tried to reel in the next place in my age group but came up about 16 seconds short.
I ended up 11th in my age group and 64th overall. Results are here.
Photos are here.
Swim split : 0:12:01, 14th fastest split
Bike split: 1:18:27, 72nd fastest split
Run split: 0:36:44, 98th fastest split
Overall time: 2:07:22
My bike and I were pretty filthy - a fun, muddy event!
