Lifetime Fitness Olympic Race Report

Below is my race report for the Lifetime Fitness Oly from July 12, 2008.

Prerace: My family and I arrived in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon after a 4 hour drive from Des Moines. We went and picked up my packet and walked around the expo for a while to pass a little time. After packet pickup we went down to the race course so I can familiarize myself with transitions, swim course, bike course, and run course. The swim was just a triangle and didn't look too intimidating. The bike looked pretty technical with a few quick steeps climbs and quite a few sharp turns. Some parts of the bike course needed a little road work as well. The run course was a 2-loop trail that was flat. After the review of the course we grabbed some dinner at Perkins - I had grilled chicken on top of rice with a side of broccoli - not too bad for a franchised dining establishment.

Race morning: Got up about 5:00 and ate my PB and J sandwich and yogurt and got ready to head out to the course. I got my bike set up and headed out of transition as it closed at 6:45. It was a wave start so I wasn't slated to go until 8:00 - nothing like standing around waiting to go - I was more anxious than nervous. My wave didn't end up starting until 8:45.

Swim: As I stated earlier it was a wave start with 3 second intervals between athletes. As I headed into the water I made sure to start slower than normal and build up speed as I got going. I felt very relaxed as I approached the first turnaround and only ran into a few swimmers heading out. There was a bit more traffic as I rounded the turn and got kicked right in the face, but nothing too terrible. As I rounded the 2nd turn to head back to the beach I picked up my speed and ran into a bit more traffic and started to get a bit tired with 400 meters to go. Managed to make it to the beach OK and PR'd my swim - 33 minutes. I was really happy with the swim and my sighting was right on target for the course.

T1: my bike was clear at the end so it was about a 400 yard run to my bike. Nothing too eventful here except I had a little difficulty getting my wetsuit off and putting on my bike socks/shoes. ~4 minutes

Bike: I started the bike by some quick spinning to get my legs back and then set into a solid pace. I didn't have any liquid or food for the first 15 minutes as I wanted to make sure my stomach readjusted from being horizontal for the past 30 minutes. This course was pretty technical and had a lot of sharp turns. My speed would range from 26 miles and hour down to 12 mph throughout the course. It was a very scenic course as we rounded the lake, across the Mississippi River, and through the neighborhoods and park. Bike time - 1:21 - 18 mph

T2: Off the bike and into T2 I felt great - hydration was good and took in some calories on mile 20 on the bike. This year I wore a trisuit so I was in and out of transition in 2:40

Run: The run was a two loop course through the park on the trail. Heading out on the course I started with quick short strides to get my running legs back. I looked down at my Garmin and realized I was going at an 8:45 pace, which for me is pretty quick. The pace felt good and I made it a point to maintain this pace and only walk through the water stations. I felt great during the run and was enjoying every minute of it. 54:25 - 8:47 pace

Total: 2:56 - a new PR by 5 minutes

A special thanks to my parents for coming up to the race and their relentless support. I couldn't do it without you!