Winding Down The Season With Graniteman Big Lake

I finished off my triathlon season this year with Graniteman Big Lake. This was the fifth and final (unless my arm gets twisted to do another) triathlon of the season. The Graniteman course was great! My favorite component was the fast bike course, which headed out on quieter country roads and traversed some beautiful pine stands!  The sky was overcast with a few spits of rain here and there--it felt great and kept me cool.

Paula and I!  This was Paula's third triathlon and she rocked it!

Not sure why I stripped my cap and goggles before the wetsuit.  Photos are a great analysis of a race!

Here are my results:

Swim:  13:00 (.33 miles--although I and others felt the swim course was a little on the long side)

T1:  1:08

Bike:  46:11

T2:  1:12

Run:  30:05

Total:  1:31:35



Loving the bike course!

I was very happy to have maintained a sub 10:00 min/mile for my 5K run. The only glitch I had in the race was regarding my timing chip. And no, it didn't fall off!  After completing the race I did not have a finish time that registered. The individuals in the timing van reassured me I would have a time eventually. Well, after two days I received my final finish time. Of course this wait was hard for me as I am typically close (4th, 5th, or 6th) to the podium in my age group and I am very competitive with myself.  I ended up 6th in my age group and was thankful to receive an official finish time.  Therefore, I no longer was on the DNF list. :)

A very photogenic day for me with smiles all around!

I had some great fan support/photographers at the race as well!  Thanks Jill, Jason, Genna, Jackson, and Heather!!

Heart Of The Lakes Triathlon

The Heart of the Lakes Triathlon (HOLT) in Annandale, MN was my fourth triathlon of the season. I enjoyed participating in a local race, as the three other races were a 3-8 hour drive away.  HOLT was the first triathlon I conquered in 2010.  Who knew it would lead to my current triathlon addiction, lifestyle, and friendships?  This year also marks the third time I have participated in the sprint course, making it fun to compare stats from each race!  I love the course because it is one of the shorter sprint courses around with a 0.25 mile swim, 9 mile bike, and 2.5 mile run.  Also the small town feel, stellar volunteers, and great organization keep racers coming back as well!

My friend and training partner, Jill!

Overall, I felt great during the race. I even posted my best run time since my injury.  I'll take it even if it was only for 2.5 miles!  My finish put me 5th out of 30 in my age group!  Here is the breakdown...

Swim:  10:13

T1:  2:35

Bike:  28:04

T2:  1:47

Run:  23:45

Total:  1:06:27

I was only 15 seconds off my PR for the course--1:06:12 in 2012!  In 2010 I posted a time of 1:12:50 in my first HOLT race!

Pre race shenanigans!

A couple items that would make this race even better would be a finishers medal and an on course photographer!  I guess I can hope that next year for the 30th anniversary of the race directors will add these details!

Trinona: A Race To Experience!

Well folks, I believe I am safe to call Trinona my favorite race after participating the past two years!  The triathlon was this past Sunday, June 8th and was AWESOME!  The Trinona venue is a beauty to behold, in the Mississippi bluff country. The swim starts in Lake Winona, with Sugarloaf Bluff visible in the distance. The bike is an out and back format into bluff country--the way out is a bit of a climb, but after the turnaround the decreasing elevation helps to ramp up some serious speed on the way back.  Finally, the run course winds around Lake Winona and allows for an excellent view of the bluffs!  Of course, the picture perfect weather made for an even more fabulous day!  We had sun and blue skies, low 70 degree weather, little wind, and 72 degree water temps!  A huge thank you goes out to the weather gods for providing us with such a glorious day.

 

Posing With Sugarloaf Bluff Pre Race

As far as my race goes, I was definitely more nervous than I normally am.  The combination of healing from injury, hoping my foot would tolerate the race, and the minimal training I had done made for a few butterflies!  However, considering all those factors I had a satisfying race and FINISHED!  A goal I had started to take for granted pre-injury. 

Time Trial Start

Heading into transition from a bike in the bluffs!

Results:

Swim:  9:27 (27 seconds faster than last year)

T1:  2:00

Bike: 38:01  (41 seconds slower than last year)

T2:  1:51

Run: 32:07  (6 mins and 13 seconds slower than last year)

Finish Time:  1:23:25

I am pretty excited that my swim and bike times were very similar to last years race even with my lack of training!  I also expected my run time to be significantly slower due to injury, so that was not a surprise.  However, I still placed 10th out of 23 people in my age group.  And did I mention it felt great to be out competing again?

Mom and I post race!

Some serious hardware!

On a side note, the finisher medal we received last year had a misprint and declared the race "Battle For The Buff" (which I thought was hilarious)!  However, this year they got it right with awesome hardware declaring the race "Battle For The Bluff"!  

If you have the opportunity check this race out!  You won't be dissapointed.