Rattlesnake Triathlon

Prologue

It's back to Aurora Reservoir for another triathlon but this time it's Olympic distance and not a half-iron. This will be the third Olympic and fourth open water triathlon this summer.

ACT 1 - The Swim - 1500 meters - 21:55, 1:31/100

This swim has two unique features, the course and a time trial start. The swim course is straight out, straight back, out again and then a turn towards the beach. It looks like an inverted "V" where you do the first part three times.

The start is time trial style which I've never done. Everyone lines up and then every 5 - 10 seconds another person starts. When you start, you also have to watch for the earlier swimmers who are coming back to start their second loop.

I wasn't sure if I would like the start format but after experiencing it, I really do. You didn't have to worry about the mass mob start with the elbows and knees flying everywhere.

Without the crowd, I was able to settle into my rhythm quickly and started passing people. I finished the first loop pretty quickly and headed out on my second loop. Everything on the swim when perfect. I passed quite a few people, my siting was good and I swam pretty straight. Exiting the swim, I stopped at the wetsuit strippers and ran through T1.


T1: 2:03 watch


ACT 2 - The Bike - 40 kilometers - 1:08:34, 21.4 mph



If there's one thing you can say about eastern Aurora, it's not flat. It's continuous rollers and this bike course was no exception. After the race I heard someone say the only flat part was the swim.


Like Harvest Moon, Rattlesnake exits the reservoir and heads east on Quincy. I stayed aero on the descents and most of the climbs. The bike felt good and I kept the pressure on the pedals the whole way. I think the level of effort was having an effect on my stomach since it wasn't draining and was feeling full the whole time. Like the swim, I kept passing people and was only passed by one person.


T2: 56 watch


ACT 3 - The Run - 10 kilometers - 42:11, 6:48/mile

Like the bike course followed the Harvest Moon course, the run also followed the Harvest Moon run course. You exit T2 and head out on the bike path. With my iffy stomach and the rapidly climbing temp, I wasn't sure how the run would go. By this time, I was catching the women who started around thirty minutes earlier than me. I decided to count the men coming back since the course was out and back. I only counted twenty-five men by the time I reached the turn around. The only problem was that with the time trial start, I didn't know what position I was in. I passed a couple more men on the way to the finish but it was a struggle the entire way.
Run Split: 42:11
Epilogue
After sitting in the shade and cooling down, my stomach started to feel better. In hindsight, I might have been dehydrated. After the race I drank three bottles of water and a couple pepsis and I still was thirsty. I finished first in my age group which is the first time I've done that in an open water triathlon. It felt really good to win against the tough competition that always shows up. Although my run was slower than I wanted, the increase in bike speed has paid off. With the rolling hill run course, I'm not sure I could have run faster.
Total Time: 2:15.42, 1st Men 40 - 44