Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon Race Report

With fires outside of Ft Collins and road construction on the run course, L2L had some tough issues to overcome. The fires were burning near Horsetooth Reservoir and the road construction closed one lane of the run course. The race director really stepped up, developed new bike and run courses and put on a great race.

The swim course was slightly different than previous years but it was still a swim and 1500 meters. My goal was to try and swim with Chris who was slightly faster than me in Greeley. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find him before the start so I just picked a good line and set out on my own race. The swim went pretty well except for the sighting on the east-bound leg. There were two buoys but I couldn't see anything. I just had to swim with the group and hope the person out front went straight.

Out onto the bike course, I was trying a new wheelcover. Would it really make a difference? Would I be faster? Since the course is different from previous years, I wouldn't be able to compare bike splits so this one had to stand on its own. I was passed on the bike by a couple people in my age group but other than that, I held my own pretty well. On the bike, as we neared the foothills, you could feel and taste the smoke.

With temperatures expected to rise into the low hundreds, I was glad that the new bike course was shorter. I also carried two bottles on the bike loaded with Gu Electrolyte tabs. I wanted to make sure I was overhydrated on the bike so that I wouldn't get too dehydrated on the run. By the time I finished the bike leg, I had finished both bottles and didn't feel bloated.

At the start of the run, I knew there at least three people in my age group ahead of me, the two who passed me and Greg who's a former pro. I don't really have a chance to catch Greg so I had to focus on the others in my age group. At the start of the run, I passed the first person in my age group but he didn't look familiar so maybe I was farther down the leader board.

With the temperatures climbing and not exactly sure of the run distance, I took the strong and steady approach. I wanted to go hard but not too hard, leaving something for when I made it back around the course and knew I had only a couple miles to go. It turns out that the new run course wasn't the same as the really old course and was only 5.1 miles. I caught another age grouper with about half a mile to go and made a strong move so that he couldn't stay with me. Turns out that there was another two runners up the course.

Overall, I had a good run and good race. With the new course, smoke in the air and high temperatures, a lot of people had trouble racing. My hydration strategy worked really well and I didn't have any cramping issues off the bike. Even the next day, my legs still felt good and I didn't have the usual post race stiffness and headache. Lesson learned - more hydration with electrolyte replacement.