Lake Mill Triathlon

June 4, 2023 - Lake Mills, WI

The Background: my first triathlon and how I failed victoriously.

The 2022 Lake Mills Triathlon was my first triathlon, it was a situation. I had a panic attack about 20 meters into the swim. I thought I was going to drown, my heart was was insanely high, I couldn't breath. It was just a mess. The bike went very well, good average speed and was able to utilize the ride to recover from the mess that was the swim. I finished the run with an okay time, but nothing to brag about. I walked a lot but also ran some. This race scared me from doing any more triathlons the rest of 2022, almost away from doing it again in 2023. I needed to return, to avenge my horrible swim time and show that I could still finish this race!

The Return: No Panic Attack in the Swim!

This is where I tell the story of this year's triathlon, at least the glorious swim and fun bike ride/run. I brought my wetsuit this time, it was a wise decision. I was still a bit weary about how effective it would be in the open water, I had only used it in a pool and only one time, maybe I should stick with my swim shorts (buoyancy shorts). No, I brought the thing, I might as well use it. I pull my wetsuit up to waste level, it's tight, but a good tight, I'm down 30 lbs from the same race a year prior and the wetsuit's fit shows it. There's still a noticeable beer belly, I did say 30 lbs, not 50! I see my friend outside the transition area and catch up. She'd been there last year, too, this time we're racing together! Nobody's late and we begin to make our way toward the beach, talking and catching up on life. I'm still not very good at figuring out how to zip my wetsuit or how to properly fit the thing. With a little bit of help, I'm able to get securely strapped in and check out the water. The water's around 70F, a few degrees warmer than the air at that point, and I cautiously make my way further in toward the deeper part of the swim area. After dropping into the water to get acclimated to the temperature, she tells me to get as deep in as I'm comfortable and lift my legs up to my chest, let the wetsuit do it's damn job and float you! I nervously comply, until it happens... I'm suspended in the water! Whoa, this is great! Leave it to a Marine to be blunt about trusting your equipment. This tactic helped a lot, it made me comfortable enough in my ability to float, not easy at 240lbs, that I was not afraid of drowning in the case of an emergency. Between the ability to "float" and the very attentive volunteers in the kayaks, nothing could stop me, well, except for a toe directly to my right goggle lens! This caught me off-guard and got me looking for something to hang on to catch my breath for a few second! The Clydesdales were called to the start pen, everybody getting their watches ready, checking out the first few waves as they navigate the course, and chat about how we're ready to make the water level rise a few inches!

Get ready, set... BANG!!!

We're off, heading into the water, reminding the novices who missed their wave that it's okay to take it easy, get yourself adjusted, and start swimming when you're ready. I share roughly where the "deep" part starts as a reminder that THAT is where you need to start swimming. I hesitate for a second, then kick off the sandy bottom of the lake to get started with the swim leg! In my head, I already have all of the places I can take a rest mapped out if I need a breather. I forgot that I had been seriously training this year and this is not my first race of this season! I'm already at the first buoy! 100 meters down already and with some great sighting! I make the turn to the 200 meter back straightaway and keep up with my freestyle technique, it's not a great technique, but it's working. Next thing I know, I feel a sudden rush of pressure against my right eye and hear a TING! I'm thrown off and go face down into the water during a breath! After a big gulp of lake water, I go fully upright and start searching for one of the kayaks, boats, or something to get my breath back. Luckily, there was a wonderful young woman in a kayak that saw my struggles and came straight over. I grab onto the nose of her kayak and yell out "THANKS! Whoa, and I'm floating!" I was much louder and buoyant than I thought, my body and legs had damn near floated her kayak a bit! After she was done giggling at my silliness, she asks if I'm doing alright, I reply that I'm doing just fine, only needed a quick breather, I got hit in the eye! She assures me it didn't catch any skin and they must've only hit the goggle. I thank her again and off I go! Already halfway done, nothing's going to stop me now, in my head, I've got "I'm Still Standing" by Sir Elton John running through my head! Solid motivational song, I'm cruising, flying, swimming like a fi.... oh, I'm being passed by the next wave. That's alright, I'm still going along strong, winded, but strong, okay maybe not strong by surviving. "I'm a Survivor" by Destiny's Child is now in my head. It's a good track to finish the final leg of the swim, I can see the swim out, it's approaching quickly. Do I put my feet down yet? Or is it still too deep? The two swimmers nearest me are a fellow Clydesdale and an Athena I've been sticking close to. I do it, feet touch, "right here! Here's where we can stand!" I yell out. Now standing and looking back at the two swimmer, I can see the relief in the other guy's eyes as he plants his feet on the lakebed. The woman, she's got a few more feet to go before she's able to stand, but that moment comes quick. We're all gassed. Why is swimming so exhausting? Either way, it's done. I'm out of the water, slowly making my way to the transition area that's a good 500 meters away from the beach, attempting to take my wetsuit off at the same time... I'm able to get it back down to my waist by the time I make it to my bike. Struggling to get my wetsuit off, I put my changing robe on, no reason to flash some helpless spectator as I struggle to change into my bike & run kit (I know, I could use a tri suit, but I don't own one and I really like my bike kit).

The Bike.

Remember when I said I'd been seriously training this race season? Well, what I meant is for the swim and run. Biking I'm comfortable with even with limited miles on my road bike up to this point, like, an embarrassingly low amount of miles on my road bike. There's been a little too much accounting and not enough of the cycling in 2023, luckily I've been keeping up with running and strength training. This is also the third bike event of my race season, the first being the Whitewater Early Bird Sprint Triathlon, followed by the Pewaukee Duathlon, leaving me with some riding on the year. If only I could bring Geena to these competitions, I could use the battery and pedal powered e-assist right about now! After a staggering 15 minutes of struggling to remove my wetsuit, my overall swim time is just barely better than 2022! Well, my GOREWEAR Distance+ 2.0 bibs, Team RWB flag jersey by Base Performance, and Swiftwick Aspire Four socks are all on and ready! Let's roll! Okay, bad joke aside, I actually made sure that my bike was in the easiest gearing, because the hill at the start of this ride is no joke! The mount line is right at the base of the hill and there are a few possible way the start goes: 1. you successfully make it up the hill, 2. you fall sideways embarrassingly and choose one of the next two options, 3. you start sliding down the hill back toward the mount line and frantically unclip to waddle your bike up rather than find out if you get penalized for being on your bike behind the mount line even though you had properly followed instructions, or 4. you just walk up the hill and mount at the top. Last year, I performed numbers 2 & 3, somehow doubling my embarrassment. This year I successfully complete number 1, though not quickly and definitely not with a brief scare of doing numbers 2 and/or 3 again! I pressed onward, able to smile like a goon as though I had perfectly tackled that hill without worry!

Round the first corner, through the line of vehicles on the sides of the road, crowds, and officers keeping the road clear, I follow the orange cones to the "open course" portion of the ride. The rest of the ride was pretty good. Nothing too challenging or exciting, I was slower than last year, most certainly because I was absolutely beat from both the swim and the fiasco that was attempting to get out of my wetsuit! The route is pretty flat, with only a few hills. I hate hills so much, but they come with a descent, so that's okay. I finished the ride pretty strong, making sure I didn't slide past the dismount line, it comes up fast at the bottom of that initial hill! Made my way into transition to get ready for the run, oh the run...

The Run.

This is the run description, I was completely gassed. Finished the bike leg much worse than expected, slower than last year. I shed the bike shoes and slide on my Brooks Glycerin 20s, ditch the gloves (actually lost my GORE G5 gloves whilst attempting to be smooth and put them in my jersey before the dismount line. RIP) I mostly performed "walk run walk" for this 5k as I didn't really have much left in the tank. I would like to think that if I had remembered to bring my First Endurance PRERACE that I had mixed up and put in the fridge that I would have had a little more energy left, but I also really pushed myself on the swim and that took most of my energy for the day. Well, the swim was relatively easy compared to getting out of my wetsuit. Either way, I made my way down the first half of the route on the Glacial Drumlin Train, an absolutely beautiful crushed gravel trail that stretches across South-Central Wisconsin between the western Milwaukee suburbs and Madison. As I was approaching the much needed water station at the halfway point (I forgot my water bottle at transition), a man coming up behind me was singing aloud to help motivate himself and others. He was having a blast, maybe it was the music in his head or exhaustion, but he was having a great time! It certainly did motive myself and others to remember to breath and take it easy, we're not going for world records here. I also linked up with a group that had switched to the same pacing methods as me, doing a walk run walk to get a little speed between the recovery walking sections. This really helped and provided good conversation to help take the focus off how exhausted and thirsty I was. We could see and hear the finish coming up, that meant a turn, run down a hill past the spectators on the final stretch, another turn by transition, and the finish! The cheers and bells fueled one final push. I took the turn toward the hill, reminding myself to shorten my stride to avoid tumbling, hit the bottom and hit the gas! Sprinting as fast as I could, racing past the crowd, taking the final turn toward the finish, and rushing to get there... I was no longer focused on the finish line, there's a kid handing out water bottles just beyond the finish! Get to him, cold refreshing water awaits! Oh no! A the finish line and camera person, quick! Celebrate!!! I crossed the finish line lightheaded and extremely thirsty, I almost forgot to grab the finisher medal while I ran toward the kid at the cooler. He knew what I was looking for; cold, refreshing water! I thanked him and stopped my watch, while looking for basically anyone to talk to and make sure I don't pass out. I'm really lightheaded, like, the tunnel vision was closing on me. I stayed upright, chatting with some people at the finish and doing my best to cheer the rest of the group I had "run" with. That water was some of the best water I've had in a while.

Looking Forward: I'll be back!

Just like the Terminator, I'll be back! This is a fun race that's pretty well organized and offers some small challenges (like the immediate uphill out of the bike AND run transitions), while also being incredibly beginner friendly! There are a number of waves to incorporate yourself into, a generous timeline for setting up your transition space, a fairly calm open water swim with a LOT of very attentive and helpful kayakers that are more than willing to chat with you and calm your nerves, or help you get your breathe back after being kicked in the goggles. It is a nice early season race with moderate temperatures.