Bonney Lake Sprint Triathlon...

I decided two days before the race to enter. I knew my cycling was strong. I figured I could swim a 500. My running on the other hand was somewhat minimal. All the crazy running I did back in the spring caught up to me. I kept the running short and only 2-3 times a week. I didn't know what to expect out of myself since I had not raced all year and done no fast running all year.

Race morning I ran into a few familiar faces. I got everything set up and went out for an easy ride to warm-up. I bought a new sleeveless XTERRA VENDETTA. This would be the first time in a sleeveless and in it. I felt great warming-up.



Pre-swim with Lucas

I felt good at the beginning of the swim, there was a guy swimming to my right. I put a little distance on him at the turn-around. I love the sleeveless XTERRA VENDETTA. I can't believe it took me so long to purchase one. I saw a guy exiting the water just ahead of me. I ended up 4th out of the water.

I quickly transitioned from swim to bike. I put on my helmet, grabbed the LYNSKEY, and passed one guy out of transition. I was quickly passed in the first 1/4 mile by the guy who was right behind me on the swim. I knew there were at least 2 guys in front of me. I kept them in sight. After a couple miles, we caught up to the lead swimmer. He was a high-schooler on a road bike. It looked like he did a lot of draft legal races. As we passed him, he would just sit on the wheel. After a few more miles we dropped him. We were cruising along and the passed by a blur. Of course this made us all pick up the pace. I was in fourth while entering transition.

I quickly switched to run mode. I put on my NEWTONS and left in second, right behind the guy who had the fastest bike split. I knew it was going to be a dog fight to the finish line. As we left the parking lot and got onto the road. He went straight. I looked down and saw an arrow for left turn. I assumed I was making the right choice. I heard the 2 guys behind trying to figure out which way to go. I had no clue if I made the right decision until I saw the next arrow. I ended up running into the guy who missed the turn with less than a mile to go. He knew he made a wrong turn, so ran it in behind me then disqualified himself.

I ended up defending my title from last year. I was a few minutes faster. The swim was a little shorter, the bike was the same, and the run was a little longer. I ended up breaking the course record as well. BUDU Racing put on another great race. The best part was having Lucas there to watch his first triathlon.