The water at Lake George is very shallow for quite a ways out. I dolphin dived for about 100 yards at the start and end. I sighted really well, but my times are slow because I'm not a fast swimmer.

My time last year was 1:34 faster. I don't think I've gotten that much slower. I think there was a difference in the swim course lengths last year vs this year. There were lots of people who were much slower this year compared to last.

I'm giving my competitors a huge lead here - I came out of the water 4-5 minutes after the first two women in my age group. I end up having to chase these gals down on the bike and run. I think I found a swim coach and will start lessons soon

I still wasn't in race mode at this point. I wasted time playing around with where I should leave my wetsuit - why?? I really don't know what my problem was.

Get my head in the game.

Luckily there was a women who came out of transition just in front of me and I got my first pass while we were still in the park. This is where I finally got into race mode. The first five miles were felt really good - I was passing people. Around the five mile mark the headwind started. I just kept tucked and kept pushing. Close to the end the course takes a left turn onto a bike trail. I pushed to get ahead of three riders just before the trail. That also meant I hit the trail a little faster than recommended. I nearly lost it on one sneaky corner. I was able to jump to the breaks just in time.

I finished the bike course 3:15 ahead of last year.

I've noticed my cadence had been increasing as I've been getting stronger and faster. I think it is time to try to drop the cadence a couple and push harder. I also need to work on cornering.

I was back in the game now - no playing around - got it done.

keep working on the dismount to get it smoother and faster.

As I came out of transition a guy running the Olympic course was starting his second loop. I tucked in behind him for awhile and that really got me going. He was running sub 7:00 and I couldn't keep up. I let him slowly pull away. I kept picking people off and keeping my pace even. I finished really strong, pacing 3 women in the last 1/4 mile.

I'm really happy with this run - I had nice even splits. Bigger - I had a 5k PR! This time beat my 2011 standalone PR.

Nothing - keep it up!

After drinking a few cups of water I took a short swim to clean up and cool down. Lots of walking and cheering for others coming in. We didn't stick around for the full awards ceremony as we had to get home to get ready for a wedding.


I really need to work on my swim. While I was 5:29 faster this year the race was very different. Last year I was still dealing with a high ankle sprain and being out of shape. This year I'm healthy, weigh less and am in better shape.


This race was sold during the off season to V3, a youth triathlon program. The website wasn't up until late and it was pretty sparse. I was worried that the race wouldn't be well run. I think a lot of people thought that too as attendance was low. However, the race went smoothly. On time with lots of volunteers were good. I'm still not a fan of the soggy burritos as post race food.