-Bigfoot Triathlon Race Report-

The Bigfoot Triathlon is a tough and challenging Olympic distance course taking place at Bigfoot Beach in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  The swim (1500m) is an out and back along the shallow waters of S. Lake Shore Drive.  The bike (38k) is a one loop course that takes the riders out to the Wisconsin/Illinois state line and back to the beach.  The hills are rolling with a few steeper ones to keep the athletes honest. The real tough part of the race comes on the run (10k) which is a two loop trail course that is hilly and brutal. The run is hot but mostly covered with trees.  It has some steep descents and some tough climbs in addition to being 95% grass or dirt.  The first half of the run course is mostly up hill and you can pretty much fly down the back 2k of each lap, yet you still have to be cautious of the roots popping out of the dirt and grass.

This race was ranked as a "B" race in the grand scheme of the season. My preparation and tapering for the race was also given a "B" effort. I had a hard run and swim on Friday.  Also, Saturday was my only true easy day of the week. I also had done a long 90 mile ride one week prior from Antioch, IL to Lake Geneva, WI and back. Yet, I did all that I could to have a great race.  I was still focused on improving my standing in the USAT rankings and was still driven to prove to myself and my competitors that I am a real threat this season.  I opted to not race in the age group division because last year the winner took first place with a time of 2:25:00.  My goal this year was to race anywhere from 2:05:00-2:10:00 and I decided it would be better to race in the Elite division and not receive an award rather than crush my age group competitors and get a medal.

After going to bed at 9pm the night before, my dad and I were up at 4am to make the 1 hour drive to Lake Geneva before the race.  I fueled up with a clif bar and a banana, making sure to take in some salt tablets as well (I did not need a repeat from what happened at St. Anthony's). I set up my transition area and headed down to the water to get warmed up.  I swam around for about 10:00 including some race pace efforts. I took a clif turbo shot and got ready for my wave to go off at 7:21AM. 

My  plan for the swim was to get out fast, let the guys who are going to go crazy for the first 100m settle down and then work to get back up to the lead pack.  My plan went perfectly and by the 800m turn around I had found myself in the second or third pack of fast swimmers.  This was right were I wanted to be entering the bike.  I finished the swim in 21:19. Right on pace. 

Coming out of the water I was flying into transition and my left big toe started to hurt.  I had figured I either gotten a small cut on a rock or I had just gotten a bad hang nail. I didn't even think about it and kept going to have the fastest transition of the entire field with a time of 1:07.

The bike started off slower than I was expecting. I had reviewed the course before and saw that the first half was going to be more challenging than the back half and because of this I focused on getting the legs warmed up and prepared for a push in the second and third parts of the ride. This also gave me an opportunity to fuel up and stay hydrated. The legs felt flat going up the steeper climbs but that was to be expected from the more bike miles I have been putting in the last few weeks. I was passed by 4 guys who were moving considerably faster than me in the first 10k of the ride.  I ended up re-passing one of them and finish the ride with a time of 1:00:35.  That was an average of 23.38mph.  I was setting up pretty well for the run. 

I got off the bike again with no problems with a transition time of 1:05. 

The first half of the run I was really hurting.  I came through the first mile 18 seconds off pace with a time of 6:48 and lost a bit of confidence.  I was passed by one of my friends who was also in my wave (a guy who I told my dad I wanted to beat before the race).  But as a I said earlier, the first 2.5k of the run can be tough and the back 2.5k can fly.  I hit the half way mark on the first lap and started to work.  I came through the 5k feeling better than I did starting the run with a time of 20:28.  The back 5k I felt strong and consistent. I knew what was to come and how to take on the hills, where to avoid soft mud and how to dodge the roots in the ground.  My second loop time was 19:42. The final run time was 40:10. An average of 6:28min/mi.

My finish time was 2:04:15.  Beating the low end of my goal by :45 seconds. I was in good spirits when I found out I would have won the 19 and under division by 16 minutes and that I had come in 8th in the Elite field.  I was 13th over all out of a field of 583. 

One word to describe this race was solid.  I had solid efforts in the swim, bike and run.  My race plan was executed effectively and my transitions were flawless. It was a tough course and I showed that I can hang with some of the Elite guys in the area. The race was a good test of fitness before Racine 70.3 and I can not complain with the effort I put in.  I am in good spirits and confident for the rest of the season.

Oh yeah, and my toe now has a nice gash! I think it was just an open blister. Hopefully this one heals up quickly.