Race Report - Turtleman Triathlon!

Ah, the Turtleman Triathlon... Minnesota's oldest triathlon. A race I've wanted to do for many years. I remember back when I trained on Tri team in Duluth with Rod Raymond. He would do Turtleman every year and more often than not, win it. Coach has even won this Tri a time or two. That was back in the day when the best competition came out to Turtleman, and Turtle Lake still had water in it.

I am glad I finally had the opportunity to do this race. Besides that it turned out to be a perfect day for a triathlon, (versus last year's Turtleman, where a severe storm canceled the swim, and resulted in about 25% of the field not even being allowed to complete the run) this race is in my backyard! I was able to roll out of bed about 5:45am, eat, get my gear together, and arrive at the race site by 6:25am. Now that's my kind of convenience!

Registration was down considerably from previous years, and it was obvious. It seemed really quiet in the transition area. Also, the conditions at Turtle Lake thwarted a lot of people from signing up. Lakes temps were around 83, which meant no wetsuits, and the lake was also very shallow, with complete muck at the bottom. I went out there to feel for myself, and wow, it was no Lake Superior. The lake bottom was literally just like walking through mud, and for awhile you'd walk fine, then suddenly you'd sink in it well above your knee. It was really pretty gross. I wasn't as nervous for swimming through mud as I was for the time trial start. A time trial start means everyone lines up according to race number, then they start you in three second intervals. I have done one Tri like this in the past and hated it. I spent all of my energy trying to get around people. When your favorite event is the swim, it it much better when you can start in a mass wave and line up in order of swimming ability. Nonetheless, the time trial start turned out to be OK. There was always a path to swim in where I didn't bump into too many people. Besides the muck at the beginning and the end... the swim was fine. (Fine, I should say until I got home from the race, took off my sports bra in the bathroom, and watched as mud flung EVERYWHERE. I hadn't thought about looking to see if the lake/mud had encrusted itself IN my sport bra. Ewww... My bathroom needed a good cleaning anyway.)

The race distances for this triathlon were similar to the distances at the Heart of the Lakes Tri. The swim (due to the shallow lake) was shortened to a 1K (from a 1.5K), then we had a 21.5 mile bike, and a 5 mile run. The bike and run were also completely flat. Awesome.

The bike went well. I was excited to bike for only 20 miles. With all of the long rides we've been doing the last couple of months, a 20 mile bike was a breeze. I felt myself kind of lolly gagging along at about the half way point, but then I saw one of my old running buds at the corner cheering for me! Having him there really helped me get my pace up. My average pace for the bike portion was 21.1 MPH, so I was very happy to be above the 20's for once.

Once I got out on the run, I am not sure what happened. I was trying to run, but it sure didn't feel like a run. I did see a couple of teammates cheering along the course, so when I saw them, I tried to make it look like I wasn't shuffling, but once they passed I went back to a shuffle. At about the 3 mile point, one of my training partners passed me. She looked really strong and once I saw her come by, I picked it up to try and keep up with her. From that point on I felt better and actually finished the last two miles strong(er). It's funny that I needed someone I normally run with to come by and pace me, in something as short as a 5 mile. Once I had her in my sights (to chase after) I finally felt in a groove.

I ended up 2nd in my age group and was 20th woman overall, out of 114. I'll take a 2nd place age group finish! The prize was a Turtleman mug. It was special to me that I was able to take something home when this is a race I have wanted to do for so many years.

Ironically, a fellow triathlete/blogger I recently "met" via our blogs, and who is also doing her first Ironman in WI next month, made the podium at Turtleman too! Her family took this picture, so she let me 'borrow' it to post on my blog. Thanks B, and nice race!! :)

I'm sad that Turtleman was my last 'normal' distance Tri of the season. It seems like just yesterday I was adding my race schedule to this page, looking forward to all of the Tri's I had scheduled and how far away the BIG day seemed. At least the regular season ended well. Now we're onto the 'playoffs'! (I guess I have football on the mind with #4 coming back into town today and all.) :)  

25 days and counting until Ironman Wisconsin!