I completed my second tri on Sat., the Reeds Lake Triathlon in East Grand Rapids, MI. 800 participants for this sprint distance race (1/2 mi. swim, 18 mile bike, 5 mile run).

I arrived at the site in complete darkness (6:00 a.m.). The first heat was to go off at 7:30, with about 6-7 heats thereafter, every five minutes or so.

I was able to set-up my transition area easily --at that time of the a.m., I had my pick of spots. It seemed that most people arrived to set-up around 6:45 - 7:00 (some even were arriving as late as 7:15 --too close to race start for me).

I picked-up my race packet the night before, so all I needed to do was get marked and put on the timing chip. Once that was done, I went through the routine that has been frequently recommended on this site --practice (walk) from the swim exit to my bike. I casually did that 2-3 times. Then, I watched the race staff put the buoys in the water (ok, not that far, I thought). (At my first tri earlier in July, when I arrived at the race site, the buoys were placed differenty than they were for the prior year's race, which I watched but did not participate in --they placed them in an inverted "v" shape instead of the advertised inverted "u" --it made a big difference and at my first tri I thought, " what the hell had I gotten myself into!")

But back to the Reeds Lake tri--the buoys were placed in the right spots (inverted "u" (swimming right to left) and I knew it would not be a problem, except for the fact that there were 800 people in this race compared to just under 500 in my first race.

Before I knew it, it was shortly after 7:00, so I stretched, took a one mile or so warm up run, and then came back for more stretching and a quick jump in the lake.

The water was warm (around 77 or so), but very murky. And the bottom --very squishy with dense weeds. In the swim warm-up I could see about 6 inches in front of my hand --good enough to see a foot or hand from another racer before it smacked me in the head.

And then, it was time to race.

I was in the third heat. I took the advice of prior Trifuelers in prior posts and, not being an expert swimmer, stayed to the right (we were swimming from right to left in the inverted "u") and was one of the last ones in the water.

Right away, I found my pace and I started passing people. "This is cool,"I thought. "Don't get cocky, though!" I had a couple of instances were I saw that hand or foot come toward my head --so I would pop up and breaststroke a bit, then resume freestyle. In no time I made the first turn and then the second turn for home came up --I felt really good. In my first tri swim, I figured I did the breastroke almost for 1/2 of the swim. This time, I did freestyle throughout the whole swim, unless I was about to get slammed or needed to sight the buoys. I did notfeel any fatigue while swimming at all, which was different from practicing in the pool, whre I would get fatigued after 6-8 laps.

I got out of the water and crossed into T1 in 18 minutes. I was psyched because at the 1st race, I came into T1 at 18:59 --I took a whole minute off my swim time. Go me!

T1 went smooth --no hassles (and no time for T1--at this race, the T times are folded in to the bike and run legs).

On the bike and off on basically an out-and-back course. The trip out was fairly flat with some minor hills and some good downhills. The way back --well, you have to go back up hill. There are two big hills --one fairly long and steady (mile 9 or so), the other short and steep and that is at about mile 15 or so. The first long hill went alright --a little burning in the quads, but I quickly recovered and felt fine. I was out of the saddle for the short and steep hill; again, there was some ache in the quads, but I felt really good now. I was off the bike and Into T2 in 56:41, which was a good 2 minutes faster then my first race!

Now, on to the run. T2 went fine. I knew the run was my weakest leg. During the first tri, I felt like my legs were made of concrete encased in steel with lead anchors. You get the point. Coming out of T2, though (I did some quick stretching of my quads in T2), I felt alright. "Hmm, this seems to be going pretty well," I thought.

Out of T2, passed a buddy of mine and settled into a steady pace. The run course winds through residential neighborhoods around the lake. THere were people throughout the route cheering you on and aid stations every mile marker. The course was mostly shaded, although there are some open spots were the sun would beat down on you. I was feeling tired, questioning whether I should have had some of my GU gel while on the bike instead of just water and Gatorade Endurance, but at that point, what could I do? I just kept moving.

The run course also includes that short, but steep hill from the bike. On the run, it is about at the 2.5 - 3 mi. marker. Ugh! When I ran the course a couple of days before the race, I thought I was going to die (at that time, it was about 88 degrees and humid, I might add). On race day, it was humid as I approached that hill, but the temp was in the low 70's, so it was really pleasant.

Earlier in the week before the race, while runnign the course, I told myself that during the race I could stop and walk , but only after mile 3 and only after conquering that hill.

I am happy to report that although I thought about walking several times, I kept on going and did not stop once. Sure, I may have plodded along and more people passed me than I passed other people, but I kept going.

I crossed the finish line from the run in 47:51. Again, 1:30 better than my first tri (which was a only a 4.5 mile run).

Total time: 2:02:42 --8 minutes better than my first tri in July of this year and, again, the run was 1/2 mile longfer this time around.

Crossing the finish line, my wife and kids were there to cheer me on, plus tons of other spectators and the racers who had already finished.

The race is well organized and has come to be a local tradition held the Saturday after Labor Day. There is a lot of cooperation to run this race --local sheriff and police and volunteers to close intersections that runners and cyclists need to cross. A lot of spectators to cheer you on. And a whole range of competitors --from (what I consider to be elites) to everyday kinda' people out there trying to do something just for themselves.

So, I am pretty psyched. And again, hats off to Tribro and all those who post on this site. You guys have provided me with a lot of helpful info. One of the highlights of my day is checking the forums and new posts to see what I can learn. So, thanks.

Now, time to start planning for next year --perhaps 3-4 spints and maybe an Olympic!