Quick review: I would highly recommend this race. The RD did a great job getting the race off in difficult conditions while still respecting the need for safety. There was good volunteer support, a fast but accurately-measured course, and a sweet pro-fit bike jersey in the goody bag in lieu of the standard white T-shirt. What more could you want?

Pre-race: The race takes place in and around a park in Pleasant Prairie, WI, about halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. It started raining at noon as we checked in our bikes on Saturday and didn’t stop all night. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to a torrential downpour with a bit of lightning. Weather.com promised a 100% chance of thunderstorms from 7:00 until noon—and the radar looked bad – yellow & red storm cells over half the state all heading towards us. I told MRS. PJT there was no way the race would happen, but we unfortunately had to drive 45 minutes back to the race site to at least get our bikes.

We got to the parking area around 5:00, walked through the rain to a shuttle bus, and arrived at the race site. Some people had already decided to call it a day and were leaving with their bikes. There was talk of a possible duathlon (blech). The RD asked anyone who might want to race to wait 1 hour for an announcement. Most of us decided to wait the hour and headed inside the park’s rec-center. Amazingly, the weather cleared enough for the race to go on. Everyone hurried outside to set up their transition areas.

The Swim: Swim course was a giant triangle in Lake Andrea. The lake was clear & smooth and the water in the low to mid 70s. I zig-zagged more than I wanted to, but still finished in 27:07.

T1: 2:12. It would have been a good day to go sockless, since everything was so wet. But I still haven’t taken the time to master that.

The Bike: The course advertises itself as “gently rolling” which is pretty accurate. It’s not flat, but it’s not exactly hilly either. Surface ranged from very smooth to very bumpy, with most roads in decent shape. The rain had left everything very slick, and people were slowing down a ton on the 20 or so corners. At the halfway point, the Oly distance race merged with the Sprint race, which meant a lot of passing & weaving to get ahead. Time was 1:12:43 (20.5 MPH), which was slower than I wanted, but I was definitely slowed down on the wet corners.

T2: 1:43

The Run: The course goes halfway around the lake, doubles back and leaves the park, and then doubles back again for a full loop of the lake. It is pancake flat and completely unshaded. In the blazing sun, it would have been tough. But in 65 degrees and an intermittent drizzle, it was ideal. I ended up doing a fast-for-me 51:48.

Results: 2:35:32—a PR by a lot. 138/497 OA, 26/51 AG. My best leg was T2, where I was 9/51. My worst was the run, 36/51.

Overall, I was very happy. My goal for the year was to improve my slow Oly times, and I did so to the tune of 25 minutes.