This was the first triathlon I'd done in about a year, and the first of 5430's events I'd been in. It appeared as though they were pretty organized and should be a good event. Checked in on Sat, the event shirt was nice, and they promised free beer, so all initial signs were good.
Spent Saturday cruising around Steamboat and laying by the pool. Its a nice little town and definitely worth a visit.

Race day.
Lots of people, averagely organized transition area, I knew I was in for a long run with my bike, but it turned out ok.
Swim buoys didn't look too far away which is always a good thing (I dislike swimming!).
Lots of port a loos around, but of course when you need them the lines are terrible. Not the worst I've seen though.

Swim - .75 miles
The lake looked really nice till you stepped foot in it. You'd think a lake fed by mountain streams would be clean, but you'd be wrong. There was a good foot of 'sludge' on the botton, but that was nothing compared to the weed floating on the top and the general overpowering stench. It was really the worst water I've swam in, and thats saying something. I'm also some in Keystone's little lake, Tempe's town lake and harbours all over NZ. This was bad.
50m into the swim I was almost gagging on the water and was trying to battle off the 'I could really pull out about now' thoughts.
Anyway, managed to struggle through the swim and get into transition with the other 3 people I was travelling with. A fun coincedence.
5 waves for 600 people meant there was a lot of space which was nice.
Swim time - 25ish.

Battled the diziness and ever tough to get off wetsuit and was on my bike.

Bike - 20 miles
From the description and location you'd think it would be flat. But the bike course was undulating the whole way, really enjoyable. There were always cyclists to pass and something to concentrate on to keep your mind off the pain. Managed to get in 'group' with a few others and we pushed ourselves along.
Bike time - 53min.

Quick and uneventful T2 and onto the run.

Run - 4 miles
Again with a few undulations to keep you honest. Aid stations each mile. Started to heat up but nothing too hot. Battled some cramps and blisters but really not too bad. Add stations with plenty of water, gaterade and shot blocks. My age group started in the last wave so there were plenty of people to work on passing.
Run time - 29ish.

Post Race
Good food and free beer. Took advantage before we headed back into town. I would have stayed for awards but was a little disapointed with my performance. So we stopped by a little restaurant down by the river in Steamboat. Ate some good food, drank some beer, and watched some rugby.

All in all a pretty good race. Location is great, race is organized well. I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year. Just hope that the lake is in better condition.