August 4 2010 – Hagg Lake Sprint Series Triathlon

Athlete’s lounge has been organizing a Sprint Series of casual training races at Hagg Lake this summer. I was able to go this final one on August 4th. It was a very short 300-yd swim in the lake, then bike the roads around the lake, and finish with a 2 mile trail run. I was on my mtn bike again, and had only a rough idea of how long it should take. But I figured I should be able to finish in less than an hour. I came in at 56:09-ish, so I can’t complain too much. It was not officially timed, but I think I got 9th place out of 66 people. Of course, I got lots of “you’re insane” type comments about competing like this on a mtn bike. I have to admit, I like it when guys on fast road bikes get frustrated that they can’t quite shake me on my mtn bike. When they comment, I just say: “Hey, anything I can do to level the playing field, man.” A little harmless banter is always fun. It felt good to get out and “try” to compete, even if it wasn’t a real race. I wonder how I’d do on a “real” bike? Hope to find out someday, but for now the trusty old (and I mean old) Kona Cinder Cone suits me just fine. This is a really cool event. Glad to hear they’ll be doing a few more again next year.