Lake Waramaug Sprint Tri Recap

Last Friday a few TTers (Ed, Cornelia, Jared M) ventured north to Litchfield County for an evening sprint tri - Lake Waramaug. The trip north (with summer Friday traffic) took about 1.5 hours from southern Fairfield County.

All I can say is this - if you are lucky enough to have "summer Fridays" at work put this on your 2011 race calendar! The swim is in a beautiful lake - flat water and well marked. The bike goes around the perimeter of Lake Waramaug and by a vineyard - it offers breathtaking views and some tough climbing for the last 3-4 miles. The run starts out with 1 mile cross-country style (mix of grass and trails with some steep small hills) then the last 2 miles are on the road with some minor climbing. The course actually reminded me of a shorter version of the Escape from Alcatraz tri!

As for my race, I was very excited about the women starting in the first wave! YAY!!! I was able to get a good lead in the swim and although nervous about getting lost on the bike course since I was unfamiliar with it, was happy to have a police escort - so no worries there. After a few miles the first relay passed me - a woman who was flying! I tried keeping pace for a few minutes but didn't want to blow up (she didn't have to run). Good thing - the last 3-4 miles were pretty much all uphill - first a steep short climb then gradual stair stepping into T2. On the run the top guys started to pass me - I was still sucking wind from that bike leg! Luckily I ran the cross-country portion during warm up so knew what I had coming! I was very happy to see asphalt after the first mile and was able to hang on for 1st place and a new course record.