u/LibertyMike

We got here Sunday and the flies weren’t too bad, but the temperature climbed up to 95 on Tuesday and they were swarming like a Biblical plague. I fogged our area twice and it basically had zero impact.

I had to put jeans on in the heat just to go outside the camper. The flys were swarming on my legs and heaping up on each other. I was talking to some other campers and they said it’s never been like this here before. Is this going on at other campgrounds in the UP right now?

Here’s a photo of my wife’s pants this morning.

I finally did it! I completed my first sprint triathlon this weekend. I did the Epic Races Sprint Triathlon at Island Lake State Recreation Area on June 6, 2026.

The event was well organized and very beginner-friendly. According to an email I received, there were over 150 first time participants. There was a ton of communication, a pre-race video conference, and I even got a personal phone call from the event organizers as a first-timer.

The Swim (28:49)

There's a pre-race meeting on the beach at 7:20. It's 68F out, and they announce the water is a balmy 70F, so warmer than the air, which is nice. I had been practicing in 60-65F during my open water swims.

While the Olympic is getting underway, I wade into the water just to get a feel. The water is great, and the lakebed was nice and smooth. Not a lot of rocks under foot. I take a dip just to get it out of the way. Nice & refreshing, and helped me to wake up a bit.

All of the Olympic distance swimmers are out in the water, and they call the sprint racers to line up. It's about to get real. I'm a slow swimmer, so I line up in the back. I step up to the starting line and the race official says "Go!" and I get in the water. I didn't run, but I also didn't lollygag. I didn't want to get my heart rate up too high. I was trying to keep it in Zone 3 max so I'd have plenty left in the tank for the ride & run.

It's a nice, sunny day, and we're swimming two laps. Each lap goes east, then south, then west, then a short jaunt on the beach between laps.

I ordinarily wear corrective lenses, and the glare off the lake was making it hard to see the first swim buoy. I keep getting off course. Unfortunately, this resulted in me swimming about 850 meters instead of the 750 for the race.

Even though I'm near the back of the pack, I'm still bumping into some people, but not hard. Thankfully none of the heel-to-the-head horror stories for me.

There's also a ton of seaweed in this lake, but it wasn't a problem because the lake I was doing open water swimming in also has a ton.

I finish the swim in 28:49, and go to the transition. My goal was to complete, not to compete, so I took a leisurely 5 minutes in T1, take a gel, take a few swigs of electrolytes, then I'm on the bike.

The Bike (47:57)

I get to the start line, hop on and star to pedal. I'm feeling good and pick it up a bit. I get about 4k into the ride and decide now is a good time to get a drink. I'm bending down, pull out my bottle, then a guy comes whizzing by within inches of me, no warning.

I'm startled, have one hand on the cockpit, and end up hitting the ditch. The road has no shoulder. I barely miss hitting a massive turtle by a few inches, which I didn't even see until I was going by it. I manage to get back on the road without wiping out.

My rear derailleur seemed to be out of alignment. Several times my chain wouldn't grab when I shifted gears. I had to shift up twice then down once to get it in the proper gear on several occasions. Aside from that, the ride was pretty good, and I finished in 47:57.

Back to transition. T2 was just about 2 minutes. I get my shoes on and exit the transition area, now it's time for the run.

The Run (24:47)

I had done a couple of bricks before the race, and didn't push too hard on the bike, so my legs felt surprisingly good. Alas, I'm not a fast runner, so it didn't matter much. The run course was a little short (only 2.45 miles according to my Garmin). Had I known that, I would have picked up the pace a bit earlier on. In any case, I crossed the finish line in 24:47.

I spoke with a few of the guys I had seen before the race, and all of us noticed the run was short, but nobody was complaining. We were just glad to be finished.

Results

I finished 9/10 in my age group (55 Male) and 141/182 overall, but my victory was finishing the event. The 1st, 2nd & 3rd place finishers in my age group were 1, 6 & 11 overall.

Overall, the race was a great experience, and I picked up a few more things I really need to work on. I've already set up an appointment to get contact lenses, which should help with the sighting issue. I'll also practice hydrating on the bike more, and I just dropped off my bike at the LBS.

I did my first sprint triathlon ever last weekend, used my trusty old Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer. Thanks to the advice in this post, I installed some good road tires and it worked fine!

I did a quick brick workout yesterday morning in preparation for my upcoming triathlon and accidentally earned a couple of badges I wasn’t even aware were available. 🤣

I just signed up for my first sprint tri. They require every participant to use a swim buoy. I decided to order the race branded one, but won’t get that until packet pickup.

I’ve never used one before, so I bought a cheap one from Amazon so I can practice using it a few times before the race. This illustration cracked me up. The top image reminded me of SNL’s “Ambiguously Gay Duo.” 🤣

Surprised I didn't see this posted here yet. From Marathon Handbook:

The defending champion borrowed a Forerunner 55 from spectator Stephen Pifer on the bus to Hopkinton, then ran the fourth-fastest winning time in race history. His Strava file tells the whole story.

When she returned the watch after the finish, Pifer already had his story. He uploaded the activity to Strava under the title “Stephen’s fastest Marathon!” and captioned the post:

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