Almost a Triathlete

"Almost" you say? Yes, almost.
On Friday the race organizers notified the entrants that the lake had high ecoli levels and to beware and to avoid swallowing water if possible.

On Saturday they emailed back and cancelled the swim.  Then later Saturday they emailed again with a further explanation.  See the excerpt below

For those of you who still wanted to swim I want to share some numbers with you so you might understand our decision a little better.

The DNR requires signs warning the public of ecoli levels in two situations.  One if the 30 day average rises above 126 ecoli colonies per 100ml of water.  Two if any single reading rises above 235 ecoli colonies per 100ml of water. The latest water test for Hickory Grove is 790 ecoli colonies per 100ml of water.  That is over three times the level consider safe by the Iowa DNR.  We hope this helps give you some understanding of our decision. In past years Hickory Grove has had readings around 20 colonies give or take.  We will be working with park staff to resolve this issue and return the water quality the park has enjoyed for several years. Thanks for your understanding. Alex and Steve

 Disappointed but understandable and glad I didn't swim in something that could have made me incredibly ill.

So they converted my first Triathlon into a duathlon ... 1mile run, 15.5 mile bike, 2.1 mile run.

Sat afternoon I drove up to pick up my race packet and then drove over to drive the bicycle course.  When I got there there were about 6 people swimming in the lake.  No signs posted anywhere.

Race Report Coming up next