It was a humid and windy race morning at the Jetton Triathlon on May 8, 2010. Lat Purser, Dan Campo, and I represented Triple Threat Racing at the Jetton Park Triathlon in Cornelius. 
 
Lat Purser started in the second wave, followed by Dan Campo and then me in the third wave.  The 750 meter Lake Norman swim seemed like an ocean swim with the turbulent waters.  Many racers were warm in their wetsuits, but we were grateful to have them on to stay buoyant in the choppy water.  After exiting the water, we ran 100 yards to the transition.  I heard my sister cheering me on in transition.  Noticing my slow transition, my sister asked me if I wanted a lounge chair to drink a smoothie in transition.  Oops.  I forgot that this was a sprint triathlon, and every second counts.  I grabbed my sunglasses, helmet, and bike and started to pedal out of the park.  The mounting area, however, was on a very steep hill.  I tried to clip in once, but my wet shoe slid out.  Then, this man right next to me completely fell off of his bike and let's just say it was a very close call for me tumbling down as well.  After the third or fourth time, I successfully got on my bike.  Lat said that he and the guys leaving the transition at the same time had some trouble clipping in as well.  The course went out of the park and through the Peninsula neighborhoods.  It turned out to be a slightly technical course with the sharp turns, runaway dogs, and cyclists riding both ways along John Connor Road and Belle Isle Road.  The bike course finished downhill in the park.  Lat had the 2nd fastest bike split, and Dan followed with the 7th fastest bike split for the day.  The run course started in the shady park, headed out of the park to Brooklyn South, and then finished in the park.  Lat finished with the 3rd fastest run split for the males, and I finished with the 1st fastest run split for the females.  According to racers' Garmin's, the run course was longer than a 5K  Lat finished 3rd overall with a time of 1:06:01, Dan finished 2nd in his age group with a time of 1:12:38, and I finished 3rd overall with a time of 1:15:17.  The race was very organized and the Wakemans did a fabulous job raising money for Ace and TJ's Grin Kids and Levine and Dickson Hospice House.  I would definitely add this to your 2011 race calendar, especially if you enjoy riding through beautiful neighborhoods around Lake Norman.