Santa Barbara Triathlon - Long Course - TriathlonLong Course

The water was warm. I was surprised, everyone I spoke to leading up to the race said to prepare for the cold water. Nope, warm. I was really nervous standing at the start line. There were some guys apologizing in advance for possibly kicking me once we're in the water. Something I wanted to avoid when I signed up for this. The whole group swim thing freaks me out.
Just seconds till start, I was really nervous. I knew ahead of time I wasn't going to "Banzai" into the water, I didn't want to chance my goggles popping off or leaking...I wear contacts, a leak would've been really annoying during the swim. (Not sure why I didn't practice with the goggles, that ultimately cost me time.)
Time to start! I jogged to the water (like my 10 yr daughter would), let the experienced guys go ahead, waived to my wife/kids and swam. Once I got my face in the water, I turned on like a light switch. I was more comfortable than expected. I swam into a pack of swimmers, it got pretty physical at first, lots of bumping and arm locking. It turns out, this didn't bother me at all! Then after about 20 yards, I swam a solid burst and separated myself from the cluster. I quickly got a decent rhythm and was breathing well, I didn't want to go too fast, based on what I saw yesterday, the course seemed huge to me, so I wanted to make sure I could finish strong. Again, this was my first competitive open water swim. I didn't want to go crazy early, so I paced a little slower than training. Even with that, I started passing people and it felt great! I was surprised how bad some of these swimmers were at sighting, I was more pleased that I was swimming straight! I drafted some other straight swimmers, which was fun. I made the buoys, turned left and into the beach I went. I got out of the water feeling good. It turns out, the distance was accurate. I Lost my cap in the swim, ripped my goggles off (no leak during the swim, phew!) and ran to T1

Next race, I'm definitely going to be more aggressive, and not worry about goggles. I should've trusted my training and SWAM my pace!

Bad transition. I didn't wear my shirt under my wetsuit, not sure why I decided against that. Wetsuit came off easy, I put my helmet on, sunglasses and socks, my shoes were on the bike, ready to go! Oops! Forgot to put my shirt on! RE-DO! Got on my bike, the gear was too low for the start. Ugh. Chalk this up to a great learning experience.

Most of it. I can be much faster.

Bike was good. I rode the course the week before, so I knew what I was up against. The last hill, Toro Canyon was a pain, but got through it ok. I beat my 2 hour goal by a couple of minutes, so that was good. The nice thing about not being a fast rider, is I got to see all the cool carbon fiber bikes pass me like I was standing still! I know I have a lot of work to do in order to be better on the bike. Finding a good bike will be next on my list. I borrowed a buddy's 8 yr old Trek, it held up nice, no flat tires. I Never stopped. I charged up the first 2 hills and actually passed a few on the third, Toro.

Not much, I rode as hard as I think I could. I will ride more.

I took my feet out of my shoes and rode in, almost like a pro! My legs hit the ground and responded nicely. I could definitely be faster in this Transition. I went down the wrong bike rack coming in from the ride. That didnt help.

Running out of transition felt ok. My family was there cheering my on, which was great, I had to make sure I looked strong with great form and a stride! That was just for looks, once I got out of sight, I realized my legs may be giving this whole "triathlon thing" a second thought. Good news , my legs started to loosen up about 2 miles in, bad news, here comes a hill. Ugh. I started to get a muscle cramp above my right "love handle". I didnt know I had a muscle there, until it started screaming at me. I immediately thought this was way too early for this to happen. It was uphill for most of the way up to the turning point. I just kept telling myself to get to 5 miles, the rest is down hill. I ran through the love handle pain, thank god it stopped. I got to the 5 mile mark, where I was offered a beer from one of the many nice, volunteers. He lied, it was water. Punk. I used the downhill the best I could, once I got to the last flat 2 miles, it started to get hot, I was passed by 5 people, I know this because I thought counting them would make me go faster. Nope, I just kept counting. Last mile there was a lady screaming her head off at me, telling my to keep going. She was impressively loud, I kept going and went faster to the finish. My family was there to hug me at the end, what a great moment!

I know with more training, I'll be able to knock off some minutes from this run. I walked through more water stands then I'd like to admit and a few times in between. I know I can do an 8 min mile.

I ate some oranges and pasta, and returned to the bike rack to stretch.


The Hill? I'll be ready next year!


I was very happy to finish 3 min faster than my 4 hr goal! If I had raced Clydesdale (Im 215 lbs), I would have finished 4th in the group! Thats great for my ego.
This was a lot of fun for my first Triathlon. I learned a ton. I loved the atmosphere, seeing the other racers and how they interact with each other, I constantly thought, "I wanna be like them!" I cant wait to do this race again with more experience, a little less lbs, a newer bike (suggestions would be great) and a more competitive mindset.