Santa Barbara County Triathlon - TriathlonLong Course

Made a conscious effort to really relax before this swim as that's been my problem in every race I've done. Took some deep breaths and was feeling great right off the bat. Water was cool, but I was ready for it. Since this was going to be my longest tri to date, I really made an effort to watch my pace. Wanted to exit the water feeling like the swim was just a warmup for the bike rather than spending too much. Finished somewhere around MOP and had a comfortable jog to T1.
As always, I stayed on the outside of the pack. I just can't keep a rhythm if I'm in a crowd, so I tried to avoid it, which added distance to my swim, but kept me from losing my stroke.

Maybe take a tighter course around the buoys and try to draft a bit more. Staying away from the pack kept me from being able to do any drafting really.

Found my rack quickly (after last week's debacle) and methodically went through pulling down my wetsuit, putting my bike shorts over my tri shorts (thanks CO2girl!), already had my tri shirt and shorts under the wetsuit. Stuffed the gels and Endurolytes in my shirt pocket, on with the socks and bike shoes, helmet, sunnies, and I was off.

I wish I could take 34 miles in just tri shorts, but thought I'd be hurting for 2 hours without much padding, so that's why I pulled the bike shorts over my tri shorts. Otherwise, I thought I went through it pretty quickly. I first tried getting my socks on without rinsing my feet, but realized I had alot of sand on my feet, and rinsed them with my water bottle quickly.

Everything I've read about long course triathlons say not to blow everything on the bike, so I was always conscious of my pacing, as well as my nutrition. I tried to stay aerobic as much as I could. Not knowing the course, I was conservative on the winding downhills and alot of them had sharp turns at the bottom, so there was a fair bit of "hood riding" along with plenty of aerobar stuff. Around mile 25 or so, we had a long, steep climb, and I managed to mash my way past a few folks on the way up. I dropped my chain at the top when shifting from the small to middle ring, but only took me about 10 seconds to get it back on. I would say I got passed by ALOT more people than I was able to pass in this race, which is quite a switch from the recent sprint races I've done. That was humbling, but I resisted the urge to push too hard to save my energy. Downed a full bottle of Gatorade Endurance and a full bottle of water, along with one Endurolyte and one Gel. One bummer, about 2 miles out, I hit a bump in the pavement and again, like last week, my handlebars pivoted down. I had tightened them alot last week, so I was surprised. Another problem, my back derailleur seems to stick on the higher gears when I shift. It sometimes "sits" for ten seconds or so before shifting. I have to check that before my HIM!

Have my gears checked. Drive the course before the race.

Came in, off with helmet and bike shoes, then bike shorts off, then race belt on, Fuel Belt on, shoes on, and I was outta there. I did have to take a stop at the Porta Potty. I had wanted to pee on the bike, but didn't want to be soaking in my own pee and get pee on my water bottles, so I took 30 seconds in this T to go.

Nothing.

This was, without a doubt, my defining segment of this race. I had stuck to my plan of saving everything for this run, so I went into it with plenty of gas in the tank. When I started the run, it was HOT (by SoCal standards). Mid-80's with zero wind. I had decided to run with a Fuel Belt since I can't drink from those cups at the aid stations at all without choking. Decided I'd use the aid stations to pour water on my head to cool off. This turned out to be a great plan for me. I had cold water and Gatorade in the Fuel Belt and rationed that out well throughout the run.
I started the run at a slow pace, probably around 9:30/mile until I had my run legs. Had an Endurolyte around mile 3, and picked up the pace a bit. After a long flat section, the run started climbing a bit, and then weaving through a residential area as we approached the turnaround. I kept an eye on my watch knowing what pace I had to get to make my 3:55 goal time. At the turnaround, I increased my foot speed and subsequently my pace dramatically. Sucked down a gel. I also passed Vicki coming the other way and we yelled for each other. I figured I had to make it around 8 min/miles or better to make my goal time. I've rarely ever run that fast in training, but decided this was the time to blow the wad. I started mowing past people more than I ever have in any race I've done. One guy was moving up on me and passed me, but I held him within about 30 yards, and then kicked it up another notch around mile 8 for the home stretch. I kept checking my watch and knew it was going to be close. My quads were getting tired, but I knew I could maintain my pace for the remaining mile and just kept powering right through the line. I finished with about 30 seconds to spare for my goal time! I was STOKED!

Nothing. This was my best run ever. Oh, one thing...I managed to soak my shoes/socks dumping water on myself, so I have to figure out how to dump water on my head without doing that. My toes were a bit blistered at the end.

I had expended pretty much everything, so I was HOT when I crossed the line. Fortunately, they had a sponge bath right there so I got two dousings, then wobbled over to the Gatorade/water tent and drank a few cups and then stood in the shade for ten minutes waiting for my heart to stop pounding. Definitely the longest it's taken me to recover after the finish of a race.
Once I felt recovered, I partook in the chicken, salad, bagels, fruit, etc. at the finish. A great post-race feed. Then, wandered over and got the cameras and waited for Vicki to cross the line, which she did in about 4:30.


Probably my lack of experience, but I was happy with my race. Made my goal time.


Volunteers, police, and crowd along course were awesome! Cheering, helping, awesome! Even way out at the bike turnaround, people were cheering for out. A great race with fantastic scenery, especially on the bike!