Santa Barbara Triathlon - Long Course - TriathlonLong Course

Swim was a pretty standard deal. Start was about 25 yards up the sand and it was a run to the water. I started in front and tried to be on the right side so I would be closest to the buoy.

Got a good start and stayed up right a little longer than most. The water was pretty shallow so I ran and paddled and was passing people that had dived in and started swimming. I kept doing this until I felt it wasn't faster and then dove in. I got to the first buoy in probably 3rd or 4th...one dude was just gone. I saw a blue cap about 15 yards ahead of me already and just let him go.

There was a pack of 3-4 of us that seemed to stay together for most of the swim. This turned out to be the case looking at the results. There were actually 7 of us that all came in within less than a minute of each other and 4 of us within 15 seconds. I was actually tied for 5th out of the water but the results had me listed in 6th with the same swim time as 5th.

This was the longest open water swim I've done yet. Although it was just a little longer than an Olympic distance, it seemed a lot longer for some reason. The time was pretty spot on though, so I'm pretty sure the distance was accurate.

The water was rough for some reason....we just got a nasty day. The day before and the day after were absolute glass, but on Saturday it was just like storm chop. A good current going north but a nasty current and chop coming back south. I knew the swim times were gonna be a bit slow because of this. I stayed right next to one swimmer in my wave after we made the turn south to come back. We would be right next to each other and three strokes later, we would be 5 yards apart...the chop was that bad. I also swallowed quit a bit of water when we started making our way through the wave before us.

As far as how I paced myself, I was pretty happy. I gave a great effort and felt it was spot on for this distance race. I felt strong running up the beach and that's usually how I can tell if I've gone too hard. The sand really kills me if I'm too tired coming out of the water. I was able to get up the beach at a good clip and felt very good.

Nothing. Best I could do on this day.

Great transition. Wetsuit came off no problem. Helmet on without a problem and I was off. Transition times are not up in the overall results ( they are if you click through to each name but that would take forever ) so I'm not entirely sure how my times stacked up against the others. I passed at least 2-3 guys in transition, so I was happy with that. I guess I was about 3rd or 4th in my AG at that point.

They finished the results and I was second fastest transition by 1 second. So I'm happy.

Nothing.

This was what I was worried about. The bike. I pre ran the course two weeks ago and it was much tougher than I had expected. I had a goal time of sub 1:45:xx and I just didn't now if that was possible for me. I had a break through with riding about 1 1/2 weeks ago and my averages have really been coming up. I've really been concentrating on not frying my legs by trying to hold certain mph's. But rather concentrating on keeping good momentum...for example, trying to really push out of turns to get up to speed faster, that just fries my legs. I do much better if I just roll up to speed and save that energy for the hills. This is exactly how I rode and I felt great.

Being pretty good at the swim means two things, you get a head start on the bike and you get passed a lot...lol. I did get passed in the first half of the bike leg, which is pretty standard for me. But something was different this time. I was passed by about 10 people I would say the entire first half and when people passed me, they were not blowing by me. The were just slowly rolling by at a slightly better pace. Most of the people passing me were 30-34 guys from the wave in front of me that I caught and passed on the swim. I can only remember 2-3 people in my age group passing me.

At the half way point, there is a tough little road that leads to the top of Gubernador Cyn. I caught and passed a rider there and then was passed at the top of the hill by a 30yo. But, at the top is a really fast and technical descent and he was very timid down it. I blew by him down the hill. This would be a theme for about the next 1/4 of the course. He was a stronger rider than me but not as good of a rider technically. So on the descents I would pass him and then he would pass me back on the flats and climbs.

When we hit Toro Cyn, the big climb on the course, I lost him for good. I had a tough time up the canyon, but was ready for it and knew it was a tough climb before the race. The canyon meant I was 3/4 of the way done. I crested the top and I didn't see anyone till just before the finish line. I was really happy about this. It meant I was solidly in 6th or 7th and had put in a very solid ride. About 1-2 miles out from the finish line I saw a rider up the road that I was reeling in. I did manage to catch him at dismount and his leg read 38...woohoo, someone in my age group. I looked down at my Garmin and saw a 1:41:xx and was just thrilled. I also felt like I had something for the run which made me even more happy.

Side note, nutrition went great. I had a Gu 30 minutes in and at 1:30:xx. Plus just water. I had a bottle on my aero bars that did have Gatorade but I didn't cut it enough with water and it was too hard to drink.

Nothing. This is the best ride I've done in a race. Under control the whole time and really fast. I didn't think I could hold >20mph and I did it.

I don't usually do things like this in transition, but I did. I fumbled with my stupid number belt. Just get the belt and go jackass. I was pissed at myself and probably cost myself about 10 seconds here...just stupid.

Results are finished and again, I was second fastest transition by 4 seconds. I guess this is good but if I'm capable of doing better by just being smarter, there is no excuse. So I will work on being fastest next time. Also, some of the Elite men were 20-30 seconds faster and there is no reason I can't be as fast as them in transition.

Don't sit there and mess number belt, moron...lol...just go

Something was very wrong here...I wasn't dreading the 10 mile run lol. I was excited to get going. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I could do it. I knew I had the strength to put in a solid run before the run started. I headed out at a good clip and felt great. Well everything except the guy I passed right at the end of the bike charging past me at a completely different pace. Oh well, I didn't feel THAT good.

I rolled through the first mile at 6:51 which was perfect. Goal time was 1:15:xx or 7:30 miles. I figured if I went out at 10K pace, I could put some time in the bank if I faded a little at the end.

The course is an out and back with the first half almost 3/4 up hill. The first 2 miles is flat and mile 2 clicked off at 7:00...perfect. That was just perfect and I felt fine. Then the hills started and it got a little rough. Mile 3 was a 7:22...that was acceptable...it was under 7:30. But then Mile 4 was a 7:49..oh shit. I didn't want to fade that bad. In hindsight, I wasn't fading at all, that was just a very hilly and tough mile. Mile 5 was a 7:32 and the last up hill mile.

When I made the turn I instantly felt better, obviously. I clipped off two 7:19's in a row and I knew I was fine. Next mile was a 7:13 then a 7:34 and I started to feel a little tired, but just one mile to go. I wasn't passed by anyone in my AG except the guy at the start of the run. I wanted to give a really good fast last mile, but about 200-300 yards from the finish I got a nasty side stitch...I mean it was bad. I almost had to stop. I didn't though and just pushed through it. I had a great run overall.

I did plan to take another Gu about halfway through the run, but just felt I didn't need it. I survived on just water for the whole run. I don't think this had to do at all with the side stitch at the end.

I was bummed that I finished 22 seconds behind 6th and had I not been fumbling with the number belt at T2, I might have saw him and ran him down.

Nothing, this was all I had and I felt great doing it.

Nothing, just got some water and something to eat.


Nothing.


I performed better than I expected. The training has really paid off. I must say that this is the first race I have had that seemed easy. I had a plan and executed it. It was just what my body had. Nothing hurt and I wasn't fighting any odd pain. I was just pushing as hard as I could go. For the first time, train hard and race easy made complete sense to me. My goal was 3:30:xx and I crushed that. My goal was a top 20 and I crushed that as well.


I'm excited for racing in the future and just want to get faster.


Met Emilio Desoto in the parking lot of our hotel after the race. Super nice guy. I'm glad I had the chance to talk with him and get to know him a little.