San Diego Triathlon Classic - TriathlonOlympic

I was really disappointed in this swim. I just could not keep straight and kept zig zagging on the course. Most of the pack got way ahead of me and I could have easily cut my time by 7 minutes if only I could keep straight. Swimming is my favorite part of triathlon and I like to think I'm at least a little above average, but this really humbled me and showed me that there's a lot to learn still.

I really need to work on both my sighting and being able to latch onto others and draft off them. I didn't have much chance to do any open water swims in prep for this, so maybe I got too used to pool line lane markers... I was snaking way too much. Maybe it's time to finally join a Masters class so they can at least evaluate what's wrong with my stroke.

Good, quick T1 time. Seems like the only things I do fast in a triathlon are transitions. :)

I didn't want to try the flying mount even though I've been practicing it a little. Even though I didn't, I still prefer clipping my shoes and rubber banding them to the bike since it saves me a lot of time and hassle. I hate walking around in bike cleats.

I still have a lot of room for further development, but I've improved a lot on the bike versus in the past and have more confidence handling it. During the course I only had one mishap when my chain came off due to a wrong shift, but I was able to get it back on after a minute or two.

I took my feet out of my shoes way early anticipating a dismount because I thought I'd be coming up to the end. I think there was almost a mile left! I lost a little bit of speed there.

I also wish I could have put my newfound skills to the test among those in my age group, but they were far ahead of me due to my weak swim.

Another fast time. I don't know why more people do the "flying" dismount as I passed by two other guys while doing it. It's not very hard.

Make sure not to take my feet out of my shoes until I'm sure the finish is coming up.

Running is still my weakest link, which isn't saying much since I'm not exceptional in any part of triathlons except for transitions. I've been improving on the run during training, and didn't walk at all during the race. However, my run time averages were SLOWER than my first two triathlons. Sure, they were shorter distances, but I thought I would have at least averaged under 9 minutes a mile. I had a lot of stiffness left over from the bike which didn't really wear off until about mile 3, so that might have been it. I wish I could have tracked my mile splits.

I always sprint the last 50 or so yards, so after the announcer said, "We've got a sprinter!" he announced my name. My friend heard him say, "Wait. Is that the same Chris McDougall..." Unless I establish a name for myself, I think I'm always gonna be associated with the Born to Run guy. Hahaha.

I need to increase my overall mileage per week running.

I didn't really stretch or anything. My breathing slowed down quickly and I just ate some of the food they provided while chatting with my friend.

I read from one of the other race reports that she decided to do the run again as part of training and ended up encouraging people along the way. I think for my next one I wanna do this if allowed. It's not easy to do a triathlon, and for some they really need encouragement to keep going!


My goal was to get under 3 hours. I missed that by 10 minutes, which is pretty significant. One of the Team in Training members who I befriended on the swim was doing this race for the first time. It was his first triathlon. He beat me by more than 17 minutes. I think I really need to step it up in the training department and also find other people to train with and get more motivated. It's tough doing this type of stuff totally alone.


I thought the USAT referee did a pretty good job overseeing the bike course. He passed by several times on his motorcycle. The volunteers all did a great job, especially in regards to dealing with car traffic during the bike portion. The perks were also cool like the complimentary beer and wine, food, etc.