SuperSeal Olympic Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Tried to keep it easy at the start and focus on breathing fat. I got dropped pretty quickly by the lead group and there was some contact in the pack. I dipped my goggles right before the start, but I didn't quite get all of the water out, so that was kind of annoying, but at least I could see really well. Sighting was easy. There were enough buoys that I could always keep the next one in sight. Made for more confident swimming. I'm still not that strong in the water and my form falls apart pretty quickly. I was ready for it to be over and I got passed a lot in the last stretch. I tried to match the pace, but there was nothing there.

Spend more time training in the pool. I've joined a masters group, so hopefully, I'll stay with it through the spring.

Couldn't find my rack at first, so I just stripped off my wetsuit and looked around. Got one leg off and saw my helmet, so I hobbled over and finished the job in front of my bike. Took a while to peel the wetsuit off over the chip. Glasses and helmet on and ran out. Stopped at the bike mount and just as I was mounting someone ran into me from behind. Threw me off a bit, but I just scooted forward a bit and tried again. Got up to speed and headed off. Still a work in progress.

Flying mount. Good course to try it. Helps get you out of the way of the carnage at the bike mount line.

Bike felt hard, but good. Kept an eye on HR and cadence. Tried to keep in in mid-90s. HR started high-150s, ended up in the high 140s (Ave: 151). A bit low for an Oly for me, but I was definitely conscious of Oceanside looming. This was not an A race by any stretch. A hard, hour TT session at race pace was the plan. Flat course with minimal wind helped overall speed. I was passed a few times on the first lap, but I think it was mostly (if not only) by guys on their second loop. From the second half of the first loop on, I wasn't passed. 10-minute stagger in waves kept the fast age groupers behind me from catching me, no doubt.

Push harder! Maintain cadence. I don't have wattage, so not sure how well I kept up the power, but it was harder to keep HR and cadence up in last half of second loop.

Stopwatch time. Dismount was good, found my rack right away - lucky guess. Helmet unbuckled during run, took it off, visor on. Socks and shoes on, grabbed Garmin and race belt and ran out. This went well.

Took 10 seconds or so to put on socks. Glad I had em, but have been faster (of course). Still haven't really trained much without socks on the run. Afraid of blisters for Oceanside / Boston.

Wasn't passed on the run. Caught a few people in my AG, but saw one TCSDer that I knew was in my division at the turnaround. He had a couple of minutes on me with 3 miles to go. Could never reel him in. Started to feel a bit of hot foot under the lug on the left foot (wearing Newtons) and was worried about blistering / tearing. Tried to push on as best as I could, but was altering my stride so as not to put too much pressure on it. When I was coming down the strand and could see the finish / hear the announcer, I heard them announce the TCSDer that I knew. I figured that meant I was out of the podium and sure enough, he was second and there was another AGer on his heels. They were both about a minute and a half up the road and I finished in 4th.

Wear different shoes. I was lazy and wore old shoes that give me problems on pavement / longer runs just because they had speed laces on them. Will have to make sure I prep my planned race shoes for Oceanside. A half marathon on this day in those shoes would not have been good.

Hung out at the finish and chatted with friends. Found Monica and switched into sandals. Cheered on other friends finishing and then headed back to the hotel.


For some reason, I lost my focus in the last week or so. I was on track with my build, but I just lost interest in running. I've been making morning swim and spin sessions, but I haven't been excited about heading out the door in "chilly" conditions to run by myself. I need to get involved with the group again to help with motivation leading up to Honu.


This is a good local race, produced by an experienced event production company. It was very convenient to stay at the host hotel. The t-shirt was a bit questionable this year - hand-drawn design / logo on a baby-blue tech shirt? Not the most masculine / graphically interesting, but I guess I've got enough of those. Definitely preferred the cotton tee they gave out last year.