Redondo Beach Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Decent swim. I started far far left, because the start corral would leave you a little right of the lefthand turn buoy if you started in the middle. There were a few small sets coming in, enough to slow people down but no real power.

Wave 4 was lucky as we were a little between sets, although a couple waves might have provided a bit of separation. There were LOTS of folks to my right, and I was headed straight for the buoy, so I knew it would get crowded. Best I can tell, there were just a few blue caps ahead of me.

Turned right and headed for the pier. Me and another guy were swimming the same pace for a bit, but he seemed to be heading out to sea further than I'd like, so I stopped quickly and swung around behind him. Eventually he came back in a bit, so I chose to draft off him,his line was pretty good, and it helped slaloming the many pink and purple caps ahead of us. Hit the middle buoy about 20 foot away, a little far for my liking but OK.

There were a few swells out there, and due to the bottom contour the final buoy is not that far off shore (it gets really deep really fast there). So swimming in towards it, you start to get tossed a little by the swells. Eventually he started taking an outside line again and I wanted to head straight for the buoy, so went off on my own. Turned right at the last buoy, and headed to shore. There were a lot of racers in the water, and it was just a matter of negotiating the best line.

No waves came in so I didn't get any free rides. Swam until I touched sand, stood up, and started the run up the beach. At that point Doug passed me, and beat me to the mat by a few seconds. Watch said 15:30 so I knew it was a pretty slow swim, but since Doug was there I knew my performance wasn't bad as Doug is a fast swimmer

Nothing. pretty good swim given that I've only been swimming 2X week

This is a long run up a ramp/street to the transition area. Pretty darn hard, if you ask me. 5/47 in AG, so OK

I haven't ridden much since Oceanside, maybe 6-8 times, so my bike has suffered a bit. This course is just short enough that you start to hammer it and can't really let up. Nothing significant to report on the course, other than I felt like I was not having a very good bike. Made worse by my friend that passed me near the end of the second loop, and I know he's injured and hasn't been riding much either. I just didn't have it in my legs for some reason.

Dropped into the small ring on both little climbs up Torrance, otherwise hammered the false flats down as much as I could. Frustrated and disappointed with the bike, frankly.

Got passed by several folks, but wasn't really paying attention to AGs

Come into the race trained.

Thought it was OK, but 19/47 of AG, so I clearly need to work on it. Glad I didn't end up wearing socks or I might still be in there.

Took off and was about 50 yards behind my friend that had passed me, so just used him as a pacer, and slowly got closer to him. Had no idea where I was in AG, but just settled into a slightly uncomfortable pace. I found it difficult to hold it, but figured it was only two miles. This is part of one of my normal run routes, but it's a lot different racing it than just training through it. A lot less scenic :)

Didn't see any clydes pass me until about 1/3 mile left, a guy came by at a pretty good clip. Was I in the running? I had no idea but decided that I wouldn't let anyone else in the clydes pass me. A quick look behind, didn't look like there were any big guys close to me, but I picked it up, and caught my friend at the base of the final hill. He said "ugh, you caught me on the RUN??" Hit the top of the hill, looked back, there were a few guys, couldn't tell if they were clydes but ran as fast as I could on the flats leading to the finish.

Turns out one guy was out of the water and T1 before me, one clyde passed me on the bike, and then one on the run. :45 off the podium. Bummer! But at least I am out there dancing. And I have motivation for next year, get my bike down to 17 or lower

And my goal for the run was 17, and I went 17:01. And my fastest triathlon run split. Unfortunately, course is reported as a little short, and it's changed since the last time I did it, the turn to come home is a little closer, but the run up the hill at the end adds a bit. But I am still listing it as 8:30s :) Was a good run for me at any rate.

Hung out to check results, talk with friends, etc. Since Sunday is my long run day, and I hadn't run that much this week, I threw all my stuff in the car for Wendy to drive home and I ran 3.5 miles home. That may or may not have been a great idea. It hurt pretty bad and not sure it was worth 3.5 miles, but there it is. :) Also probably means I didn't leave it all out there..... :)

Would have been 7/45 in the 45-49 AG.


Race was well organized, well marked, on time, and run well. Only minor complaint is the new bike course south on the Esplanade is narrower due to recent street improvements so it's a little "hermosa-ish," i.e., getting three levels of racers through (slow, medium, fast) in one narrow lane.

Definitely a great local race, and will continue to be involved either as a volunteer or participant.