Pacific Coast Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My primary goal at this race was to improve my swim split, and that 1:35/100 pace is by far my best ocean swim. The credit goes to our new masters coach, Ironman coach Mitch Gold.

There was surf that knocked a lot of people around, but I had a great entry and my buddy says I was in the first 10% to the turn buoy. The conditions were nearly perfect: nice water temp, and great clarity so you could see the bottom most of the way from the shore to the turn, and could look way down the kelp stalks. This is the clearest ocean water I've raced in.

My sighting was good, and I had my (new) stroke all the way. It felt almost effortless... so I need to dial-in higher intensity at this distance. On the way in, I caught a good wave, but tumbled and lost my goggles. Bye-bye Kayennes!

That said, I finished 1/3 of the way back in my ag. These SoCal ag'ers are fast!

More effort.

10 in ag. Not bad, and reflects my run fitness as much as anything. The climb from the beach really had the heart pumping.

Like I said, these SoCal triathletes are fast! And they all seemed to be out today, probably because it's the home turf of the Newport and OC tri clubs. I went first in the AG at Encinitas, so was surprised and impressed at the talent today.

This part of PCH isn't flat, and had some viscous climbs that had me out of the saddle and way up the cassette. My personal race consisted of chasing a guy in my AG with a loud retro disc, who I finally lost track of with two miles to go. I haven't focused on the bike for a few weeks, trying to bring my swim into balance, but felt good about things... until I was on a false flat at 20 mph just before T2 when a guy in a Raleigh kit and race wheels passed me like I was standing still. He had to have been going 26-28 mph up a slight grade. I still can't figure out where he came from, unless he had a horrendous swim or a flat.

More miles in the saddle once my swim and run are in balance.

21 in ag. Again, not bad. I didn't give much away, but did have a mystery problem when something with the bike interfered with the rack.

I'm happy with this run. Depending on how the course was measured, my pace was between 7:16 and 7:03. This is easily my fastest sprint on a rolling course - I ran 7:13 at pancake-flat La Quinta.

But man! The guy who took the AG went 17:12, and the next two guys went 18:43. Last month, I thought you could podium with 20:55!

More miles? Easier competition?

Food and big stories.


I can't complain. I don't know how fast I'll get, but I'm still making rapid progress on the swim and run.


The OC tri clubs are superhuman!

Great race. The only complaints I have are that the parking was sort of a disaster, and there was poor security at transition. I was there early, and the volunteers didn't know where to send people other than those who carpooled with 3+ passengers to the lot by the expo. Also, transition security was a disaster. All kinds of spectators were milling around transition, and no one checked me or my bike when I left. Bikes will be stolen if this promoter doesn't shape up. This was substandard for any SoCal tri, and the college/amateur tris have better security and management of volunteers.

results: http://www.geminitiming.com/posts/pacific-coast-triathlon-results/