Nautica Malibu Triathlon - Classic Distance - TriathlonSprint

I eased into the water toward the back of my wave and started making my way through the surf toward the turn buoy. On the way out, I even dove under a couple of waves to get myself acclimated. The water temperature was comfortable and I avoided getting water up my nose and into my mouth, which always throws me toward panic. I reached the buoy without too much difficulty and made the turn so I was going parallel to the shore. Since the beach was now on my right, I would be able to breathe on my more comfortable side and have the waves come from my blind side.

While the water was by no means rough, the ocean experience was legitimate and we were definitely swimming in surf. It was rolling me a little and causing my stroke and breathing pattern to be a little off. I had to pause a few times to collect myself when my breathing started getting out of control. I took a few deep breaths, reminded myself that I was fine and got back to swimming. I never got into panic mode even though I was on the edge on a couple of occasions.

At about the midway point, I paused to clear out my goggles. Getting clear vision definitely helped and I swam much more comfortably to the end. After turning the final buoy, I headed for the beach. A couple of waves assisted my forward progress, but I am not skilled enough to really time them and use them properly.

As I exited the water, I saw that I had taken about twenty minutes. Not great, but not bad either. I was actually in the race. I looked around and of the people who were with me coming out of the water, most were part of my wave, a couple were from the wave behind us, and a handful were even from the wave in front of us - encouarging. Not being one of the last out of the water got the day off to a good start and I didn't feel like I had lost too much time.

Try to get in the water beforehand. I might have been able to get over the initial nervousness, get my goggles cleared and have a better first half. However, with the way it worked out, I will definitely take it.

The transition area was pretty big with over 1500 people racing. I also was not running much faster than a slow jog. While I got the wetsuit off quickly, I took time putting on socks and gloves for the bike and getting the Garmin to lock on to the satellites.

Probably could have made things a little speedier overall by running faster through transition. However, when my biggest criticism of my race is slow transitions, I am having a banner day.

I was really curious to see how the bike would go. I knew the course has some hills, but I didn't know how steep. As it goes entirely along the coast, there is also potential for winds. I thought I might be able to keep the ride under an hour (averaging 18 mph or so) - maybe better or worse, depending on conditions.

The course started through the Zuma Beach parking lots. Since there were a lot of people racing and eight waves in front of me, I was constantly in a mode of passing people. The parking lots offer a series of speed bumps. I chose not to break my momentum of passing people, so rather than slowing down and pulling to the right side to go around the bump, if I was passing someone, I just hopped over the bump as well as I could. Thankfully, no damage was done to the bike or wheels.

When we got onto PCH, I was still cruising by people. I didn't feel that I was pushing hard, but every time I looked at my speed, I was going between 20-25 mph. Maybe we were getting more of a tailwind than I thought, but if that was the case, why wasn't everyone else going just as fast? While I was passing a number of people, and wasn't completely sure what that meant in the grand scheme, one thing was certain - no one was coming from behind. That was a really good sign that I was holding off the people who were in later waves and the few people who I had managed to outswim. Even the uphills, while slowing me down some, weren't too bad. I thought the winds would catch up to me on the way back, so I decided to enjoy the fast speeds while I could.

As I went along and was in the midst of making a few passes, I heard my name. Jenna was next to me in a cab, shouting encouragement. I told her that I had gotten out of the water in about 20 minutes. She knew that was about what I expected and it was good news. She also could see that the bike was going well so far and went back to the transition area to wait for me to come back through. It was unexpected but nice to see her on the course.

At the park where the turnaround was, I was focused and trying to continue to make passes. It was challenging in the turns and a lot of people didn't seem to hear or acknowledge my 'on your left' calls, but I only had to hit the brakes a few times for those who didn't get right quickly enough. On the return, there was a pretty long uphill section, but it wasn't overly steep, so while I needed to gear down some, I never ran out of gears and managed to maintain some cadence without having to totally grind up the hill. For the most part, the pace stayed consistently fast and I started to calculate how it was going, time-wise. I figured out that I had averaged over 20 mph so far, maybe higher, and would likely finish the bike in under an hour unless I encountered something unexpected. I made the last turnaround and made my way back through the parking lots toward transition. I wanted to preserve my average pace so I was still racing until I hit the dismount line. I knew I had just had a great ride - better than I had hoped for at 51 minutes. I couldn't wait to see the results to see how good. As it turns out, it wasn't just my imagination - details are below in the overall race comments. I have had good bike splits before, but nothing like this. Things were going well - the only remaining question was what would the run bring?

I likely could have pushed a bit harder, but seeing that the run went well, I probably paced it about right.

Another long trek through the transition area. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't moving fast either. Once again, when my transitions are the worst part of my race, I am nitpicking and it has been a good day.

During training, I have been working on using a quicker cadence with shorter strides. While making my gait a little more of a shuffle, it has been effective at making me a little faster. I have also lost some weight, which is probably a bigger factor in the increased speed. I ran well back in May at Knoxville, but I hadn't yet tried my 'new run' on a short course where I could push.

I started off with my short, choppy strides and my legs felt pretty good, especially considering I was coming off the bike. Mile one seemed to take a while, but I felt like I was moving well and I didn't want to check my pace. I didn't want the pace to get into my head so early - I just wanted to keep running well.

I passed the aid station, walked a few steps to take in a little Gatorade, and got right back to running, knowing that the turnaround and midway point were only a mile away. I was actually passing a few people, so things must be going pretty well. I also saw Jenna during this stretch, so I got a little mental boost. Usually, this is the stage of the race where I start seeing people that I passed on the bike blow past me. While a handful of people passed me, it wasn't the endless parade I was used to. I felt like I was moving pretty fast, but didn't know anything more specific.

At the turnaround, I paused again to drink some Gatorade and pour a cup of water over my head. I also allowed myself to check the time. I had finished the first half with a sub-10:00/mile pace, which is something I have never done in a multisport event longer than 5k. Some quick math also told me that if I held that pace to the end, I would come in under two hours for the whole event, which had been a stretch goal at the beginning. Now I really had something to race for.

I kept the pace togther, reminding myself that all I was feeling was fatigue - not injury - no excuses to let up now. I glanced at my pace occasionally - I kept seeing 9:XX, so I knew I was still okay. I passed the mile three mark, had one last drink of Gatorade and splash of water, and checked the numbers one more time. I not only was on pace for my goals but I also had about a 1-2 minute cushion. I didn't want to chance it and kept holding it together. The transition area and the finish line started to come into view. Don't let up now. I was in a tunnel vision state when I heard someone call out to me and felt a tap. It turned out it was Jenna, but I didn't realize it until I was past her. I'm usually meandering my way down the chute, but today was different.

I crossed the finish line elated with a good run. Things were a little blurry as I collected my finisher's medal. Right next to me, through the fog, I heard a voice say 'Good job, good job'. The accent was British. I looked up and saw Chrissie Wellington (three time Kona champion and Ironman world record holder) standing there congratulating me. I was a little stunned. I think that everyone wants to believe that when confronted with a celebrity encounter, we would be cool and collected and smooth. In this moment, I was the opposite - I may have let out a shriek or squeal, and I am sure my demeanor was akin to that of a giddy schoolgirl. I blurted out 'thank you, Chrissie', and I hugged her. Thankfully, she remained her gracious and cheerful self, as she is used to adulation from triathletes everywhere. I slunk away a little embarrassed and laughing at myself.


Nothing - it was a fantastic run and even better thaan my pace in standalone training runs.

I got a drink and headed to the transition area to get my equipment. I found Jenna, and a few of the first words out of my mouth were, 'I hugged Chrissie Wellington!'. She has been aware for some time that she had married a dork - this just provided additional confirmation. We talked for a bit, watched a little of the awards ceremony and started the long walk back to the car.


Nothing - was about as good as I could have been on that day.


I had by far my best overall race - I feel like I actually raced over my head. Aside from a local sprint (Halloween Bash in '09), I RACED an event from start to finish, rather than muddling through the swim, racing the bike, and surviving the run. I finished near the top 25% overall for the first time. I ran in the top half of the field. I finished the bike 89th out of 1559 (top 6%), and 1st among Clydesdales. These things are worth noting because they are such an anomaly.

The event was very well run and enjoyable. My one regret is that I didn't take more opportunity to look around and enjoy the beauty of the venue. I was a little too focused. The event was big, fun, and well supported. The organizers and volunteers did a great job. My only criticsim is the parking situation - it was a little chaotic. The event may be a little too big for the venue to accommodate. I realize with the fundraising effort undertaken by the race that they try to get as many participants as possible, but it would be a little less congested if they increase the rates and accommodate a few less racers. Overall, a small criticism.