Triathlon at Pacific Grove - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic

My plan was to start out easy and work my way into a faster pace as the race progressed. But when I finished the first lap, I felt some fatigue and was thinking I might not have enough left in me to push the second lap. Fortunately, after exiting the water for the turnaround, I found a second wind, and managed to swim much better on the second lap. The kelp was an ever-present obstacle -- but, overall, it wasn't too bad. I was surprised that I found myself drafting behind other swimmers for long stretches. I'm still not a very good swimmer, but this was my best swim to date. I improved my time from last year by 3 minutes.

I didn't put much effort into finding clear channels away from the kelp. I was just trying to stay relaxed and keep a straight line. In hindsight, I could have chopped off some time if I'd navigated a little better.

No mishaps in T1 -- that was my goal. Unlike last year, the quick release lever on my front wheel didn't come loose. I pre-mounted my shoes on the pedals, and slipped into them easily.

Do everything quicker. I'm usually a little faster in T1.

Pacific Grove has some rather unique challenges... I'm just glad I wasn't the poor guy who collided with the deer about a 1/2 mile from the start! Apparently, he was okay after a quick trip to the hospital. I'm not sure how the deer fared... I managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. I held a decent pace for the first three laps, but faded a little on the last lap. My Garmin was helpful. But it says I biked about 25.4 miles -- not 24.85. I guess that's typical in races, though... I didn't feel as much fatigue coming off the bike this year as I did last year, although my time was almost exactly the same as last year. I ate GU gels at mile 8 and mile 22 -- which is something I didn't do last year.

My average cadence was at 91, which is much higher than most of what I do in training (about 83-84). I guess it was from the adrenaline and rolling hills... I was trying to hold a 20 mph pace, but came up a bit short. Next year I'll get my pacing down a little better.

Just a little slower than I had hoped. It took me a few extra seconds to put on my race belt and Garmin Forerunner, but it was worth it.

I was hoping to get my run time down to about 50 minutes. But it didn't happen. I ended up almost exactly where I was last year (~51 minutes). The only difference is that my legs didn't cramp up badly and I managed to hold a steady pace for most of the run. So the run was more enjoyable this year than last year. But that darned headwind coming back on Ocean View Blvd really messed with my head -- and body. I made sure I had plenty to drink, which probably helped.

I should have pushed myself more while running into the wind. But I was afraid of overcooking myself like last year. I was prepared for the rolling hills -- just not the wind.

Walked around, drank some Gatorade... I accidentally drank some coffee that I thought was coke -- blech!


I need to focus better on the run and trust my training. I've had some bad runs in some recent tri's, and I was afraid it would happen again.

Overall I was happy -- a top-10 finish in my AG feels good.


The Triathlon at Pacific Grove is, simply, a GREAT triathlon. The scenery is unmatched anywhere, and it's exceptionally well organized. I'll keep doing this race every year until they tell me I'm too old or too slow.