Swim
Comments: My swim training has been non-existent. With that said, my swim felt pretty solid. Its obvious I need to get in the pool at least a little bit if I want to hand with the lead guys, but pool training is the hardest of the three to fit into my life, so I rely on decent technique and overall fitness. :D I was in the first wave (we were self seeded by prospective swim time) and it was a group of about 50. Gun went off and we had a diagonal run down the beach, then a long wade/skip/jump/dive move to get over the shallow lowtide sandbar. Got out through the waves no problem and around the first bouy. Swim was pretty uneventful, then it was a turn towards shore and a long run (a good 200 yards) run through deep sand up to T1 (included in swim time.) My Garmin shows a bit longer than .5 miles, and actual swim time of 16:something. What would you do differently?: Actually train in the pool! Transition 1
Comments: Quick T for me. Kept it simple. suit off, belt on , helmet on....on my way. Shoes were already clipped in. Bike
Comments: Took off on the bike feeling good. Got up to speed quickly and just hammered away. They'd shortened the course for some reason, but because this a heavily used recreational path that wasnt closed to the public, they had really stressed the safety aspect, and there was no passing allowed 100 yards before or after the the 3 underpasses we hot both out and back. Being in that first wave was good....I passed half a dozen people or so, and never got passed myself. Felt really strong and had a good solid ride. Dismounted cleanly after taking feet out of my shoes, and jogged into T2. Transition 2
Comments: Helmet off, shoes on, go. Wore my Zoot Kiawes since I realized that morning that the entire run was in deep sand and thought they would help me stay on the surface more than bare feet would. Run
Comments: Holy crap this sucked! race advertised a mix of soft and hardpacked sand. Only remotely hardpacked stuff was the tire tracks from the lifeguards, but even that was only a minor improvement. I just started plugging away, shortening my stride as best I could. I was able to count off people ahead of me by the turnaround, and other than being passed by one elite (podcaster Tawnee Prazak) I was never passed by anyone. I saw Macca go by about a 1/4 of the way into the run, and he had the biggest grin on his face. Blazing fast and happy as can be. Crossed the finish line with the closest person a little ways back, and I knew I had to be in the top of my AG. I was tired, but happy. Post race
Warm down: My wife had dragged the kids out of bed to come cheer me on, so it was great to see them. Went over to the timing tent and saw that I was second in the AG, 10th male, and 12th overall. I had remembered reading that they were only awarding the top spot in each group, and my daughter had a soccer game, so we quickly departed. It wasnt till later that I realized that 1) Macca was in my AG and he was the #1 spot, and 2)the RD had said Macca wouldn't be taking any podium spots. DOH! That means I missed out on me very first triathlon AG win! Oh well. I now have a results page printed for framing that has my name right under a 2x World Champ. Pretty damn cool. Event comments: This was a fantastic first race in Seal Beach. Very well run with great support and a small town feel. I'll be doing this race every year I can. Last updated: 2012-09-14 12:00 AM
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United States
tri-the-beach
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 12/317
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/24
Got up, showered, had some Gatorade, a few donut holes, then hopped on the bike for the 4 mile ride down to the race. It was dark and misting, but it was a pretty nice warmup.
Once I got my spot setup, I jogged down to the water to see what the conditions were, then back. Then it was a half mile walk down to the pier for the swim start. Swam around for a bit, bodysurfed a few waves, and chatted with Chris "Macca" McCormack for a few seconds. Yes, that guy was doing this small little local tri just because it looked fun. made the day extra special for the rest of us for sure!