San Diego International Triathlon - International Course - Triathlon

I was very comfortable from the start and just took the pace easy. The buoys were spaced fairly close so I could see consistent progress. Before I knew it, I had passed the sprint turn and was headed for the Olympic turn buoy.

Things kind of bunched up at the turn and along the backside, as the channel between the buoy line and shore narrowed. I had a lot more contact with other swimmers than I was used to. I amused myself with the thought that every experience I have had with Southern California has been notable for how crowded it is. There always seem to be too many people and too many cars everywhere I go, whether it is roads, gas stations, stores, parking lots, etc. I questioned whether all of the people I was bumping into were even part of the event or if they were just innocent bystanders who were standing on the shore and had gotten crowded into the water. These thoughts kept my mind occupied as I made my way toward the finish. I made the decision to be more conscious of safety than speed - don't get kicked in the head and end up with the day being cut short. I finished the course in a little under 20 minutes - a good time, but since I had taken it so easy, I feel like I left some time on the course.

Pushed a little harder and tried to navigate away from and around slower swimmers

Felt a little slow and uncoordinated; getting the wetsuit off and the bike gloves on was a challenge; not an efficient transition

I expected the first few miles of the course to be mostly uphill and have a lot of turns. I was right. I then expected the course to flatten out and straighten out when heading out to the Cabrillo National Monument part of the course that would be ridden twice. I was wrong. Even after making the turn into the park, the rolling hills continued. I still managed to keep a solid pace, but didn't get the flat road I was hoping for where I could bear down and ride under my ideal conditions. I made the final turnaround and headed back, knowing that the last three miles would all be downhill. They were speedy, but rough roads and tight turns caused a few slowdowns. As I made it back to Spanish Landing, I checked my time and saw that I had a decent, but not great, ride.

I got a little misdirected when getting off the bike; the transition area was split into two parts and I started off by going into the wrong one; rookie mistake; I also needed to use the restroom, which took a couple of extra minutes; this transition was so bad it's laughable

Although the event was going pretty well, the run, as always, would be the key to whether this would be a good race or a disappointment. This season will be broken into pre- and post- surgery, and I had six miles left in the pre-surgery stage. I started with the short, choppy strides that minimize the impact with the ground that have become the norm since I got hurt. In order not to get wrapped up in speed, and to maintain the focus on 'just keep running', I didn't look at my pace. I made an exception for someone who was passing who asked when she saw the Garmin, and saw that I was at a 10:15 - not blazing, but not bad either. After crossing over to the barrier island, a fog bank rolled in. Visibility decreased and my glasses started to fog up. It also got a little chilly, which made me feel a little guilty considering the temperature at home was expected to be 119 that afternoon. The barrier island included a long out and back which became a little bit of a grind. At least after the turnaround I was able to see that there were plenty of people behind me, which is always a comfort. Even though I have gotten a little better at this over the years, there is still a part of me that thinks like a true back of the packer who worries about being last.

Fatigue started to set in right at the three mile mark. As things started to get more uncomfortable, I reminded myself that even though I had done well to this point, the next three miles were critical. However I handled the next 30-40 minutes would go a long way toward determining how I would feel over the next two months, through surgery, rehab, and recovery. Don't leave a bad taste in your mouth. Remember being strong and going out on a good note. That seemed to help. My mind bolstered, I was able to ignore the signs of discomfort my body was sending out.

When the barrier island segment ended, we were running past the rental car parking lots by the airport. There were some homeless people around as well, which added to the ambiance. The fog remained, and even though San Diego is a beautiful city, it occurred to me that this particular spot may be one of the dreariest scenes I have ever encountered on a course. I asked one of the other runners if this was the scenic part of the course that everyone talks about, which got a laugh. Soon after, though, the course returned to a path along the shore where all of the tour boats are docked - much better. I kept up the pace and enjoyed looking at the boats and the water as I ran. The park and finish arch became visible shortly thereafter, and I was additionally motivated to finish in under 2 1/2 hours (I like round numbers). Also, even though the distances (aside from the run) are shorter than the standard Olympic distances, the race is considered an international distance, so technically, this would be a PR. I turned in my chip and received my finisher's medal, satisfied that I had done what I had gone there to do. A solid performance - it wasn't stellar, but didn't need to be.

I didn't have much desire to hag around the finish area. I really just wanted to get back to the hotel. After grabbing a half a bagel, I found the line for the shuttles back to transition. After a wait and a ride, I was able to get my things and ride the bike back to the hotel.


This was a solid race. It was well organized and things ran on time. The course was scenic (with the exception of the rental car lots). Even though it has the vibe of a 'local' race, it isn't bad as a destination race if travel to San Diego is fairly convenient.