Triathlon at Pacific Grove - Olympic Course - Triathlon

The kelp didn't seem quite as thick this year. I stayed relaxed for the first 200 meters or so and didn't waste a lot of energy in the initial scrum. My first goal was to finish the first lap before the next wave started (15 minutes after my wave start). I cleared the beach exit/turnaround/re-entry point with about a minute to spare -- happy about that. I felt pretty relaxed on the second lap and again finished ahead of the next wave start (goal #2). Very happy to finish the swim in under 30 minutes.

I pretty much swam to my current ability and fitness level. Everything went as expected. Good start. No complaints

My legs felt stiff when I first got on the bike. At first, I wasn't too concerned. I just tried to relax and hope I'd fall into a groove by the first turn-around. Unfortunately, my legs went from stiff to sore -- my quads in particular. I'm not sure what the problem was. I hadn't done any hard riding in more than a week. But I never came close to hitting my goal speed. Disappointing. But I guess that comes with the territory in triathlons... It was still a fun ride though! :-)

I probably should have just gutted it out and not worried about my legs. I ended up struggling in the run anyway. I had a couple of good hard bike and run workouts about two weeks prior to the race. But my legs never seemed to fully come back to life again. I probably need to put more time and effort into stretching, massage, and recovery nutrition. At least, I hope that's the problem...

I was hoping my legs would somehow magically come to life during the run. For the first two miles, they did -- I managed to hold about an 8 minute/mile pace, which was my goal. But when I started the second lap, I knew I wasn't going to hold it. My quads tightened up again, and I slowed down noticeably. From that point on, I just tried to hold form and enjoy the run as best I could. I was hoping to go under 50 minutes, but I didn't even come close. Still, the scenery and the atmosphere in Pacific Grove is so amazing that it's impossible not to have fun.

I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. I'm going to take a closer look at my training and make some adjustments. My running is just not where I want it to be.

Walked around a bit, drank a lot of water.


I'm still trying to figure this one out! I'll just focus on the positive for now -- I had a good swim. Also, I beat my overall time from last year and the year before.


The Triathlon at Pacific Grove is a great race. Even though I didn't do as well as I hoped, I still had a blast. Watching the pros race is as much fun as participating.