Orange County Triathlon - Triathlon

I finished the swim much faster than I expected. I'm crediting this to the wetsuit and probably the adrenaline. Over 1500 yards, I usually finish in close to 29:30 minutes. To finish at a 1:43/100 yards pace kills my pool average. There was must body contact but when there was, I dealt with it. I tried to draft on a guy and that lasted for a few minutes. I lost him and never really got a chance to draft after that.

Even though I swam a lot quicker than I anticipated, I still have so much to improve on.

Sighting: Going straight out I was fine. I was able to navigate ok because it was a straight line. But on the way back, what a mess. I think I need to get a better understanding of the route plus sight better. At one point, during the final 300m or so, I was going way of course. The life guards had to redirect me. So sighting needs improvement.

Warmup: I need to warm up better. My legs and upper body felt so stiff and cold in the early part of the swim up until half way or so. I'm guessing part of this is my failure to practice OWS in my suit. Lesson learned - better warm up before the swim and get more practice in the wet suit.

T1 went well. Coming out of the lake I spotted my wife which gave me an extra boost. I was worried about feeling dizzy out of the swim but this was a non issue. I ran to my bike and took of my wetsuit easily. I sat on my bucket (love my bucket) wiped off my feet and put on my socks. My shoes were next. I strapped on my helmet, put on my race bib. I tossed my swim gear and suit in the bucket, unranked my bike, and off I went.

The bike mount was on a slight hill so it took me 2 or 3 times to get clipped in. I think my biggest fear is flopping at the mount and dismount line.

Not much. It went pretty smoothly. I need to improve my clipping in on hills. The mount line was on a slight up hill which made it harder to clip in quickly. I got it in after the third try.

I've ridden this course a few times in the past. My average mph when biking this loop is between 13.80 to 14.35 MPH. I felt great during the race. I was passing a few people, most on the climbs (which there were plenty of - something like 1800 feet of climbing over the 24 miles). I was shocked to see my finish time and average mph of 16mph. I'm chalking this up to the extra effort I gave plus the adrenaline.

I didn't drink enough. I wanted to finish a bottle of gatorade while on the bike. I drank maybe 30% of it. This course is mainly uphill or downhill. Not much opportunity to take a drink calmly. This is something I need to improve on nonetheless.

Overall I am happy with this time.


I need to hydrate more - this hurt me on the run. I also need to get better at changing gears.

I went through T2 pretty fast. I racked my bike, took off my bike shoes, slipped on the running gear, and off I was. The dismount line came up pretty quick as you turn a corner so I had to break suddenly.

I would use the restroom and hydrate much more. I had to pee on the bike and arriving into T2. I chose to skip the restroom as there were a few guys waiting in line. This was a huge mistake, my bladder was full the entire run which made it difficult. As far as everything else, I wouldn't change a thing.

I should have used the restroom at T2. This made my run much more difficult than it needed to be. I also had a lot of cramping in my stomach which I chalk up to drinking essentially nothing during the bike. I was still able to keep a sub 10min/mile pace which is ok. But had I taken the time to use the restroom and drank more, I could have been in the low 9s where I usually am. Lesson learned.

Drink more on the bike and use the restroom when nature calls!

I drank a muscle milk that was offered to all the finishers. I met my wife right after which was awesome. We walked around to get some water and fruit. I stretched a little bit and watched some athletes finish.


Failing to use the restroom hurt. Also the constant cramps throughout the run didn't help.


Overall this was a great local race. Can't beat living 5 minutes from the swim start. The race was organized well and the atmosphere was awesome. I learned a lot from this race and hopefully can improve on the next. 70.3 Ironman Vineman here I come!