San Diego International Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint

With a few seconds run to the timing mat, this was a sub-1:40/100m pace, *by far* my fastest swim. It's from two things -12,000m/week and my masters coach have turned me into a swimmer rather than a cyclist/triathlete ;) .

I reminded myself to not lose my stroke at the gun, so with the adrenaline, I thought, "...why is my stroke so slow," and, "...why am I passing people? Oh yeah, good job, Coach!"

I lined up wide left, borrowing a tip from a buddy I was surprised to see by coincidence at the finish, and with all of my open water experience, I sighted on the far buoy, and ignored the zig-zag in-between that most people followed. The zig-zag was so pronounced that a lifeguard in a kayak blocked me and asked, "where are you going?" It only wasted a second to stop and point straight ahead, "to that yellow buoy." She got out of the way.

The things I am happiest about are that I was only 1/4 of the way back in a So Cal field, and that including my new, fast swim, my splits were balanced, for the first timer ever in a tri.

Oh, and I love my sleeveless wetsuit.

Nothing this time! I totally exceeded my expectations. I took it easy in masters at the end of the week, and that probably helped, but keeping a 1:35-ish pace was a lot faster than I expected.

2/15 for both T1 and T2
39/281 overall

I'm fast in transition these days, mostly because I'm fast barefoot, and it's second nature to get on and off the bike at speed. I *barely* practice flying mounts, and don't have to think about it.

I suspect that I traded a few seconds with the swim at T1 - at Oceanside, I was in about the top 5%, this time I was in maybe the top 14%.

I put everything I had into the bike, and at 20.3mph, met my goal - 20+ was the podium pace last year, and I was surprised that I beat it with the wind we had. 5th in the ag but 33rd overall? People showed up at my rack this time!

Again, nothing. I'm in shape from hills with my clubs, and I didn't make any mistakes. Strava says I was in the top 6% on the way back. I'm a happy guy.

The joke with my friends is that I had a good race because Gil only beat me by one minute on the bike ;)

I was fast again. I love wearing tri shoes this season. I dismount at running speed, and have one less thing to do in T2.

A couple of small things I kept track of were the Fly 6 camera, and I packed my phone in my number belt so I could take pictures at the finish in Seaport Village a few miles away.

The bike's hills and the wind on Point Loma ate time on the run. The run felt slow, and since I expected to run a 6:45 pace, I was sure I gave up four minutes to the field. My 7:22 pace was faster than my guess glancing at my Garmin, and way faster than I expected compared to the rest of the field. 15% back in this field means I again have to admit that I've become a runner. ;)

Nada. This was a classic trade-off between intensity on the bike intensity on the run. Since I emphasized the bike and still had my best split in the ag in the run, I guessed right.

I suspect my current mix of 30mpw volume with 6 miles of tempo and track is working. A little more of each makes sense for the half distance, but this was about as fast I could have gone after than friggin bike leg.

I grabbed a water, looked up, and saw my buddy. "Gil?" That was one spot on the podium gone. We chatted and caught up with things since we used to ride together on the desert. At the results board, he was first in the ag, and I was 3rd, the first time ever it looked like we'd be on the same podium. That lasted for a couple of hours until awards; the timers found a guy they'd lost track of and bumped us down. Small sigh. I was so content with my solid race that it didn't sting.


Nothing really. My swim was faster than ever, transitions were within seconds of the very top, my bike was 33rd overall, and my run was 3rd in the ag. I can't think of any mistakes in training or in the race. I'm happy about the whole thing.


Results

Sadly, I was sort of robbed. The timing company switched and missed a guy, so I got bumped off the podium at awards. It was a fun race, and I beat my target by a minute - from the bike and swim. My run was slower than I expected; I was hoping for a sub-7 pace, so I had had a good swim to make up for it!

s/b/r/t1-2
5/5/3/2 of 15 ag
78/33/44/39 281 overall

I knew I had a balanced, solid race, but was surprised by the run split. The swim felt really fast, the steep, windy bike was podium-fast, and I thought I paid for it with a slow run. I did, but so did everyone else. Here are the numbers:

s/b/r/t1-t2, I was 5/5/3/2 of 15 in the ag and 78/33/44/39 out of 281 overall.

- I have to admit again that I'm a runner ;)

- I had my best swim ever at a 1:35-1:40/100m pace, and am stoked that I was about 1/4 of the way back in a So Cal field. Thanks Coach Nancy!

- I was fast on the tough Point Loma bike course, and only got beat by my buddy Gil by a minute. I went 20.3 mph, and did well overall in the field.

- I have to grudgingly admit that my run was good. I put everything I had into the bike, and am still sort of stunned that I finished so well in the field running.

- This was my most balanced tri ever. I'd never imagine that my swim would be anything faster than the middle of the pack, especially in SD or OC. Have I said, "Thanks, Coach Nancy," yet?
wink emoticon

- It was total fun to cheer my buddy Dana and her crew from AZ. They *totally* rock!