San Diego International Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

I've done longer swims in races and with a long opening straight swim; this should have been an ideal setup for a good swim. In the 1st 200, I twice felt the Velcro strap on the timing chip was loose and was thinking it might pull off so I stopped to try and tuck it up into my wetsuit. After the 2nd time I figured if it comes off, it comes off. From that point on I struggled to get comfortable and into a rhythm. I checked my watch coming out of transition and it was in the 19s which is actually pretty good for me. It’s disappointing to know I was capable to shave another minute or 2 with a strong swim but it’s something to continue to work on. Possibly start getting in some OW swims at Lake Mission Viejo.

I rate this swim average based on time alone. With how much I felt I struggled, I am a bit surprised with the time and would bet the course was a bit shorter then posted. If not, I can only hope this shows there are better times ahead as I become more comfortable in the open water.

The race directors didn’t do the Male 40-44 group any favors as we were way in the back and had to run the length of the entire transition area after the swim and heading out on the run. Not that I am racing against anyone else but this had to have added over a minute for each transition against the previous wave which was right at the entrance.

Knowing this was a longer race, I didn't rush through. I probably could have been more focused.

I really need to work on climbing. I didn’t give up a lot of places on the uphill going into Point Loma but I don’t feel I was particularly strong there either. In Point Loma I had stretches where I felt like I was making up ground and others where I was just cruising. I did fly back down to transition and that was a blast bombing down at close to 40MPH!

On a course like this, you need to be pretty active on changing gears. Still being a noob on the bike, I tend let the gear dictate my pace instead of shifting to a gear where I am maximizing speed and effort. Getting out and mixing in some hilly workouts would probably pay huge dividends in the long run.

Other then having to run the complete length of transition, everything really went rather smooth.

Being a longer race, I wasn't as worried about my time as I was just finishing so I was not trying to save seconds in transition.

Felt really strong on the run probably due to not maxing out on the bike. I really could not be happier with the run splits but the finish could not have come at a better time as I was running on fumes the last ½ mile. The 10K time of roughly 52 minutes is only about 5 minutes off my last 10K time and about 8 minutes better then my last Olympic distance run.

Not much I'd do differently as this was probably a max physical and mental effort.

Walked around checking out the booths and getting fluid in me.


I've put in a ton of yardage in the pool and a lot more miles on the bike this season then last which I am pretty happy about. But I have not been doing any OW swims and that would probably really help me relax on the race day swims. My biking lately has either been on a trainer or on the Santa Ana river trail which is flat and does not require any shifting and this course being hilly really required you to be active on the gear changes which I am just not there yet. Absolutely no complaints on the run.


Koz puts on a great race at an affordable price. Based on this, after completing the Spring Sprint and San Diego International, we've decide to complete the San Diego series with Solana Beach, Imperial and Mission Bay triathlons.