Carpinteria Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

My objective was to get through the swim and have a better experience than at Ventura .
I walked into the water at the back of the field and stayed to the left of the crowd. Then got into my groove after 10-15 mins and stayed away from the traffic . Then I think my pace sped up as i would take 20 strokes before sighting. This worked for the middle section of the course past the far buoy . On the way back we had favorable current to help so it was 3-4 mins faster . Sighting was a bit difficult with the sun just above the horizon. I finished with a jog up on the sand and ready to ride.


Swim the course a few times , try it breastroke without the wetsuit and see if my time is any better.

I was a little tired from the swim and it took 10 mins to find my wind and legs on the bike. I had experienced this in my two tri earlier this month so i knew it would go away after 7-10 mins.

Knew the course from riding most of it in practice , and driving it the day before .
I knew i had to respect the hills and save some energy to climb Toro canyon and the second shorter climb without having to get off the bike and walk . Every time free speed was available on the numerous downhills I rested . This is where I past a few people. I was pretty cooked after the two climbs and the hard work on the first part of the circuit . 3-4 areas started to ache : Lower back , inner tights , neck. Not a lot but enough to signal some fatigue. The last flat road back to T2 I could not sustain my earlier 22-24 mph pace. I Tought also there was a head wind which explains why it was a little difficult to hit a good pace

well more hill work would not hurt , the climbs here are harder than at LA or Malibu . I was down to 3 mph in the second part of Toro Canyon. But then I enjoyed 38 + mph on the downhills

Good transition
Unclipped before the line and rode side saddle for 30 yards right into a run in the shoes
I am getting good at this

Ran the course at 110% . First mile was looking for a "bathroom"
Found some suitable bushes near our hotel before Mile 1
Used two cups at each water stop mostly on my head .
Took a gel at turnaround . Developped a slight headache at after mile 4.

Sat down , drank water and found some food to munch on


I really enjoyed this race . It is held in a very pretty seaside town. It was a Successful Olympic for me. I prepared as best i could given the little free time available to me over the last 6 months.
I made sure to schedule a couple of Tune up races before hand.


Nice race and medium size field . I am looking forward to coming back in better shape and improving my time.