Sacramento International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Pretty straightforward, but I positioned badly at the start and got stuck for about 400 yds. Once I got out of the pack, it was fine. Might have won my AG if I'd started better. And come in under 3 hours! Live and learn ...

Position more strategically - I think I lost at least 2-3 minutes on the start.

T1 time is part of bike time. I didn't want to rush this as the location was less than ideal - a gravel parking area at the top of the boat ramp with a very long run out (~100 yds) on tar paper. My suit got stuck on the timing chip bracelet. We also had to pack our things into our bag for transport to the finish, so that took a few seconds. I walked most of the run out, in my shoes and got into my pedals fine and moved out.

Put the chip bracelet under my wetsuit, if possible. Maybe push it a little, but I'm not concerned about transition times at this point - I'd rather concentrate on the bike and run.

The weakest link! I tried to push a little harder than I have in the past and I felt like I did, but I'm just plain slow! As usual I got passed by almost everyone I beat on the swim. I think I counted about 8 people behind me on the way back. And got passed by 4-5 of them!

I just need to focus on the bike for a while and get faster. This was my best bike leg yet, so I can't complain.

Again, took my time and didn't get flustered. This time is included in the run (which is why my Garmin gave me a 1:03 and change run split vs. the 1:07+ on the chip). Stopped at the potty on my way out, before I started my watch, too.

Not worried about that at this point.

It took me probably 2-2.5 miles to get into a comfortable stride. I was just stiff and jarring up to that point. After that, it was a little hot and dry, but not so bad. Water stops were every mile, but that wasn't quite enough. I only had warm accelerade, which wasn't doing much for me, so I just stuck with the water.

First, carry plain water, and cold. My throat got very dry between stations and it would have felt pretty nice to have something to sip on. Maybe some cold orange slices would work, but I don't know how I'd keep them cold. I don't know if I can run any faster than this right now, but I'm working on it.

Walk, walk, walk. Stretch some. Load stuff in car and drive to a restaurant for some lunch.


Training - I still don't have enough base to really slam these distances out, so I just need to keep on doing what I'm doing.


Well, this went off much better than it seems to have done in the past (and than I expected it would). I found a couple of race reports from last year and they were pretty bad, but the organizers seem to have fixed some of the problems. The swim starts were about 15 minutes late, but it wasn't a big problem. It was the timing company that caused the delay, I believe. There were plenty of volunteers on the run course, but fewer on the bike and they were pulled as soon as the last rider went out, which was a little disconcerting on the way back. I felt a little abandoned, but I was in the very back of the race at that point, so maybe that's normal. The organizers had also discouraged spectators, which was kind of sad. Especially since there was fairly decent access to the bike course. I would consider doing this race again, but it's not a definite yes.