Big Kahuna Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Felt ok on the swim. Of course it seemed long, but my back didn't get tight like it did in Oceanside, so I actually felt pretty good the entire time. Swimming back in, the pier seemed really really long, and there was no real line. Only 3 buoys for an entire 1.2 mile swim. It would've helped to have some more buoys to help direct the line. Made me realize that I need to start getting some longer swims in. Tough to do it in the mornings before work. I may need to work it into a Friday night or Sunday afternoon swim (3500+ yds).

Nothing

This is a very long T1, out of the water, over the river, through the woods, past grandma's house, over the train tracks, and into transition. Probably a quarter mile run +. I took my wetsuit off as soon as I got onto the boardwalk which like last year helped tremendously. I also put my Garmin on my wrist during Transition. I didn't use it on the bike, but I like having a very fast T2, so it was good that I didn't have to mess w/ it later.

Nothing

Nice little headwind on the first half. Started out sunny, then the winds out of the Northwest brought in this crazy fog. Only 1/4 mile visibility for awhile with some fairly good headwinds. Had to take my sunglasses off b/c they were fogged up. My arms and my bike were dripping with dew. Did pretty good on nutrition on the way out. I had 2 bottles of carbo pro/motor tab mix (330 cals of Carbo pro + 90 cals of motortab/bottle). Made sure to finish first bottle by the 2nd aid station (mile 26.5), so I could bring some water onto my bike. Drank most of the water bottle and 3/4 of my 2nd nutrition bottle on the way back). Total of about 750 calories taken in on the bike. Stomach felt a little sloshy. I brought some combos and peanut butter pretzels with me, but did not eat them. Will need to concentrate on my nutrition over the next couple weeks on my long rides. Neck and upper back got really tight on the way back into town. Was difficult to stay in aero. I'll need to do some long days in aero in the next couple weeks. Fiesta Island/Silver Strand here I come! Hit 41 mph on one downhill. That was fun!

Nothing....but get more time in the saddle over the next couple months.

Quick and easy

Nothing

The first 3 miles of this run absolutely sucked! I didn't think I'd be able to run the whole 13 miles. My legs were tired and sore and sluggish. I was tired. How was I going to do this!?!? I finally started to get my rhythm around mile 3 and started to feel much better. I reached the 10k mark (according to my Garmin)at around 56:30. I was pretty happy with that. I reached the turnaround right around one hour flat. I knew if I could run a negative split, I could beat 2 hours. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Oh well, I ran as hard as I could.

Run conditions: Very windy on the coast, a little warmer on the trails. Sunny.

Nutrition: Ran with my hand water bottle. Took water for a little sip and dump at each aid station. Took a gu at the half way point. If it were any hotter out, I probably would've been taking in Heed as well, but I'm not sure how that would've sat in my stomach as I'm not used to it. Looking forward to Ironman with coke and gatorade. I know I like those on the race course.

The end of the run is always an interesting experience. Soft sand, packed sand along beach, soft sand to the finish line. The first patch of soft sand was not too bad, fairly short. Then we had a 1/4 - 1/3 mile run along the beach. There were TONS of people on the beach this year b/c of the nice weather. I almost ran over some little kids. Oh well. The soft sand finish should lead to some fun finish photos. You try running in soft sand after 13 miles! :) Beat my run time from last year by 7 minutes. Very happy about that!

Nothing

Crossed the finish line, found Stacy, found Juls, stretched, ate strawberries, oranges, and a bagel.


Wind, and I'm a slow swimmer. Otherwise I was pretty happy with my performance.


I love this race and will keep doing it. I can't wait until Pat can do it with me one day! :)