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 Swim
Comments: Water was as calm as can be in Mission Bay. In my previous races (only two of them), I killed myself on the swim. To much nervous energy, I guess, and I spent everything in the first 100 yards, making the rest of the swim a combination of horrible breathing, occasional breast strokes and just a bad vibe. I had met some friends before the race, and they had brought a few first-timers. My only advice to them was to sit back once the gun went off to avoid the chaos of the swim start, and to just relax and find their stroke. Don't worry about charging into it ... I followed my own advice and simply had a great swim. Felt good all the way, good sighting, no overdoing it, no hyperventilating, just good. I passed a bunch of people that shot out before me once I found my stroke and actually had a good time. What would you do differently?: I probably should have trained more, but I don't think I lost any speed.  Transition 1
Comments: Not a great transition. Not bad, but not great. Took some time getting the wetsuit off of my heels, but again, not overall terrible.  Bike
Comments: A flat and fun course. Passed a bunch of people, got passed by a bunch of collegiates on very expensive bikes :) Smooth and flat, a nice bike route. Used my aero bars for the first time in a race and I loved it! Cold after the swim, but I warmed up after the first loop. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Transition 2
Comments: Only comment here is that after getting off my bike, my feet were absolutely numb. Cold water, cold air and a ride do not equal fun!:) Really took over a mile on the run to get most of the feeling back! What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: Only problem here was that I couldn't feel my feet for a mile or so. Felt strong throughout and kept a nice pace. Had to sit down at the turnaround to see if there was a rock in my shoe ... nope, just some lingering numbness. What would you do differently?: Train harder for short distance speed. Post race
Warm down: Fruit and water, walking around the post race area. What limited your ability to perform faster: Cold feet (literally) after the bike. Event comments: This was a fun race, though definitely done by college students. No race chips, somewhat flakey (but nice) volunteers, no sponsor tents for after the race. But it was good! They had a fun and creative raffle for a ton of nice gear gifts that really got the crowd going for a good hour after the race ... "Who has the lowest GPA? Okay, you win a wetsuit!" "First person to swim across the bay, run out and touch that tree over there and get back, you win a wetsuit!" Goofy, but fun. Really a great vibe and I would do it again. Last updated: 2008-12-03 12:00 AM
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United States
UCSD
Overcast
Overall Rank = 180/349
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 14/33
Let me start by saying that I've been sick all week and that I haven't really trained for the swim at all since November. Some here and there, but I've been a big baby about the blisteringly cold winter here in Southern California (that's a joke). It has been somewhat cold, but I understand that's relative. Regardless, it has kept me out of the pool for too long I was really nervous about the swim today.
Got up at 4:30, made coffee for the road and left just before 5:00am Got to the race early, and it was dark and cold. With my sore throat, I was going to make a decision about whether or not to race once I got down there. Racked my bike and headed down to the water to check the temp. It actually felt quite warm, so that was encouraging ... put my wetsuit on and decided I'd race.
I'd made the mistake in the past of drinking WAY too much coffee before a race, so I kept it to one cup (a big commuter mug full, but still just one). No food before the race, but I ate a big hamburger and fries from Chili's last night, something I haven't done in over a year, and felt good. Probably smart, as I don't do well on a full stomach.
This was a race put on by the UCSD triathlon club, so there were a ton of other collegiate clubs there from the West Coast ... Stanford, UCLA, Cal Poly, UCI, etc. Very cool, but also very intimidating to see an overwhelming majority of 20 year old in the best shape of their lives :)
Being put on by a bunch of college kids, this was not the most professional event I've attended, but it did add to the charm. More on that later ...
Transition area was kind of a mess. No AG designations so it was a free for all, and the area itself was on a slight decline, and it soon turned into mud once the first few waves ran through it after the swim. Also, they didn't do anything to keep non-racers out, so there were lots of friends and family milling around. Didn't like that at all.
Before the swim, I got in to get my face wet and get used to the water. Swam maybe 100 yards and felt good to go. Air temp outside was colder than the water, so I spent some time wading around.