Terrible swim performance. I boogie board a ton in the ocean and have trained at the pool religiously so I thought I would smoke the swim. Boy was I wrong. I freaked out, my arms and legs were so cold, and I couldn't keep my head under as it hurt and was so murky that I was blind. I had to swim the majority of the swim with my head out which completely wrecked my time. Normally I swim the 1500m in 27 minutes, though on this occasion I was happy to merely finish. I also swallowed a ton of salt water and ended up puking (off the course) on the run up the beach. It probably took me a good fifteen minutes to pull myself together and get out on the bike.

I will be doing a ton of open water swimming between now and the LA tri in September. I will also use a rash guard. My neck is raw where my suit rubbed while I tried to hold my head up and spot the buoys.

Again, since I commute everyday and transition on to my bike at least two times a day getting on the bike and gettting it moving has to be one of my strongest points. But according to the difference between my bike computer time and my posted time I took 15 minutes during my transition, mostly running to the restroom to clean up after being sick. So obviously the weak point is the swim and not my cycling.

More open swim practice, cycling sockless, body glide to get the wetsuit off easier, and the foot bath thing. Though I was smart and put my gloves on during the slow "no-pass zone"

Getting sick right before the bike portion did not help. I felt like I did pretty well, though I got passed by a ton of folks with full-aero setups. I could have definitely pushed a bit harder as I held my HR at 80% to save something for the run.

Aero bars, which I just ordered, and push just a little bit harder. My main loss was the transition.

Not my strongest part as psychologically on most days when I get off the bike I am done with my commute home.

Since I use mtb shoes, I can run with my bike, which to me is faster than getting out of my shoes on the bike, risking a crash and attempting to run barefoot. Though next time I might loosen the top strap as I slow down. I would also grab my water bottle as those little cups they give you on the running course are impossible to get water out of for me.

I hate repeating a course, plus I'm not much of a runner so this part was brutal. I thought I had been running a lot, but obviously I have not been running enough.

Train more, bring water on the run, and maybe a hat.

Lots of water and a BBQ hamburger, a real treat because my wife is a veggie.


Without a doubt the swim was my biggest weak point. Plus I peaked about a month ago. We've been in the process of buying a new house and it has been a nightmare where I've skipped trainings and snacked on comfort food. At least I made these mistakes now and not in my new hometown. I will be losing another ten pounds, going on some longer solo rides and a ton more ocean swims.


Coffee would have been nice in the morning (this is nitpicking) and having the state park open all of the bathrooms. Also the no-pass zone was supremely annoying as I got stuck behind some yahoo who could barely clip in and thought that 17mph was hammering.