Started at near the back of the pack to avoid the scrum. There was still a bit of contact but it wasn't too bad. My arms started out feeling like noodles and I wondered how I would go the distance. Fortunately they warmed up and was at the first turn around sooner than I expected.

After the strong current in last year's swim I was a bit worried however the shorter course and better conditions made for a steady swim back towards the second turn close to the beach. The third leg of the triangle course was short, after a quick run onto shore and around the lap marker I was back in the water for my second lap.

My second trip out to the Rock went by fairly quickly even as my arms started to tire bit. After the turn I got stuck behind a breast stroker and pinned in by a couple swimmers on either side. I didn't want to stay behind the wide kicks off the breast stroker and managed to work my way around after letting the swimmers on my sides pull ahead. The final turn came soon after and I pushed (pulled?) strong to the swim finish and to the beach.

Work on passing wide kickers.

A bit slow, should have taken my arms out of wetsuit while running from the beach to the transition area. Feet were sandy so I took a moment to clean them off before putting on socks and shoes. Gloves, glasses, helmet then jogged my bike to the mount line and I was off!

Work on taking off wetsuit while jogging to transition.

When I think about the Olympic distance I compare it to a half marathon in terms of effort levels. With that in mind my plan for the bike was a comfortable pace for the most part with some pushes on the downhill segments.

The scenery on the course was incredible. As Highway 1 heads north out of Morro Bay it follows right along the beach. There were more than a few times I had to focus back to the road in front of me and not the ocean view! Conditions were excellent except for a bit of headwind after the turn-around.

Being a slow swimmer I had plenty of racers ahead of me and was able to overtake a bunch of them during the first half of the bike (swim rank: 83, bike rank: 65). After the turn around I had passed most of the racers I could catch except for one who we passed back and forth a couple times. In the last couple of miles I was able to pass him and hold the lead all the way back to the transition area.

Maybe push my pace a little more, otherwise it was a good bike.

Smooth transition.

Out of transition my legs were feeling pretty good and I was looking forward to a nice run. About a half-mile into the run the course did a little loop on the soft sand of the beach to go around a gully. I tried to maintain pace however I slowed to a steady walk to get through the sand. Unknowingly this would become a recurring theme.

After the sand there was a nice stretch though a tunnel of trees then the trail led into a residential area. Back on hard ground I settled into a nice steady pace, again using my half-marathon effort level. The turn around was at the top of a bluff and I made my way down a staircase to the beach at a brisk walk to avoid tripping on the uneven steps.

On the beach I was looking at the final stretch with Morro Rock looming in the distance and the finish line at it's base. The sand was firm at first, still a bit damp from the receded high tide. I looked down at the water line and considered running along it as I usually do when jogging on the beach. Against my better judgement I decided to stick to the "course" and follow the footsteps of the racers ahead of me.

The conditions of the sand degraded and each time I hit a soft patch I would slow my pace to a steady walk. This kept me out of my running "zone" and started to take a mental toll. Finally at the last mile I decided to run down to the water line and the firm sand. This made an immediate difference and I got into my zone and held a steady pace all the way to Morro Rock. Next time I will head to the water line right away and save myself a couple minutes!

At Morro Rock I had to make my way up through soft sand and off the beach. Back on the running trail I knew the finish was close so I pushed my pace and finished strong.

Get better at running on sand and stay on the firmer sand by they water line.

Drank a bunch of water and stretched my legs. Packed up my gear then went for a burger and beer to celebrate.

After last year's issues with the swim I felt like I finally beat the course and am looking forward to besting my time next year!


Running in the sand took its toll. Otherwise swim and bike were good.


Great course in a scenic location.

The new swim course was much improved, the current was not an issue.