As cold as I was waiting for the start, getting in the water felt even worse. As we were standing on the boat ramp waiting for the horn, one woman said "WHY are we doing this!?" and I laughed because I was asking myself that very question. For some reason I seeded myself near the back, so I spent a lot of the first few hundred yards trying to avoid contact. I fell into a nice rhythm and after awhile stopped noticing the cold. I sighted well and always felt like I was moving fast (relatively speaking of course) but I also felt that I was near the back of the pack. I won't know whether that was true until the splits come out, but I do know that this is my PR swim for the olympic distance by about 3 minutes. Why? Who knows - I asked myself the same question after a similar PR for 70.3 at Barb's last year. There is no explanation, but I'll take it.

Seed myself closer to the front.... or not.

For some reason I had a hard time getting my wetsuit off while running, and I forgot to take off my goggles and swim cap, I but made quick work of all of it once I reached my transition area. I took the time to dry off my feet because I knew they were going to freeze on the bike ride. Since I was right near the bike exit, I was out of there in no time.

It's been almost 6 months since my last tri, so I guess I can forgive myself for being a little rusty.

I was uncomfortably cold for the first several minutes, but then I started to warm up. While I was in the water, the sun had come out, which was unexpected and glorious. The ride was rather uneventful. As usual, I passed many people and was passed by some. For some reason my right hamstring was bothering me, which was annoying because it hasn't been giving me any problems, and I haven't changed anything on my bike recently. At the 2nd turnaround, I climbed the hill out of the saddle. Coming back in, I was a bit squeamish on the downhills and tight corners, and I think this is a result of my minor crash a few weeks ago. Hopefully my nerve comes back before Wildflower.

Bring a gel. I had nothing except watered-down gatorade. It all turned out fine, but I think I could have used a few more calories.

The flip side of having the closest spot to Bike Out was having the farthest spot away from Bike In. At least it was easy to find. It was hard to get my shoes on because of my numb wet feet, but I was out of there quickly enough.

This transition felt a little awkward too, but my time was still ok.

I left T2 with about 57 minutes left to meet my sub-3 hour goal time. Right away I was not feeling good - my hamstring was tight and painful, and I really needed to make a pit stop. I was in a really bad mood, and figured there was no way I was going to meet my goal. After the first mile I had passed 2 bathrooms and was regretting it when a 3rd came into view. I took a detour, and while I was in there I tried to stretch out my hamstring. I left the bathroom with about 48 minutes to run 5.2 miles. At this point I figured I would at least give it a good try. Fortunately, my hamstring pain mostly worked itself out. As the miles ticked by, I was still feeling fresh, and each time I passed a mile marker I became more confident that I was going to achieve my goal. When I passed the 4 mile marker, I had about 20 minutes left, and I knew I needed to push since the remaining distance was mostly uphill. When I hit 6 miles with 3 minutes to go, I knew it was in the bag. I crossed the finish line with a minute and a half to spare, and I actually felt pretty good.

I need to remember that when you have to go, 30 seconds in the bathroom is time well spent.

Walked around, had a little food, watched part of the awards ceremony, and headed home.


I haven't been in the greatest frame of mind lately. Work and ill-timed bad weather has been screwing with my training.


As a Cal Poly alum, I enjoy supporting this race and it's a great way to kick off the season. Now it's time to focus on Wildflower and then IMCdA!