The water was nice, especially since I haven't been in the ocean this year. The swim was crowded, but fine. As planned, this was sort of a formality for me, and my lack of pool time didn't hurt. No calf cramps this time, so the gus probably helped.

nada, unless I have time for masters

I was fast again this year, even though I ran a rack too far and back. I was just a smidge slower than last year's lightning speed but could tell that my run wasn't going to be as fast.

Next time I need to remember to see where the bike is compared to the landmarks.

Last year, I dropped 1mph on the second half, and made a point of being a little faster, above 20mph, at the first hill. There was more head wind this year, but I was 2 or 3 minutes faster this time. It was a solid bike that came from my minimal rides in SLO Co.

nada

I'm fast in T2, and racing in tri shoes for the first time ever was good. It was nice to not worry about shoes at the rack, and nice that I'm fast barefoot.

nada

My plan was to go out easy and pick it up on the second lap. My legs voted for another option, to start easy and get slower. ;)

This was where I lost time relative to last year, all because my run volume was less than 20 mpw, and I was overly optimistic. The conditions were perfect, and from last year, I made sure to grab ice every time I could. And wow, I felt good into the run, but wasn't ready to go again at the end like last year. Talking to Alex at the finish, I could barely catch my breath.

Pick up my run volume.

The usual - I grabbed food, chatted, and went to get my stuff.

The food? Just okay. They had tacos filled with tire rubber again, but I loved the grapes, chips, cheese and cola. They *really* need to bring back the pizza and dump the tacos.


Run volume! (Mainly, but more bike and swim volume would help too)


A few notes -
Home made sunscreen wet wipes worked great.
The Skechers did the job, I haven't had a twinge of PF from the race, or for months.
The tri bike shoes were fine to run in and to get out of while pedaling.
With the slight head wind this year, I dropped about 1.5mph from a little over 20 when I hit the hills at the half way point. Pushing a little until mile 28 worked fine.
Socks: wet and heavy last year for a fast run. None this year with a couple of blisters. Next year: socks at T1 if it's cold, socks at T2 if it's warm.


This is my must-do race. I can see why it sells out faster every year, and why so many of my friends will do it next time.

Here are this year's results.