Mission Bay Triathlon Report

Official Time: 1:08:03 - 29/116 in AG, 307/1500 overall

This weekend was my first Triathlon (excluding the Tri for Fun in August) and it was awesome.

We left Dublin around 5:45am on Saturday after making a mandatory stop at Starbucks for a Mocha and Lattee. The traffic was fine the entire way down (LA had the customary traffic, no surprise there) and we made it to the pre-race check in 7:37:42 (yes, I used my stopwatch).

After checking in and getting our shirts, swim caps (yellow for me, pink for Jen) we headed down to the race start to drop off our bikes. This was a great decision since we both ended up getting great rack position and it saved us some time in the morning because we did not have to load the bikes onto the car. That evening we had a nice pot-luck dinner with my parents and some of their triathlete friends; ribs, pasta, garlic bread, Caesar salad, and carrot cake - it was delicious.

The next morning we were up at around 4:50am and arrived at the start around 5:30 - parking was already getting crowded but we managed to find a spot and head over to the transition area to get set up. After spending a few minutes over there we made a restroom stop and went over to the car to get our wetsuits on before walking over to the swim start. Jen started 5 minutes before me so I watched her swim out and start the race. Right when her wave took off mine got in the water and swam over to the start line.



In this picture I am directly above the guy in the foreground on the left.

Official Swim Time: 9:45

T1 went well but I'm sure I can cut some time off of it in future races. Getting the wetsuit off was not too big of an issue and I was fairly organized but I did have to keep reminding myself to move quickly (I felt like I was taking my time with drying my face, putting on my shoes, etc).

I took off on the bike and started passing people right off the bat. This lasted until about the halfway point when I saw Jen. I rode past her and said hello and we wished each other good luck; a few seconds later - woosh, woosh, woosh - the 30 somethings started blowing by me. These guys were fast and it was quite a humbling experience to see them go by; however, it also gave me some encouragement since I knew most of those guys had been riding for a few years and I saw what I could work towards. Once we were off Fiesta Island and back into the Sea World area I got stuck behind a couple of guys in the tight areas but was able to get past them and back to transition. We found out after the race that the course was longer this year - instead of 9.1 mi it was closer to 10.5!

Official Bike Time (plus T1 and T2): 35:25

T2 was quick - shoes off, shoes on, helmet off, hat on, go, go, go!

My first thought on the run was "crap, I'm going to have to walk at some point" but that never happened. I guess my 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 from miles .5 to 2.5 carried me through; for some reason counting really helps me stay focused. My first mile came in at 6:45 and I thought it must have been a bit short, mile 2 was 8:07, and the last 1.1 was 8:01 - I may have been off a little bit since my official time came in a few seconds longer than that. The run was pretty much flat overall but there was a bridge we had to go up and over twice; it wasn't too steep but it wasn't flat either.

Official Run Time: 22:53

After I was done I hung around the finish chute for a couple minutes and then saw Jen come in. She looked strong and had a smile on her face. We hung around for a while cheering on other finishers then went to the beer garden and met up with some of the San Diego Triathlon Club members. They were all really friendly and we enjoyed meeting them. Then it was off to a post-race brunch and some relaxation before heading home the next morning.

This morning I decided to do a short swim at the gym and then take a steam.
500m - 9:20
Legs = Heavy, quads a bit sore