It was tough, but so great to finish it. My goal was really to just survive it. I didn't care about times or transitions. Maybe next year, I'll aim for time. Surprisingly, the day after, I'm NOT sore at all. Very strange.
Coronado island is really pretty, and the weather was perfect! For a few days the heavy rains was threatening our triathlon to be changed to a duathlon, but luckily our Tri was able to go on.
We stayed at the Loews hotel, which hosted the expo for the race. It was so convenient to check into the race and into your hotel at the same time! then the race was just right out side the hotel too. Not having to drive and find parking is fantastic!!
Loew hotel was amazing. Pet friendly, very clean, great amenities the staff was super friendly, and we got an awesome rate being participants of the event!
The most stress free I've EVER been on a race morning.
The Swim part of the race starts out in the Bay, which I was really relieved, because the waves in the ocean were huge!
Before the race began, my fellow OC-Tri-Meetup buddy gave me some very useful advice. Put water inside your wetsuit which helps insulate you from the cold. and it really worked. It was really cold but it made the swim portion much better. As we were dipping ourselves in the water, a boat goes out and outlines the course. Then the First waves starts. A few minutes later it was my wave, and we were off. Swimming in the bay wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. I actually didn't need to take any breaks, and was able to swim the whole course. I had to stop a few times to sight because I'm terrible at sighting, (even on land!)
The 1 bad thing about the course is the transition areas seemed a little far away, but maybe that is normal?
You have to go under a tunnel that crosses a 4 lane highway, then curve up to get your bikes. and walking on the rocky pavement is painful! ouch!!
I was so tired from the swim, I walked over to the bike and took my sweet time. People are cheering, and I didn't care. I wasn't rushing, LOL I think i took about 15 mins in transition 1. I ate some of my cliff bar, drank my protein shake, hydrated - I was very dehydrated - went to the bathroom, then put on my cycling gear to head off.
The Biking course was 2 loops back and forth down the highway. So its like 6 miles each length that you go back and forth on. At times i hate loops because the turns sharp and you have to slow down, and you get bored. I kept myself entertained by memoring debris I saw on the road. I would think, "Oh hey i saw that dropped bottle, that means I'm 10 mins away from the roadkill"
The last 5 miles of the 24.6 mile biking part was the hardest. My Hamstrings were so tired, and my butt hurt!
The run was the hardest part of the race for me. My legs were tired but they were able to push through, but my body was tired, my lungs were tired, and my feet were numb. I walked a lot, (run a mile, walk half a mile)
During the bike there was a mean old man that yelled at me to move to the right, when I was already on the "rightish" side, and there was plenty of room on the left for him to move around me. He was just a bitter man.
On the run, I saw him, and we HAD to beat him!
That was our goal to beat the mean old man who yelled as us. hahhah
Overall we finished in just under 4 hours. If we had a shorter transition time, we would've had a better time, but overall I'm happy with my time. I estimated 4-4.5 hours, and I was glad to have come in under 4.
Its a great event, and I recommend this event to anyone looking for an olympic tri.
