Camp Pendleton Olympic Distance Triathlon...and "Ode to Denner"

July 14, 2007

For some crazy reason, the San Diego area only has one official olympic distance race that I know of, and Camp Pendleton is it. I did this race last year to see how I'd do at this distance. Once you've done a race one year, you have to do it the next, and the next, and the next to see if you can improve upon your times.

So...that brings us to this year's race. After last year, I was praying for a cool day with lots of clouds. For some reason, it can get really hot on that run, even though you're so close to the water. Mother Nature was nice to us, and kept the temperatures reasonable and a few spotty clouds in the air.

Highlights of this race included: racing with Pat (this was only the 3rd race that we have done together...it's really cool to have this shared experience), seeing my long lost friend Nick Abramson (he got engaged and decided to fall off the face of the earth), and racing on a Marine base with lots of hot 18 year old boys yelling "Good Job Ma'am." Yes, pretty cool.

Swim

For some reason, even though this swim is only a 1500 m swim, it seems SUPER long. I'm not a fast swimmer, so there was nothing exciting about this leg of the race. I swam, felt ok, and got out of the water in an expected amount of time.

T1

T1 in this race is long. There is about a 1/8 mile run through the soft sand, and then another 1/8 or so of a mile through transition. pretty tiring! I decided that this year I'd take off my wetsuit as soon as I exited the water to make that run a little easier. Good move!

Bike

The bike is my favorite segment of the race for most races. I ride through Pendleton all the time, so I knew exactly what to expect on this course...a few small rollers, maybe a little wind, nothing to be worried about. The ride went fairly smooth until I reached the last aid station. A couple of the Marines asked if I wanted some water, and I yelled, "pour it on me." Well, they took "pour" as "throw" and threw a cup of water directly into my face. I was blinded and water pushed all the way into my sinues! Ow! It's amazing that I didn't fall off my bike. Luckily, I was able to recover quickly and get a good laugh out of it.

T2

Don't remember it

Run

The run, although not as bad as last year, was still pretty hot. At this distance, this is the discipline that I need to work on most. My running sucks, and breaking 55 minutes is damn near impossible. I can run a 48 minute 10 in a road race, but have a very hard time doing anything other than 55 minutes in a tri. Just another thing to add to the list.

Finish

Pat's wave started about 1/2 hour before mine, and he finished almost 1/2 hour faster than I did, so by the time I crossed the finish line, he had had an hour to get hydrated, cooled down, and ready to cheer me on. It was fun to see him get a little crazy as I ran down the finish chute. We watched a few other friends finish and then headed to Pizza Port for some well deserved chow! Yummy!

Times

My Watch: (2:53:13)

Swim (1500 m): 32:09

T1: 5:29

Bike (40km): 1:18:00

T2: 1:13

Run (10km): 55:59

Official Time: 2:53:13

Swim + T1 : 35:24

Bike + T1/T2: 1:21:55

Run: 55:54