Solana Beach Triathlon.. the end of a big week.

Another big week down.

I went into the weekend with a about 150 miles of riding and 15 miles for running in the legs. I also got in a couple of open water swims. This race was just going to be a threshold/race pace workout for me so there was defintely no tapering going on. I did take it relatively easy on Saturday with a 45 minute open water swim work out and a 45 minute ride on my Time Trial bike with some race pace efforts. Saturday was the first time I had been on my TT bike since I got off it at the California 70.3 on 3/31. So I cleaned it up Friday night, it still had GU spilled all over it from the 70.3, and got it ready to go.

I woke up at 4 am Sunday morning and really didn't feel very motivated to get up. I love the fact that Xterra races start between 930 and 1030. 7am is too early to race! I was tired but I managed to stumble downstairs for coffee and that did the trick. After a couple of cups of coffee and a peanut butter Power Bar I was out the door. It was only a sprint so I didn't really need or want my normal 500 calorie pre-race oatmeal.

The race is only 10-15 minutes from my house so I got there pretty quick and just as they were opening transistion. I got a killer spot and just hung out talking with a bunch people I haven't seen in a while. About 6:20 I warmed up with a couple miles of running and some accellerations to race pace. I felt ok, but pretty flat and still kind of tired. I headed back to transition put on my wetsuit, took some Ener-gease, and downed a Sugar-Free Max Velocity (Generic Red Bull made by Albertson's). and headed down to the beach. For my swim warm-up I swam about half the course, again with some accellerations to race pace. I felt good in the water and I attribute that to the fact that I had done open water swims on the 3 days leading up to the race.

The swim (1/4 mile):
I was in the first wave and it was the Elites and Males 29 & under. We lined up and then sprinted towards the surf. From the initial sprint to the water I knew the next 50 or so minutes were gonig to be tough. My legs felt like shit and immediately had that lactic acid burning feeling... and I had only run 50 yards! The swim was pretty mellow and I jumped around on a couple of pairs of feet. After the swim it's a long run to t1 and up a good hill/ramp. I ran the whole thing and passed quite a few guys.

Swim time: 6:53*

*There were a lot of timing mats out there and I have no idea where the transition times are added.

My wave starting:


At the top of the ramp:


Bike (9 miles):

T1 was pretty standard, in and out. Once out on the bike my legs were again feeling that sweet burning sensation and I knew it was there to stay so I just dealt with it. I went pretty hard on the bike with what I had in my legs. I caught some guys and was only passed by one guy and he was an elite. I also witnessed some blatant drafting going on with the elite ranks. Lame. I finished bike feeling pretty good and was really curious to see how much the run would hurt.

Bike: 25:22

run (3miles):

Heading out of t2 I knew I had a couple of guys in AG just ahead of me. I tracked them down and passed them along with a couple of other "non-elites" within the first mile. I picked up just enough to get a good enough gap so they would not have a chance of catching of me. I did run pretty hard which felt good.

run: 16:37 (5:32/mile pace - I am pretty stoked about this considering I have not done any kind of speed work since before the Xterra East champs on 6/17... and the fact that my legs were trashed and tired)

Heading out on the run... time do "do work":


Overall: 48:52
1st overall amateur (non-elite)
1st AG

Picking up the goods:


I am happy with the race. It was good to get out and go hard. It was also nice to catch up with a bunch of people I have not seen very much this year. I raced a lot locally last year so I met a bunch of people and ran into them quite a bit of the course of the season. This year I am racing way less and just training a lot more. My races, for the most part, have also been outside of San Diego. So it was defintely a good time chatting with people I have not scene in a while.

After the race it was home to relax a bit... and then get out on the bike. This was training race and I still had one more ride to get in for the week. I headed out for 2:15 and 35+ miles up and down the coast. Nothing hard. Just staying in my endurance and active recovery zones.

here's the weekly numbers:


Some random photos from the week:

Angels stadium. Right where I started my rides in Anaheim.


Santa Ana River Trail. Good flat riding. Good spot for doing specific power intervals.

End of Santa Ana River Trail. River Jetties. Waves were good.

This is the button I have on my trainsistion/triathlon bag. Reminder of the #1 Goal.