Locked and Loaded

I'm ready to race! It's been 8 weeks since Wildflower, and I'm getting anxious to race again. Ironman training has meant less races per season (but more miles per race!) for me. This weekend is the San Diego International Triathlon which I will be doing for the second time. It's not an 'A' race for me, but I'd still like to do well. I know my base fitness isn't where it should be, but for a short distance like this I should be able to push it a bit. Last year SDIT was my first race with the new bike (well... first race without mechanical trouble) and I was shocked at how fast I went from T1 to T2.

CATEGORY	PLACE	O'ALL	SWIM RANK	SWIM	T1	BIKE RANK	BIKE	T2	RUN RANK	RUN	FINISH
MALE 30-34	51	315	300	0:15:32	0:02:55	129	0:50:49	0:01:25	541	0:54:31	2:05:12

Last year I lost my swim cap a few minutes before the start - I got in the water to warm up, and somehow I dropped it into the Bay. I ran to the registration table in my wetsuit and stole a new one out of the box, and sprinted back to the start line. My wave had already moved out into the water for the floating start, I arrived there just before the gun, panting frantically. I had a good swim, though it got tight at the buoys and I was beaten up a bit. According to the final results I did a 01:33 per 100m pace for the race (15:32 for 1000m) - but that's not right. I think the course is considerably shorter than 1000m, since 1:33 pace is about as fast as I can do a single 100m sprint. Out of the water and onto the bike with a 2:55 transition time. Wow! That's a pretty fast T1 for me. I expect to go slower than that this year, at SDIT last year I swam with my Tri jersey under my wetsuit. I decided not to do that anymore because the water dripped into my shoes and made the ride and run very unpleasant. Plus, the shirt never dried out - I was wet the whole way.
The bike portion really went well for me. I felt good, but I also pushed hard. This was my hometown race, with the bike course going past my bike shop (Moment Cycle) and I wanted it to be a good one. I averaged 22 MPH, but I don't remember much of it - though the 90 degree turn on the way back into town is in the back of my mind still. Another blazing transition in T2, 1 minute 25 seconds! Probably won't do that this year either - I've got laces on my shoes this time. I know, it's not very "Tri" of me. I purchased Yankz laces for the shoes, but never got around to installing them - and the shoes are about to be replaced anyway.

The run portion hurt. A lot. I left it all out on the bike course, and suffered through the run with a 9:15 min/mile pace and a 54 minute 10K. I'm hoping to improve on this, though I'm not running well right now so it will be a struggle. I'd love to be close to 50 minutes - we'll have to see how it goes.
I'm prepping for the race by doing the monthly TCSD Aquathon (Presented by Kashi!). It's approximately 1000m swim, followed by approximately 3 miles of beach running. I do the swim sans wetsuit, which slows me down quite a bit. However, since I also run barefoot in the sand, my transition time is zero! I'm not exactly in contention for winning, but the Aquathon is absolutely my most favoritest race - and we do it every month during the summer!
Racing is fun, and this one is looking to be fully loaded with merriment. I'm racing in my beautiful hometown, on a bike course I ride with Moment twice a week, with lots of friends, support from the spectacular TCSD, and my unbelievably patient girlfriend waiting for me at the finish.