San Diego International Triathlon Race Report

San Diego International was my third race in four weeks. Maybe a bit ambitious, but I felt rested and excited to race.

David Lipke and I pre-race....discussing who was going to crush the other. (Betting background is here, if you aren't sure what this is referring to.)

My plan was really quite simple - stick on Lipke's feet in the swim to put as much distance on Kevin as possible, since I knew Kevin could out-bike and run me. It was really my one hope.

Only problem is, as soon as the gun went off, I got boxed off Lipke's feet.

And for the first 400m every time I breathed to the left, Kevin was right next to me - smiling at me no less!!

I did my best to drop him in the second half of the swim and managed to leave T1 before him, figuring I had maybe a mile, two at tops before he caught me. Then it would become all about managing the four minute gap...

One of the few times Kevin was actually behind me...

The bike course was great - I loved it. Hilly, rolling, a bit of everything. I felt fairly good, but at the turn around I could tell I wasn't taking time out of the three girls ahead of me. (There was in fact a race going on besides my personal Lipke-Kevin battle...) I kept telling myself all I could do was ride as hard as possible on the given day. I came off the bike having passed Lipke, but with Kevin well ahead of me.

Kevin crushing me on the run.

The run felt like the longest, loneliest 10k I have done in ages. I couldn't see ANYONE in front of me. No guys, no girls, just me and some early morning retirees out for a stroll. (Which is in fact how I felt I was running part of the time.) I tried to keep myself motivated with the possibility of closing Kevin's 4-minute gap, chasing a PR run split, or just in general trying not to run a completely crap 10k time. But I am not sure I did this very well.

My parents and Steven were out on course (my Dad is the one running in orange above). I typically know when I'm not having a great race, as they stop giving me time splits. This happened very early into the run.

Lipke chasing me.

I finished fourth. Not where I wanted to be, but it was all I had on the given day. Kevin beat me by 7:42 - well outside the four minutes he had given me. (Jeffrey won this bet). I beat Lipke by 2:35. (Rachel won this bet). Email me to collect your prizes!

David got some consolation from Rachel and I at the finish.

A huge thank you to Steven and my parents for coming out to cheer on a day when I just didn't have the race spark I would have liked to have. Also a great big THANK YOU! to my sponsors who keep me training, racing and healthy. I appreciate everything so very much.

Next up is Vineman 70.3.