Race Report: OC Tri 2011

One of my favorite races is the Orange County Triathlon. Skyler and I have competed in this race since they brought it back a few years ago. It's the perfect race because it's local and it's on a great course. I spend a lot of my bike riding time in Santiago Canyon, which is where the bike course is. There really aren't any other triathlons that I get to practice on the race course throughout the year.

I signed us up for this race at the beginning of the year, pre-babygeddon. As much as I wanted to do this race, I just knew that I shouldn't push myself that hard. If I was going to race, I wanted to do well. This wasn't going to be the time to break records.

Skyler, on the other hand, was ready to race!

The swim takes place in Lake Mission Viejo. The water was relatively warm. Skyler has improved his swim a lot during the past year, so I was surprised to see his time of 30:49 for the swim. One thing I've learned is that the swim is never the same from year to year. The distance always varies and this year it was longer.

Skyler Swim 30:49

T1 2:03

So you didn't expect me just to stand by and watch this race, did you? Fortunately, this year they also offered a duathlon, an aquathon, and an open water swim. I opted to transfer my entry to the open water swim. I knew I could do that with no problem.

As of this date I was 11 weeks pregnant. Not too far along, but I found out quickly that I was getting big. I could barely fit into my wetsuit! The swim was the same distance as the triathlon (1500m) and I swam it in 31:08. This is how I knew for sure that the swim distance was longer this year.

After my open water swim, I quickly changed into running clothes and ran about 2 miles to T2 where I could see Skyler finish his bike. I only had to wait a few minutes before I saw him.

Skyler Bike 1:10:57

T2 1:07

I ran back near the race venue to wait for one last view of him before the final stretch. My timing was perfect and I caught him after arriving at the spot only 30 seconds before.

His run was looking awesome. Less than a mile to go!

And he finished! A lightning fast run time too - 43:17, that's less than a 7:00 mile pace! I am so proud of his great race! I love that we share a love of triathlons together. Next year we're both racing though.

Skyler Run 43:17

Total Time 2:28:15