Attempted
11/05/2023
Morro bay is always a favorite for our family as we get out of the house, hang around a giant rock, play in tide pools, eat lots of seafood, and wander through cute shops in the town. It has been a few years since I had competed in the race in its correct format due to covid, etc, so I had only vaguely remembered the course. What quickly came back was a relatively flat course with a swim full of grass and a run full of… SAND!
The swim was a bit chilly with 58° water temp, but was a nice smooth two laps around bouys. Unfortunately the sighting bouys were not lined up with the first turn, but thanks to the current I went around them anyways. Also, another race with another set of water leaking goggles, but by the second lap I quickly cleared them and swam much more smoothly! A much better swim than Santa Cruz and finally trying to recognize all that swim speed I get with grueling Saturday masters class.
The big was gorgeous and smooth as always. My new QR bike really sails and it was a total blast out on the course. And per usual of being not in the young male age group I got a chance to pass quite a few folks and didn’t see a ton in front of me.
Lastly, the run. The run was torture in the beginning per usual with a small stretch of very un-packed beach to maneuver through. Then half way in, I had a minor bout of GI, but for some reason the wave passed and on the turn back onto the beach things were much smoother sailing. Sadly I got passed by two people despite passing two others, but considering I had been sick the most of October with a cold I was still happy to be competitive. In the end I got 6th overall which was way better than I expected and a nice vindication from my two santa cruz races where the field was stacked.
