This review is for the Orange County International Triathlon, completed on June 1, 2014.
Pre-Race: The pre-race events were moved to Lake Mission Viejo, which was a welcomed change compared to last year, as it was held at a different site. The packet pick-up was a smooth process. I was able to pick up my packet is a very short time, and it was very well-organized. The only draw back was that there were only a few vendors. I wished that there were more of them. Aside from that, the pre-race was a good.
Course: The fog had lifted just in time for the swim course to begin. The swim is a 1500 meter swim on Lake Mission Viejo. It was a fast swim, and I did not feel crowded at all on the course. It seemed that the swim waves were organized well. The bike course was very challenging. There were many hills throughout the course, but they can be navigated properly. The toughest hill for me was the first hill, right past Cook’s Corner (about mile 4-5). After I got to the top of that hill, I was able to use speed from the downhills to get through the remaining rolling hills. Around Mile 21-22, there was a sharp turn to get onto the bike path which can be dangerous. Luckily, there were volunteers warning the cyclists that to slow down while getting onto the bike path. After that, it was smooth sailing into T2. I had a much better experience in T2 this year compared to last year. The race directors had assigned spaces for the bikes based on the race bib numbers. This saved me so much time compared to last year. Good job race directors!!! The run course was downhill for about the first 2.5 miles, then there were rolling hills until Vista Del Lago. Even with my much improved training from last year, I still had to walk that hill. It is brutal, especially with barely any shade from the sun. After navigating Vista Del Lago, there were rolling hills until the finish line. This is a great course, and I was much more prepared for it, compared to last year. With much more preparation, I set a new personal best, and took nearly 30 minutes off of my previous personal best on this course.
Post-Race: This year’s festivities were much better because I elected to stay around and enjoy them. Also, I placed 2nd in the Clydesdale division, and received a bottle of wine as a prize. I am not much of a wine drinker, but I definitely put this on display in my home!
Overall: This is an A course. It was the perfect distance for challenging hills. I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be back next year.
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