IM California 2000 was my best race, But not my fastest. The bike and run were double loops and I had negative splits on each (the second loop was faster than the first). The swim was...long. I thought I'd had a good swim (as with most IM swims, it's a two-loop course); when I came out of    the water, my time was slower than I'd thought. In the transition tent, I was told the swim course was about 700 meters TOO LONG (they'd mismarked it). Oh well, it was long for everyone else too. Most of the race was on Camp Pendleton, just North of San Diego - the temperature ranged from needing arm warmers in the fog on the coast to mid-80s inland on the bike. At the pre-race party, the organizers told everyone to consider the race a long, catered training day; the Marines did a super job supporting every athlete.