My third triathlon of the year and 18th triathlon completed in all
First of all, the weather was perfect. One week earlier it was stormy, rainy and there were big, big waves, but on race day the air was cool yet warm, there was fog and diffused light, and the waves were maybe 3 feet, which is my best case scenario. Since two weeks ago I was sick, and my pre-race training was not quite what it has been in previous years, I knew this would likely not be a PR race for me. I have been doing well in the pool though, so I wanted to see if I could knock down my swim time a bit. The bike and the run would sort themselves out!
Pre-Race Drama
I rode my bike down to the transition area, found a spot and was chatting away with a friend who was racked near me, going on about how well prepared I am. Well, off I go on my warm-up run. Wait. Bare ankle. No timing chip. I left my timing chip at home! FREAKOUT!
I almost rode the 20 minutes back to my house to get it, but thankfully was outfitted with a new chip by my friend Rich, the race director. I approached him with crazy eyes. I LEFT MY TIMING CHIP AT HOME! Please give Julia anything she needs! he says to the timing people. Heart attack averted!
The swim: 1.5k (.93 Miles)
My Swim Time: 00:31:57
So the wave Gods smiled on us and served up tiny ones. Hooray! The water wasn’t even that cold. Hooray! There was the usual swim start scene on the beach by teh boardwalk, 1,000 wetsuited penguins in colored caps and goggles milling around, talking, snapping photos and “getting acclimated” in the water (quick swim and try to pee). Ok they weren’t penguins, those were people.
The first wave went off when I was in the water, I heard the crowd roar, and saw the white capped men run into the ocean and swim off, a festival of arms. My wave went off a little bit later, the purple caps. We went into the corral, and got into position. For the wharf swim, I like to be on the right side (next to the wharf) and sort of near the front. I was going to try to get a faster swim time, so I braved the more aggressive front lines.
Our gun went off, and we ran into the waves. The swim in a triathlon is very much like a mosh pit- arms and legs flailing around you as you try to swim forward. This time I did get knocked around a bit; one woman unintentionally punched me in the face as I surfaced for air, more swam right across, others I actually swam over and later, a man dove pretty much right into me. It’s easy to get flustered in this scenario, but I put my head down, and concentrated on a smooth, strong stroke. It’s my swim. I own this water. They are all just around me. I felt strong and good. The tip of the wharf came up before I knew it, and we were swimming down the other side. The people on the beach were small black dots. I focused on the large rectangle that is the Dream Inn, and headed in. I only heard one sea lion barking which is unusual. They are all around in that part of the water, checking out the swimmers!
After going slightly off course a couple times (oops, there’s the buoy!) I swim aground. I’m done! Off with the wetsuit arms as I run up the beach to the timing mats. Beep beep!
(note on the swim time: 00:31:57 is about what I swam last year, which was my personal best year for this race. Sources who know, say that the course was slightly longer this year, meaning that if my official time was the same, I was definitely swimming faster, by about a minute. That’s good enough for me! I made my goal.)
Transition 1
T1 time: 00:4:08
Ok, this is a much faster swim to bike transition than I have ever done for this race! This is what I think made me faster:
- I wore my bike jersey under my wetsuit, so I didn’t have to wrestle it on over a damp body
- I took my wetsuit off on the pavement, after the timing mats but before running up that darn hill
- I didn’t wear cycling gloves
The Bike: 40km (24.8 Miles)
My Bike time: 1:28:24
I wasn’t expecting to really rock the bike this time out; I love to ride, but hadn’t trained that hard on it over the summer. I tend to take the bike leg for granted since it is my first love.
The ride out to Davenport was really pretty smooth; my legs were feeling sore from not training so much, so I got as forward as I could on my frame, and rode the aerobars as much as possible.
There were very many cyclists around, it felt actually alot like the swim. Because of how the eave starts went, there were fasties coming up behind in their fancy gear. I noticed that the fancier the cycling gear, the less likely they were to say “left!” as they passed, which is kind of annoying. Nice to know there’s a bicycle behind you in case you yourself need to pass someone! On the way back from Davenport, my friend Krista caught up to me. She was in my same wave, so she commented that I must have had a great swim. I think I did! I called out, and she was gone. I saw a few other friends on the bike who were behind me only because their waves started later. It’s always fun to see friends on the course; this race is always punctuated for me with calling out names of my fellow racers and volunteers and cheering for each other. A warm feeling although we are all competitively doing our best.
I ride straight up to the dismount line and clop over to my running shoes.
(note on time: my 2008 bike time was 1:25, so I was only 3 minutes slower this year. Not too bad!)
Transition 2
T2 time: 00:1:22
Doesn’t take much time to get your running stuff on. This transition time was faster by a few seconds than last year. Probably because I put my hat on while I was running out.
The Run: 10km (6.2 Miles)
My Run Time: 1:08:08… if you can’t be fast, be symmetrical!
I ran out on the course feeling pretty strong after the bike. I mean, the transition never really feels good, but I was running a faster pace than usual out of the gate. I thought that if I stayed in the upper edge of my breathing capacity, I’d be able to maintain a good pace. (I did)
Once you get past the transition spectators, you are running up West Cliff, overlooking the bay and past the wharf again. All I could hear for the first mile was heavy breathing and the sea lions going insane. Approaching the second mile I saw fins in the water. Dolphins! I pointed them out to other racers in exchange for blank stares. Well. I know it’s race and all, but… dolphins! They are special, like unicorns, only they exist.
Run run run.
Not quite halfway, I heard my name called out with a “woo hoo!” I turned my head to wave at my friend, whoever that was, and immediately tripped over the sidewalk, diving forward in a flamboyant vaudeville-style faceplant, scraping off part of my left palm. Doh! A racer in a Silicon Valley Tri Club jersey helped me up, making sure I was ok before resuming her run. “Your friend owes you a beer!” she called out. (I found out later the mystery spectator was my coach, Terri. This makes the incident even more funny to me.) I spent the rest of the run worrying that I hadn’t thanked the woman who had helped me enough. It’s fairly shocking to find yourself splat on the ground like that, and I was up in no time, thanks to her!
I finished my run, waving my bloody palm at the photographer. I’ve never bled across the finish line before! Finally, proof I worked hard. I forgot to look at the clock, so I don’t know how well I did. Eating and drinking at the finish line, showing off my wounds, comparing experiences. Good times!
(Note on time: my 2008 run time was 1:03, about 1 minute per mile faster than this year. Well, that’s ok, I know I did the best I could for this day! )
Overall time: 3:14:something
Ok, so I forgot the seconds. I am obsessive about my stats, but since it wasn’t a PR , no need for total accuracy. 
My 2008 and best time for this race is 3:09, so I know I can do better, but overall, it was a very fun day, I felt consistent and strong and triumphant, just as if it had been my personal best race!
Triathlon number 18: check!
