Santa Barbara Triathlon……Tri Club Defined
September 1, 2010
Last weekend’s 29th Annual Santa Barbara Triathlon 2-day event included more than 2,000 participants, from first timer to seasoned pro’s. The Saturday long course offered choppy seas, moody marine layer and the dark images that befits the 1 mile swim, 34 mile bike and 10 mile run. Contrasting Sunday’s Sprint course of fast friendly and blue skies for 500 yard swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. SB Tri Club fielded over 60 members with 27 podiums!
Let’s jump right into Rosie Thompson’s always reliable race report:
The Santa Barbara Triathlon is a great local event that is well organized and right here in beautiful Santa Barbara! It also is always a benefit for some very worthy charity. I have done the sprint course the last two years, and this was my first year competing in the long course. It was also my longest race ever, so I was a little apprehensive about the 10-mile run at the end. The day started off cool with high fog and a wind out of the East that made the COLD ocean very choppy – no wonderful calm conditions like last year. I am so glad I purchased a neoprene cap this year as it certainly helped keep me somewhat warm. Actually, only my hands and feet were cold, and the cold hands did not help my dexterity in getting the wetsuit off in T1 or shifting on the bike for several miles. The bike course is a challenging, but beautiful, one that I have ridden for years so it was very familiar, and I had a great ride. The aero bars I had put on the bike 3 weeks ago were a great help. T2 was a little slower than usual as I had difficulty getting the knee brace on my sweaty leg, but then it was off on the run. The weather stayed cool and breezy which is just the way I like it for a run, and I was able to keep a steady pace throughout the run. Several friends rode their bikes with me on the last about 3 miles and took pictures. When I crossed the finish line, I could not believe my time (4:40:01). It was 5 minutes faster than I had estimated my best time would be!!! And it was good enough for 2nd place! Besides being local, this race is fun because so many SBTC members are either racing, volunteering, or cheering which gives me inspiration to do my best. Thanks to all of you who were there, including my husband who cheered and took pictures as well, and to Liz for the excellent training…Rosie
Nice report Rosie, you are my most consistent and best reporter, thank you so much.
Here are the results starting with Saturday Long Course and Relay. The results are in finish time order starting with the Podium winners. All participant names are hot linked to their split times. Click on the name and the individual split times will appear..cool huh?
Podium Winners:
Taylor Hemming 02:58:36 1st M25-29, Fred Maggiore 03:24:21 4th M50-54, John Nelson 03:34:45 1st M55-59, David Groom 03:40:41 1st M60-64, Chris Latham 03:43:33 3rd W35-39, Joe Howell 03:54:08 2nd M60-64, Vic Birtalan 04:06:06 2nd M 65-69, Rosie Thompson 04:40:01 2nd W65-69, Ellen Kenoss 04:59:11 4th W55-59
Andrew Riley 03:16:57, Taj Hudson 03:17:38, Michael Desmond 03:29:40, Matthew Klonowski 03:34:18, Amanda Nicolato 03:39:29, David Parker 03:40:23, Karl Weis 03:40:38, John Herzog 03:41:58, Ian Chapman 03:43:27, Troy Hinshaw 03:48:22, Justin Greene 03:49:05, Robert Wilcher 03:49:26, Jeff Bailey 03:49:26, Richard Hummel 03:50:08, Andrea Stouffer 03:50:22, Sarah Mandes 03:52:49, Danielle Lipski 03:53:20, Sue Beatty 03:53:39, Christina Lund 03:54:47, Richard Konoske 03:57:42, Jerrett McFarland 03:58:33, Jonathan Lewis 03:59:09, Liz Groom 04:00:21, Lisa Dunn 04:07:16, Michelle Konoske 04:08:59, Paul Bullock 04:12:11, Beth Bailey 04:16:52, Jessica Barker 04:20:52, Greg Russell 04:25:39, Ali Aghayan 04:30:28, Teri Malinowski 04:38:27, Andrew Duncan 04:40:05
Relay:
NITE MOVES Matt Trost, James Ballantine and Ricky Ho 3:03:12 1st Team Men
THREE WISE KINGS Sheryl King, Brian King and Kristin Wise 3:42:22 Team Coed, TEAM PHOTON Craig Adams, Craig Adams and Cherie Topper 3:49:15 Team Coed, TEAM SUPER G Joshua Escalante, Irwin Teichman and Lisa Lewis 4:26:55 Team Coed.
Sunday Sprint Course – Coed
Podium Winners:
Matthew Trost 00:40:24 2nd M40-44, Ted Gillett 00:43:52 2nd M45-49, Walker Bell 00:43:59 1st M14/under, David Groom 00:44:10 1st M60-64, Jason George 00:44:20 3rd M35-39, Konnor Plymire 00:44:31 3rd M15-17, Joseph Sullivan 00:45:49 1st M55-59, Ricky Ho 00:45:54 4th M35-39, Liz Groom 00:46:28 2nd W35-39, Joe Howell 00:48:36 2nd M60-64, Paula Waldman 00:49:32 1st W45-49, Desa Mandarino 00:49:47 2nd W40-44, Cyndi Aghayan 00:50:12 3rd W40-44, Mark Polomski 00:51:08 4th M50-54, Ben Brewer 00:51:32 4th M14/Under, Janice Maggiore 00:55:43 1st W60-64, Jack Bianchi 00:59:49 1st M65-69, Irwin Teichman 01:02:26 2nd M65-69, Edwin Shipcott 01:05:12 3rd M65-69
Aldous Pabon 00:57:40, Mark Klopstein 01:01:27, Karlyn Roberts 01:04:34, Carissa Owens 01:07:53, Aric Monts-Homkey 01:08:44, Ann Marie Donnely 01:23:43
Women’s Only Sprint:
Podium Winners:
Karen Schultz 00:44:34 First W30-34 and First Overall!, Kirstin Candy 00:48:55 2nd W40-44 and 5th Overall!, Elizabeth Cutbirth 01:06:18 2nd W18-19
Rosie touched on the feeling of the Santa Barbara Triathlon as defining the purpose of our SB Tri Club. Besides it being in our backyard and training grounds it offers all aspect of our sport. The challenges are plenty and so are the rewards. Two friends came up to me with big smiles after completing their first triathlon on Sunday. They both thanked me for encouraging them to do this triathlon and showed their appreciation with beaming pride. They also said the magic words, “It was Fun!” ….Sandy
Santa Barbara Triathlon – A Special Shout Out!
Aside from personal reasons why I love this race, it also has a special significance to me. If you enjoy the Santa Barbara Triathlon then there’s a special someone who you might want to thank. That someone is Anita Ho. Anita retired from the City of Santa Barbara a few years ago, but she continues to volunteer for just about everything when it comes to Santa Barbara. What does she have to do the SB triathlon? Well, while working for the City of Santa Barbara in the early ‘80s, she married Victor, a triathlete who had earlier completed the Hawaii Ironman. At the time, the City of SB was looking for a new event, and so she helped kickoff the first SB Triathlon. As far as I know, there’s not too many people around today that were there for the first SB Triathlon. Today, Anita is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Santa Barbara International Marathon, so if you bump into her, give her a big hug and tell her that her nephew said “Thank You!”
Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon
I didn’t forget something, I didn’t break anything, and nothing got dropped on the road or left in transition. If you know me, then you know that’s truly amazing. Nothing went wrong…YES! The only notable was that 3 weeks out, I strained a calf muscle. However, due to all the support and knowledge of my athletic friends, I was able to start running again 8 days later.
This race is my favorite because it was my first-ever triathlon back in 2007 (which I finished in 4:49). This year, the swim was a bit bumpy for my taste, motion sickness even came to mind a couple of times while in the water. In the end, everyone had to deal with the same conditions. Every year I continue to PR this race, including this year with a 3:58:33. Who says you have to slow down as you get older? Don’t believe it. Just have fun and live as long as you can!
Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon – Transition Area Volunteer
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY! I was able to witness so much happiness and accomplishment while directing traffic in the transition area. My other job was making sure Susannah put on the right shoes before heading out on the bike. Funny stuff! If you want to see comedy, just watch people rush through transition for a few hours, you are sure to see something that will make you laugh every few minutes.
Santa Barbara Triathlon – Summation
I think the most memorable part of the SB Triathlon this year (for me) was the Parent/Child Sprint. Watching kids with their parents accomplish something together is absolutely perfect. When it comes to human beings, it’s how we teach..our children… by example…Jerrett McFarland
Ironman Canada
August 31, 2010
Tri-The-Bull Triathlon…Craig Adams, Have Tri Will Travel
August 20, 2010
The Santa Maria “Tri the Bull” race is a simple city sponsored race that does a very good job using as little resources as they can use – some city staff with Parks and Recreation department and a few volunteers. The race gets it’s name because it takes place on Bull Canyon Road – ONLY. You can’t ask for much because the fee is almost less than many 10K events in the SB region (forty bucks). Needless to say, the 1/2 mile (900 yard) swim takes place in the high school swimming pool (see photo), and is an out-and-back 7 mile bike ride, followed by an out-and-back 5k run on the same road. Strange proportions of distances to my opinion, and for a cyclist like me, is the right distance of a ride for a warm-up.
Now, the tricky part is if you’re not in the initial wave of swimmers, you really don’t have a definitive start time. They seed by order of which entries were processed, and if your not in the first wave, you go into the water according to your number when a lane becomes vacant. THAT’s your start time! So your placement is dependent on the legibility and accuracy of the volunteer’s handwriting, and hope the math calculation is correct at the end. Oh well, it’s all for fun anyway.
The SBTC was well represented with…let’s see…me! It’s a slightly different race than what most of us are used to. My bike was the subject of many of the people there (and it’s old). I was also amazed by the number of people asking me if it was OK to wear their IPODs. The flyer does say – NO! I felt like such a sandbagger, but figured I’d still get my butt kicked.
The conditions were not much different than most of the recent mornings in the area – GREY and cool, but windless – nice for racing. I was about number 43 out of about 50, so I entered the water as one of the last contenders. I did a couple of warm up laps, and let the timer know I was ready. I felt good, but when I exited the water, the timer said GREAT JOB and did her best of encouragement to tell me I broke a time that expected to be 2-3 minutes ahead of (hmmm, did she start my time when I did my warm up? I didn’t think swimming pools were that variable).
The bike was strange because I did not take any opportunity to warm up, so my legs just did not feel like they were pushing any harder than a commute pace. Finally at the end of it, I felt like I was ready to go. Darn, now that I’m ready to press the bike, I need to switch to running. Having not done much running for the year, with the exception of Steve’s Tri and a few short training runs, this was going to be a good test. It was a test all right, and the fact that I haven’t run was proven.
In the end, I’m not sure how the times really panned out (a reminder that I need to replace my watch), and I may had done OK but as predicted – I did my butt kicked, but the results just really didn’t make sense. However, that’s OK because (a) it was still a lot of fun, (b) the volunteers were awesome and friendly and (c) my foot didn’t hurt the next day – hope that lasts…small victories, small victories….Craig
XTERRA Snow Valley Triathlon
August 3, 2010
A few months ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. I decided I wanted to try off road triathlon. So, I bought a mountain bike, crashed a few times, and signed up for Xterra Snow Valley. Snow Valley is a ski resort on the way to Big bear in the San Bernardino mountains. I also convinced my buddy Craig Adams to sign up. Although it didn’t take to much convincing, Craig is crazy enough to try just about any outdoor athletic adventure.The adventure began on the Saturday morning of August 31st. Karen, Craig and I set off on the 3 hour drive to packet pickup up on the mountain. The first mishap of the weekend was when Craig realized he had forgotten his USAT card. Then we Informed by the race volunteers that the swim start was almost at the top of the mountain and that we would have to ride or hike up there. Oh Crap! This had me a little worried, but I still felt that I would be fine.
After reviewing the course maps and asking the volunteers all the questions we could, we decended the mountain to go check in at out hotel in Redlands. Once, checked in and settled we decide to go for a little spin on our bikes. We wanted to go for a 15min. ride just to get some blood flowing and flush a 3 hour car ride from our legs. Right next to our hotel was a dirt field that looked perfect for our mountain bikes. We had no idea that we would come out of the field with thousands of goat head thorns stuck in all four of our tires.!!!!!! We started to try and pick them out, but relized quickly that this was a lost cause. We needed a bike shop fast! So a quick google maps seach on my Droid and we had a bike shop about half a mile from the hotel. I gave them a call to make sure they had mountain bike tires and they did. They were also closing in 10 minutes!!! Craig and I scrambled to get over there in just the nick of time!! New tires and tubes for everybody!!!! Wooohoo!!!!
Finally, it’s race morning and my usual nervous/nausea is also here. We drive up the mountain and arrive at snow valley. We set up our t2 which is at the bottom of the ski area by the lodge. Craig and I then start our ride up the mountain to t1. Holy Crap!!!! It was a steep and long climb up!!!!! Did I say this was also part of the bike race course? Well, it is!!!
Once we arrive at T1 we get everything set up and are ready to go!!! The swim was 1000m or 1 and a half loops around the small private Snow Valley lake. The water was warm, about 75 degrees the race official said. That’s the perfect temperature for a full suit in my opinion. I had a great swim. I paced my self by going the speed at which I was still able to breathe at 7000+ feet. As I exited the water I was told I was 14th out. Not bad I think!After a slow T2 I’m ready to ride! Mountain bike gear is not made for quick trasitions. Especially the camelbaks and shoes. Anyways, out on the bike course and straight up! This would be the top part or continuation of the climb that I did to get to the start/T1, that I will be doing again in loop 2! Immediately I’m red lined! I also realize that my bike might be the wrong bike for the course as guys on lighter hardtails or minimal full suspension bikes start flying by me like I’m standing still. Once, at the top of the mountain the course briefly flattened out and then I saw the downhill portion of the course and almost crapped my pants! I kept my calm and cautiously made it down without crashing. I’m brand new to mountain biking and need some work on technical decending skills!
oute as earlier. What a tough climb that was all the way back up to the top. It was agony all the way back to the same crazy decent . Which I again cautiously negotiated without crashing!!! Woohoo!Finally, to the run! This 4 mile run was way harder than Wildfower long course run!!!! Way steeper ups, and way steeper downs! One of the hills was called Diablo hill and there was a guy dressed in a Satan suit yelling at people, “NO WALKING!!! Hahaha!” This is where a guy collapsed with what looked like full body cramps. That was crazy!!!
Well, I made it through and still want to do Xterra races in the future. I definetly would recommend this race to any crazy adventure/challenge seekers out there. I was 6th in my age division. Not bad considering my lack of mountain bike experience/skills. The official results aren’t up yet but my unofficial splits are 17:12swim, 2:40 t1, about an hr bike (I messed up my watch), t2 1-2 min(again messed up with the watch), 37:56 run! Total time from the on site race results was 1:56 and some change for sixth in the 30-34. I also forgot to mention that Craig crack his bike frame on the crazy decent! He didn’t want to do that insane run anyways!!!
I also want to thank my beautiful wife Karen for putting up with a couple full grown man children like Craig and I. Also for taking some great photos and hanging out with Shelby the Dog! Luv u babe!
C
ongratulations to Josh and Craig for an amazing high altitude adventure. A well earned salute to Karen as the cheering squad and support team!
Sandy
IM Lake Placid, NY…Mike Desmond
July 26, 2010
It was a double win for the USA as Ben Hoffman 8:39:34 and Amy Marsh 9:27:30 took the titles in the twelfth-annual Ford Ironman Lake Placid last Sunday July 25, 2010. Hoffman posted his first Ironman victory finishing seven minutes ahead of Petr Vabrousek of the Czech Republic and last year’s winner Maik Twelsiek from Germany who finished in third.
The two loop 2.4 mile swim takes place in Mirror Lake, a calm, pristine lake right in the heart of Lake Placid, New York. The two loop 112 mile bike course takes place on state, county, and local roads. The spectator friendly two loop 26.2 mile run course passes by the downtown area four times! This incredible route features some spectacular tree-lined river scenery, coupled with lake side running. There are a few rolling hills, but overall a fast, fair run course.
Here is a note from SB Club member Mike Desmond:
Finished the Lake Placid Ironman yesterday – only my second at this distance but knocked almost 15 minutes off my prior time finishing in 11:14:13. P.R.s in both the swim 1:07:53 and the bike 5:49:18 but the rolling/steep hills of the run 4:06:35 killed me! The swim is two laps of a rectangle; water was a balmy 74 degrees. Good swim times are facilitated by a cable that runs the length of the rectangle, holding down the marker buoys and allowing you to keep a straight line in the open water. Only drawback is that 3,000 of your closest friends have the same idea so it’s quite crowded for the entire 2.4 miles. The bike course has two good climbs and one long, fast downhill which was made tricky by the sporadic rain showers. Otherwise a fair amount of flat, fast roads - all in all a good course for fast bike speeds. The run was a different story for me, the only part of the course I didn’t check out before hand. It’s over 25 miles of rolling mountain roads, punctuated by a mile or so of a steep climb up into town for the turn-around and finish. Running is by far my strongest event, but not yesterday. Went out too fast, melted in the middle and somehow saved the day with a strong finish from mile 22, when I could finally start to feel the finish line.
All in a great course in the beautiful mountains of upstate New York.
Hope to see you out for an easy recovery ride on Saturday… Mike
Congratulations Mike on a great race….Sandy
Steve’s Tri….Passion and Compassion
July 26, 2010
VINEMAN 70.3
July 21, 2010
July 18, 2010 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Vineman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in Sonoma County, California. The Vineman Ironman 70.3 consists of a 1.2 mile swim in the Russian River, a 56 mile point-to-point bike ride to Windsor High School, and finishing with a 13.1 run that takes the athletes to the La Crema Winery and back. Athletes will be competing for 50 qualifying spots to the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida in November.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS
July 21, 2010
Oxnard State Beach Park where the beautiful beachside communities of Oxnard Shores hosted the famous Strawberry Fields Triathlon last Sunday. This year was a variety of multisport events & course distances including: Sprint Triathlon – ¼ mile swim; 11.5 mile bike; 3 mile run, Olympic Triathlon – 1.5k swim; 38.5k bike; 10k run, Sprint Duathlon – 2 mile run; 11.5 mile bike; 3 mile run and USAT Junior Elite Cup – ½ mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run. However, our Garmin wearing members claim the swim and bike were short giving into a fast, flat PR course. I also heard the swim buoys were positioned during high tide making the morning low tide wave starts fighting the shore break.
SB Tri Club fielded 17 competitors at this event while scoring 4 podiums. Sue Beatty 1:06:56 scored our only 1st place W45-49 Sprint, Desa Mandarino 1:08:01 grabbed a 2nd place W40-45 Sprint, Jack Bianchi 1:19:00 a great job with a 2nd M65-69 Sprint and Danielle Lipski 2:23:33 was our only Olympic podium winner with a 2nd W35-39 nice job Dani! Special note to new SB Tri Club member Neil Osterwalder 1:11:16 1st Clydesdale in his first ever triathlon.
Here are the Olympic times: Paul Bullock 2:39:38, John Herzog 2:27:51, Taj Hudson 2:05:01, Matt Klonowski 2:17:24, Zack Komon 2:20:51, Konnor Plymire 2:33:49, Michael Simpson 2:52:37, and Cyndi Aghayan 2:49:39
Here are the Sprint times: Aric Monts-Homkey 1:33:50, Mark Polomski 1:14:17, Aldous Pabon 1:24:05, and Matthew Trost 1:01:49.
All for now, hopefully a few race reports will trickle in. I was gone all last week and didn’t have time to browbeat anyone for last weekend event reports…..Sandy
Here is a new race report from our new triathlete Mike Simpson:
Here’s what I learned from my “first Olympic tri”
1. Pre swim the course if you can. If you preswim the course the day before, and you see five foot waves, just remember that it’s only noon, and it will be much calmer at 7:30 am. Otherwise, it’s no worse than NiteMoves with a lot of swells. I recall being the in the middle of the swim thinking, “how cool is this.. I’m no longer afraid I’m going to die out here”….
2. Put your timing chip UNDER your wetsuit. So when you make the turn at the last buoy, but you get torpedoed by someone who doesn’t, it does get ripped off… and you might get DQ’d…..
3. Watch your heart rate, you are training for Ironman…, yeah I know, I know…
4. Ride fast, really fast, and pass every LA Tri Clubber you can… they aren’t very friendly….
5. If you have a carbon frame and carbon seatpost…. get the stuff that keeps your seat from slipping down halfway through the bike….which makes it look like you are riding your kids bike, cuts your average 2-3 mph, and worse, makes your knees scream…
6. Watch your heart rate, like they say, it’s 140.6 miles, so race like you are doing Ironman…
7. Smile, smile, smile, because people are taking pictures….. and thank your support crew for getting up at 4am to drive, set up, take pictures, all for you…(it’s called true love)
8. Cheer on your fellow SB Tri Clubbers, because they are suffering too…. and recognize how cool it is to be one of the last SB Tri Clubbers to finish, because you get a bigger cheering section…
9. Did I mention watch your heart rate, because it only moves higher, never lower…. Running after swimming and cycling is NOT the same as running… It’s not the track. You are not the only one who sucks at this.
10. Do the math. If you look at clock when you finish, don’t forget you started 30 minutes AFTER the timer started.. You are NOT a PRO, but an age grouper, and that means you got like a 30 minute handicap!! Woo hoo!! Decided that 3:30 would be a good start.. then I figured the clock was 3:23 and I was thrilled.. then they posted my time of 2:52:37 and yes, I was the guy doing the Billy Idol Happy Dance.. (Dancing with myself)….
Yes, I learned alot. I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I am member of SB Tri. I don’t even know all their names, but it felt nice to be part of the group. Now, it’s time to get ready for Santa Cruz and The Big Kahuna Half Iron Distance on September 12th.. Kristine and I are both racing it…. anyone else wearing the SB Tri colors on that day?
Best Regards,
Mike Simpson