Breath for Life Triathlon 2009

June 30, 2009

Last Sunday’s Ventura Triathlon is the primary source of charitable donations for the Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Primary Immunodeficiency Fund.  Proceeds from this year’s event go towards improvements for the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital with over $750,000 raised to date.  It is a fast, flat and scenic 1.5 kilometers swim, 40 kilometers bike, 10 kilometers run located at San Buenaventura State Beach.  This year it was on the USAT’s 2009 Regional Championship Series bringing some very fast folks and they all seemed to fly past me. This was my first tri since pre and post surgery late last year so it was a test to see where I stand for the AZ IM.  And no I can’t get my money back but Liz promised me I would be ready in time.

I think everyone in the SB Tri Club competed in this race excepting those coming back from Coeur d’Alene.  Therefore, since you were all there, I thought it more interesting to include the E-mails sent to me today from Fred Kass, Doug Black and Olita Layton. They sum up their experiences with the following:

Sandy, Here’s my report: With Jack Bianchi’s coaching, I cut more than 20 minutes from the overall time compared with last year’s Ventura race, in large part because I improved my running by more than 1:30 minute/mile.  Thanks to all the Tri Club members for always being so supportive.  Fred 2:35:28.7

Fred has coached me with my swimming but I think I liked him better when I could catch him on the run!

Ventura was my first Olympic three years ago—and you know what they say about your first J. Since I am relatively new to triathlons, each one seems to present a new “adventure”. I’ve done the “God please let me finish” Ventura. Then there was the “ I have a new bike, screw the run” Ventura. This one will go down as “have fun with what you got” Ventura.

 

On the few triathlons I have been able to attend (I hate calling them races) I have always been able to attain a new PR—of course I have never done more than two of any event. Today, about half way thru the bike I realized this was not going to be a PR for Duggy J. That is when I really appreciated having 70 of my closest friends with me.

 

Two things I really appreciate during triathlons. One is when some stranger  in the crowd yells “go Santa Barbara!”  The other is when I see someone from the tri club yell “go Doug” or if they don’t know my name they will just look up with a big smile and say “way to go Santa Barbara”.

 

Today was one of those days that being part of the Santa Barbara Tri Club made the triathlon especially fun—and I had a BLAST!!  Doug Black 2:54:36.8

 

Doug and I have been very good friends for many years and he is the one that started me in triathlons.  I have yet to forgive him.

 

Hi Sandy!
I LOVE Tri For Life! This was only my second Olympic triathlon, but my second time at Ventura since I did the sprint last year.Positives first: Great atmosphere! Tons of teammate support! FAST swim conditions with easy sighting on the swim course. It was a beautiful day with the smell of ripe strawberries on the bike side loops! Was expecting a strong wind, but turned out to be relatively calm on the bike. The best family style barbecue after a race I have ever experienced (and not just because I was hungry)! Our race tent was the coolest in a nice shady spot! Dave and Liz were voted longest annual participants and we found out there was an encounter with cupid at Tri For Life as this is where they originally met seven years ago!Only a couple negatives, number one being the state park road no passing zone, which seemed unsafe when there’s a scared wobbly junior biker ahead of you and everyone is yelling at them to hurry up while others were passing illegally out of impatience. Second being a challenging sandy run from the swim to transition area, but that adds to the character of the race. Lastly,  no transition times with the chip timing? I’m guessing both transitions were included in the bike time, which would explain why some thought the bike splits seemed slow.Definitely more positives than negatives. Count me in for next year! Olita Layton 2:38:48.7

 

Thank you Fred, Doug and Olita for your contributions.  I think they gave a comprehensive report on how it felt last Sunday.  There were about 70 participants from the Santa Barbara area and it would be web space prohibitive to comment about all.  It is also difficult to single out a few but I must.  I will start with a little bootlicking to my SB tri boss and President Dave Groom.  He came in first in his 60-64 age group with an amazing 2:16:19 and was firing on all three events.  I know Liz trains him very well, even in triathlons, but I think his success is from his training partner, me!  Yes, he has been drafting off me for a long time now.  Next we have Kyle Visin 1:58:04 3rd M25-29 and 7th overall!  Jon Clark 2:12:09 came in first in his age group M45-49, Joe Sullivan 2:12:01 execelent time for 3rd M55-59, Joe Howell 2:26:47 right on Dave’s tail with a 3rd M60-64, Jayna skinned knees Jones 2:21:36 very fast 2nd F30-34, Andrea Stouffer 2:27:46 a nice 2nd F40-44, Rosie Thompson 3:18:32 cruised a 3rd F60-64, Mariann Thomas 2:26:15 good 2nd F45-49. Sprint Course:  Carl Parker 1:06:20 3rd M30-34, Jack Bianchi 1:21:37 charging back with a 2nd M65-69, Rowena Spence 1:11:43 1st F30-34 and Desa Mandarino 1:15:53 burned up the course with a 3rd F35-39. Matt Trost 1:03:58 3rd in his age group M40-44 an impressive 7th overall.

The Santa Barbara Triathletes pull down an even dozen podium spots in a very tough field.  The following are the rest of our groups in last name order, males then females and by ascending age groups directly taken from the results web site.  I hope I got everyone with no mistakes, however by the end I had a severe case of carpal pasteing syndrome:

Smith,Garrett 2:29:37.0, Nowakowski,Mark 2:33:35.9, Schultz,Joshua 2:08:49.5, Chan,Corey 2:10:56.9, Rosvall,Fredrik 2:20:52.2, Ho,Ricky 2:25:17.2, Russell,Greg 2:44:46.9, Hudson,Taj 2:10:55.8, Garcia,Thomas 2:19:17.0, George,Jason 2:23:51.8, Bailey,Jeff 2:27:17.2, Klein,Sven 2:37:09.2, Riley,Andrew 2:13:40.0, Herzog,John 2:17:54.0, Weis,Karl 2:25:21.6, Nelson,John 2:10:46.3, Black,Doug 2:54:36.8, Hubbard,Sara 3:33:43.4, Schultz,Karen 2:23:31.8 Newell,Catherine 2:49:26.0, Powell,Brooke 2:53:57.3, Covington,Lindsay 2:22:12.1, Groom,Liz 2:32:39.9, Layton,Olita 2:38:48.7, Bailey,Beth 2:39:37.8, Berndt,Tamara 2:47:09.3, Aller,Kristen 2:56:12.3, Aghayan,Cyndi 2:39:45.4, Cholawsky,Elizabeth 2:47:04.2
SPRINT COURSE:

Monts-homkey,Aric 1:38:16.5, Robinson,Michael 1:08:54.7, Heindl,Eric 1:28:32.6, Martin,Tim 1:18:11.0, Konoske,Richard 1:14:00.2, Polomski,Mark 1:25:25.3, Evans,Ray 1:19:18.0, Elledge,Dennis 1:33:10.0, Teichman,Irwin  1:31:30.5, Bahnson,Margarita 1:22:51.2, Nuding,Amelia 1:26:29.8, Robinson,Julie 1:17:20.0, Rybnicek,Tara 1:24:11.6, Matthews,Laurie 1:28:44.0, Konoske,Michelle 1:15:54.5, Clark,Susan 1:16:41.9, Polomski,Pamela 1:33:39.4

That’s it gang, lets get ready for Strawberry Fields or Vineman or maybe a couple of brewskis and a beach chair at Ledbetter?

Sandy

A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!

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Ironman Coeur d’Alene from Jon Lewis, Sue Beatty and Chris Latham

June 23, 2009

An Ironman first timer usually says after crossing the finish line it was the longest day of their life. The seventh edition of the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene was for many the longest day of their lives on the longest day of the year completing the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26 mile run.  Everyone describes this course as beautiful, challenging and accompanied by outstanding support of volunteers and community.  I received some great play-by-play this morning from Tri Club members and race participants Jon Lewis and Sue Beatty.  They both experienced a very good race with near perfect weather, “almost Santa Barbara conditions”. This is their reprise from 2006 when the weather was sweltering hot, however this year Sue improved her time by over an hour!  Sue decided to stay outside on the swim to avoid the humanity however the winds pushed the waves to your face going out causing some water swallowing but coming back was fast.  It is a double loop so you had two hard legs and two easy legs in the pristine mountain-fed cool waters of the lake. Jon noted the double-looped bike course had changed adding a surprising amount of hills.  He said it felt like a roller coaster trying to keep your momentum for the uphills repeating several times requiring close attention to the climbs, descents and false flats.The run is an out-and-back course that is repeated twice. Again, there are several false flats and gradual ups and downs for competitors to deal with. Jon said during the start of the run there was word of a possible storm brewing up for the afternoon. On his second loop the temperature dropped as the wind came off the lake.  It started a downpour rain enough to cause the streets to be streaming but it slowed to a drizzle.  The volunteers were handing out mylar to cover and keep warm.  He said the people that started walking really got cold so he decided to keep moving albeit a high speed Ironman shuffle.  Both Jon and Sue emphasized how well organized the preparations, the event and the post event activities.  Sue said the food on course was like a very nice buffet, with gator aid, power gels, power bars, fruits of all kinds and coke.  Jon and Sue trained using similar nutrition as offered by the race and also used cliff blocks and cells and concentrated cytomax for water refills along the course. Chris Latham strongly recommended going to the welcome dinner on the Friday before the race.  It was very motivating with videos, bios and USAT athletes.  She felt the whole town treated all the participants as royalty and would go out of their way to help make their experience exceptional.  Typical Ironman volunteers are about a 1000 in number, Coeur d’Alene boasted 3000 volunteers on the course with 300 volunteers in the transition and med tents.  The townspeople really showed their appreciation for the over $7 million this events brings to the local economy. Chris’s race day story starts with a wake up at 3:30am to eat and get ready for the 7am start.  The water was 65 degrees with outside temp about 62 – 64.  Entering the water and off to the first buoy she had some bad thoughts about the several men competitors that were disturbing her swim plan of good rhythmic strokes and drafting as much as she could.  On the second loop she was able to smooth out and complete a good swim.  She followed her “Going Long” race plan by starting easy on the bike and gradually negative splitting until mile 80. This is when her inner voice said the bike needs to be over.  Her mantra was to remember to have a “healthy respect for the marathon to come.”  Chris said the whole event culminated during the last downhill into the finish chute.  There was a roar of people yelling her name and cheering like she was just entering the Coliseum on her way for an Olympic gold! Here are the results from our Tri club members:  Stuart Sato 11:36:09, Dan Rudd 11:46:51, Greg Dalforno 11:52:52, Chris Latham 12:00:09, Jon Lewis 12:41:06, Sue Beatty 13:04:28, Elda Rudd 13:04:43, Marie Schnyer 14:42:42, Stephen Morrison 15:35:55. More than 2,100 athletes from around the world took part in the 2009 event. One of the participants was Dave Orlowski, one of the 15 original Ironman competitors in the first ever Ironman competition in 1978. Orlowski finished third at that historic Ironman event on Oahu; however he waited thirty years to compete in his second Ironman. Another amazing story is Tyler Stewart 9:23:21, she not only established a new bike course record, she also broke the overall course record while securing her first Ironman title. Congratulations to Stuart, Dan, Greg, Chris, Jon, Sue, Elda, Marie and Stephen for having a very good long day of your life on the longest solstice day of the year!
SandyAZ IM?

An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps!

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Alcatraz by Joe Howell

June 23, 2009

 Alcatraz Race Report Last Sunday (June 14, 2009), I did Escape from Alcatraz- 1.5 mile swim, 18 mile bike and 8 mile run. (Info at http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/site3.aspx). Typically, there are several SB area/SB Tri Club members doing the race. This year, I think Ross Adams and I were the only ones.  I first did the race in June, 1999, along with Fred Maggiore, Brian O’Connor and Steve Issaris. (All current Club members know Fred and Brian; Steve Issaris is our Club’s legendary Ironman triathlete and friend who died in January, 2003.)  I did the race in 1999 to give me a “stretch” goal and force myself to improve my swimming. I have gone back most years since. It is a race that is many things: totally unique; different each year …as the ocean currents change daily !; expensive….now almost $400 entry fee; extremely well run by Tri California, with very cool race swag (including synthetic fiber shirt you can actually wear, cool bag, nice hat, etc ; hard to get in…..lottery (or a funky qualification process) required; full of top age groupers and top pros. (Note- there is another Alcatraz race- Escape from the Rock- I did that race one time, I would not do it again for a variety of reasons, which I can share with you if interested; it is an option if you want to say you did an “Alcatraz” race.) Here are some thoughts about the event for those who may consider doing the race. (I will limit comments on my own performance this year, I promise.) Expo- All day Saturday for the Sunday race. Great booths and as noted above, killer Escape from Alcatraz gear. It also is scary to see how much Alcatraz “logo wear” some people buy. One feature that is mandatory is attending one of the three triathlete meetings (all in the afternoon). The race has some confusing elements- you check in early on Sunday morning and leave your bike at the transition area, with a bag for your shoes on the swim to run transition…confused? Stay with me. You take a bus to the boat; you swim, you run ½ mile to T1, then get on your bike, etc. So, at the triathlete meeting, they carefully explain all of that- why you need two sets of running shoes, etc. After you do the race one time, that info is clearly understood.However, the most important advice is how the currents will be running the next day. Two guys who swam from Alcatraz that morning (no wetsuit; one of them has done it 500 plus times, never with a wetsuit) tell you the speed of the currents and depending on your swimming strength, where to “aim” on the 1.5 mile swim. No matter how many times you have done the race, the info from these guys is critical. There is a 20 minute difference between my fastest and slowest times, all on the same course. It is all about speed of the currents, sighting (if foggy, you’ve got problems) and not getting “stuck” in one of the eddies near the rocks. Oh yeah, luck is also helpful. It is really dangerous to draft someone you don’t know at this race, as there is a chance that he or she may be taking you WAY off course. Swim- You get on the boat and it leaves at 7 am sharp for the 8 am wave start. This year we were among the 2000 other participants You do the hour ride out to Alcatraz and then cruise around the island (mostly for dramatic effect). One cool feature of the race, noted above, is the quality of participants. Typically, 5-10 of the top male and female pro triathletes in the world are there competing. Each year, there are more top age groupers. Much to my surprise, this year my age group (60-64) had not only the periennial winner and age group record holder, Tim Lavalle- super nice guy- but also at least two of the nationally top ranked guys in my age group, according to Tim. I think every age group is now like that. In the “early days”, a podium spot (top 3) was easier to grab. I somehow got 3rd place in 1999. Many SB folks have done well at this race- Andrew Maxwell, David Groom, Joe Sullivan and Ross Adams have all been on the podium. All things considered, it is a race biased in favor of swimmers. (Think of how much longer the swim is, compared to the bike/run distances, then throw in the vagaries of the swim course year to year……this thing is made for swimmers.) This year the sun was out, so we could see the right targets. The ocean was “running slow”. Temp was great at about 59 degrees; have done the race in low 50s and it was brutal. It was choppy, although looked calm from the boat. My swim time of 48 minutes was one of my slowest, but probably accurate for me for a 1.5 swim (with no help from the currents). As noted, once out of the water, you run ½ mile to the bike transition, in large part to warm up and so that racers are spread out on the bike course. Like about 10-20% of the racers, I opted to not stop to take off my wetsuit and put on shoes. I just ran in my wetsuit, taking the top half off as I ran, and wore booties to protect my feet.  Bike- 18 mile course that is fun, lots of hills and very technical. Folks who are not used to hills and steeps descents are very uptight on this course (according to racers I talk to from Florida or the Midwest). It is still a time trial or tribike course. (I used my road bike one year; a mistake.) My bike leg this year was one of my fastest yet- just over an hour, and that was with a stop to remove someone’s race number stuck to my tire!) Run- This is an epic run course. A couple of miles of flat, on Marina Green next to the ocean, then lots of stairs, single track, through a low (4.5 foot high) tunnel, across soft sand on Baker Beach, up a “sand ladder” of railroad ties covered in sand going up a cliff, then about 3.5 miles of downhill on the out/back course. It is very cool to be going out on the run as the top male and female pros in the world and running back in.  I ended up 7th in my age group. Disappointed at first, then pleased when Tim, the record holder guy I mentioned, told me about some of how the other top guys finished. Other than the 3rd place in my rookie year on the course, I typically am 4- 7th place, so it was a standard performance. Ross was competing essentially on one leg (his left leg is ready for the surgical knife), and he still managed to have the fastest bike leg in his age group and a 5th place finish. Last year, healthy, he was on the podium. I think this race is one of a handful of truly epic triathlons- Wildflower, Ironman Hawaii and of course our local race (by the way, did you know it is the oldest ‘long course’ triathlon on the mainland?)  If there ever is a race to impress your non triathlete friends, this one is it. (“What, no way you swam from Alcatraz…..that is impossible; what about the sharks?)  Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. I recommend the race for a variety of reasons, and a weekend in San Francisco is another plus. Try it; you’ll like it.

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Meeting reminder for Thursday June 11th

June 10, 2009

Quick reminder that we have our June meeting tomorrow at Hazards at 6.30pm. Along with our sponsor presentations and an update of what’s going on in the local triathlon  scene, we will have a fun program from the ladies of the Kalyra Race Across America Team. Good food, drink and fellowship…..plus another freebie!! This years newly designed water bottles.

See you tomorrow,

The Pres 

  

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Auburn 70.3, Worlds Toughest Half by Dave Parker

June 4, 2009

Auburn, Worlds Toughest Half, May 31, 2009, Race report David Parker.

 

Well, it has the name that suits it.  But you got to try this one! 

 

I had gotten interested from Simone Kleinschmidt’s description and did this race last year but with temperatures over 100 degrees it was hell and it took me almost 7 ½ hours.  I was motivated to do this year hoping to be able to actually run on the course instead of death march due to the heat.   The goal was more attainable since it wasn’t nearly as hot and the swim wasn’t as rough as last year. There is ALOT of climbing on the bike (about 6K’) but none of the climbing is in long stretches and my training, up and down to the lake and then some trail run bricks, helped a great deal.

 

The car ride to Auburn is long but worth it.  The course has camping available, in a park parking lot, but we camped on the south side of Folsom Lake in a state park (Beal’s Point) near the damn and Folsom prison.  This was nice and fun.  I bicycled to the start a couple days prior to the race thinking I would ride to the race on race day but decided I didn’t want an hour ride early in the a.m.

 

Race morning I got up before the alarm went off and Susan drove me up and dropped me off for the 6:30 start.  There are 3 other races going on at the same time and it is a bit overwhelming. I was glad that the men’s WTT was first wave at 6:30.  The race is really ran grass roots and Brad, the race director, is very approachable and really open to about any comments. But you got to ask.

 

Swim started about right on time and the water level was higher than last year so there were trees and bushes in the immediate line.  The course is a modified diamond, with some straight out swim for 100 meters before swimming around the bushes in a counter clockwise diamond. I caught a heal in the goggles, but had a good swim and got out ready to ride.

 

The bike climbs from the start and makes its way through some residential area then the finish part but most of it is around I-80.  By the turn around, I was cooked from relentless climbing, but the ride is so beautiful and shaded that you don’t notice the pain. It is brutal climbing but everyone had the same route so it is what it is.

 

The transition area 2 moved ½ block from the parking lot people (including me) camped in last year to a lawn city park, which is a nicer setup in my opinion.  The start of the run has a little climb then it starts on a trail along side a flume with cool water running in it and tree covered.  Then after a few miles, which is a nice transition for bike climbing legs, there is some roadway and we turned up a nasty little hill in full sunshine.  Then the course goes in and out of road trail and fire roads with each area in a micro climate between bearable and nasty.  The run is the same 10K loop used in international race first lap and the second it introduces some additional trail with a bit of a steep downhill section (in case you still need to twist an ankle).

 All-in-all, it is a great race and I saw quite a few LA Tri members. We should get a group of SB Tri club members interested next year.  

Highlights:

Dropped over an hour over last years Hell.

Grass roots organization: you got to ask, but there are answers

Tough

All the men start first , women start 5 minutes later and your age and race is on your calf so on the run you know who you’re really racing.

All the volunteers were really up for making sure everyone was taken care of.

I had three guys tell me it made Wildflower seem like a walk in the park, to witch I got to say, Should have been here last year

 

Lowlights:

The drive to Sacramento and back

Parking at start, Park at finish and ride the downhill to start.

Lodging is reasonably close but not right there.  Auburn is a small town.

Packet pick-up without pulling the map of web was hard to find

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Hawaii 70.3 Results

June 1, 2009

Saturday, May 30 in Hawaii Five-O was the Hawaii 70.3 with 5 hot SB tri members competing!

I was on a friendly Sunday bike ride today when some friends just happened to mention yesterday’s Hawaii Half Ironman had some SB finishers.  Thankful for the tip I checked out the preliminary results and conditions of this years event.  The news reported a beautiful blue ski sunny day with favorable wind and water current conditions.  However, the running times were slightly slower this year, as racers maneuvered through a new course even tougher than years past, and did so on a broiling hot day where the only shelter came on the far side of the finish line.  One of the pros said  “All finishers here today are champions. The course was hot and hard, I was amazed how challenging the race was.”

Our first finisher was local champion icon and the younger half of the father-son team, Andrew Maxwell with a 04:47:47 and a third place M20-24.  Coming in right behind was father Gary Maxwell with a 05:33:51 and another back-to-back first place M60-64.  Gary just recently came off a first place Kona qualifier in Carlsbad, who is this guy?  Lee Carter posted a 05:15:12 a nice eighthplace M50-54 and Vick Birtalan clocked a 06:41:52 a respectable seventh place M 65-69.  Marc Chung finished with a 07:20:08 in his age group M40-44.  SB Tri club, although a small field, had representatives in all age groups.

A big congrats for these guys working hard on the big island roads.  Then again, the rest of us deal with June gloom while they suffer the crystal-clear water displaying coral and tropical fish among the beautiful aloha venue. Hmmm, my spouse, Helen just said “lets go there instead of Lake San Antonio!”

Sandy

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