“Strawberries (the racers) and Fields (the events)”By: Desa Marie Mandarino
July 24, 2009
Sunday’s triathlon began for me at 5:10 a.m. when SB Club racer Taj and Prez. Davey picked me up at my Home. Knowing it’s race day and everyone is different, I wasn’t certain what to expect of the ride’s mood, but the moment I was within range, I knew what a lucky and hot hand I had been dealt! The club/techno/dance music and physical energies they were exuding with smiles on their faces solidified how we felt all morning, noon, and into the early evening!
As we were driving, sharing, telling stories, we received a text from Mr. Matt Trost that the main parking was “full.” However, that did not disconcert us in the slightest being in Taj’s sweet big and white rig. He and I were one thought in two minds looking at all the surrounding parking filled as well. Simultaneously, my words and his actions, he maneuvered a 4×4 move and we were parked front and center. “Oh, yeah, Taj!”
Once parked, we began prepping our tri gear and let me tell you these guys think of everything. My tires, first time ever, were pumped to 120 pounds and the coolers filled with adult beverages were ready in the truck for post race celebration. With the doors of his truck open, Taj took the care to hand select the music for us. To hear the right tempo and mood at that time just accentuated the energy that was already soaring in me. I would continue to feel the intoxicating energy of the music in my head as I raced.
Next, Taj, Dave, and I went to check in, which was smooth sailing and taught me as a tri-athlete not to feel pressured into making unnecessary drives out of town the day before to pick up a number, chip, and shirt! The three of us bade our adieus and off to our transitions to prep.
Strawberry Fields Tri is a delight when it comes to set up. Each racer gets their own pre marked slot; thus, again, no pressure to get there “extra early to get the spot.” Also, the transition isn’t on rocky or dirty asphalt. The transition is on grass, which is welcoming on the feet and soft on the buns during the tri-athlete’s shoe change.
Race time was drawing near. All were leaving transition to go down to the beach. Looking around at this tri, as with most tris, I could see all different ages, fitness levels, and types of people. The aura was positive, emitting an extra special energy. I must articulate, however, when I looked out to see what the Olympic racers were doing, I was again, thanking my chicken stars that I still claim only to do sprint triathlons. The buoy for Olympians was speechlessly intimidating, another zip code! At that point, I sought to find my friend, Cathy Kaufman from Westlake Village, to wish her a great race and hug her into bonus confidence. Our girl and Iron Man, Kim Hargrave, was “present” too cheering all on. (She had just finished a 100-mile bike the day before, thus she just came to support). I whole-heartedly respect sportsmanship and the coming together of athletes. The more I read and hear, the more I am witness to how selfless and supportive tri-athletes are! Elda, Marie, and their whole gang cheered and shot photographs at Vineman and Josh too at Strawberry Fields to name a few…. Next- Matt Trost was geared up smiling from ear to ear and then Davey Groom grabbed me up already in victory style for a fun photo keep-sake (whose camera was that anyway?)! Off went the Olympians. At this point I realized that I missed my pre-race moment with my girl, Woody (Danielle Harper), but I was reassured that her victory was etched in stone before the race even began! She is THAT GOOD. (A month earlier she won a half iron man race qualifying her for the World Championships, 70.3).
Next up, the sprinters. I did several- from the base of the shoreline up the sand bar- sprints visualizing coming out from my swim flying with explosive energy. Then, I put a little seawater in my wet suit sleeves and chest for final neoprene adjustments. Guiltily, I am one of those racers who do not “warm up” the swim because I actually don’t want to get cold. When the gun goes, I NEVER feel cold in a race. All I can sense is excitement, adrenaline, and desire. This works for me and it’s my same approach every week for the Nite Moves aquathon.
The swim was multifaceted as always. Current, waves, and racers jockeying for position best describes it. For the sprinters, we pretty much were IN the current stream; hence, it was not a fast swim for anyone, by any means. I would catch myself thinking, “Come on Desa, focus, be efficient, glide, stroke (lol!), and watch out for “yellow.” While I was an orange group swim cap, I could see two or three real star swimmers, yellow caps (who started five minutes behind me) come into range. While I was in my last stretch I was perhaps too mindful of checking the waves behind me so I wouldn’t get pulverized. That’s what I get for having that as one of my last conversations before the race. We get what we focus on, absolutely! Just as I was getting close to shore I had this special intuition that maybe I would ride a wave in… and I did! God’s wave thrust me much faster than anyone could ever swim and it was FUN. Hearing the cheers from all, I then dug in to run up the bar and beach and into transition.
Transition was quick and efficient. My new wetsuit from X terra slipped off ever so nicely but so did my timing chip. This was my first tri out of the countless that I have done that I literally almost lost my chip while swimming. I could feel it slipping. Ready for the bike, I zipped along pushing it through the transition (again, loving the grass), and then it was time to ride. A couple thoughts reverberated in my head while I rode. One was, “it is suppose to hurt the whole time!” A long time ago Dave told me that and I just never forget it. Biking does hurt for me because I seldom bike and those are muscles that require development and time. Ironically or fate’s systematically, right as I was drinking water from my bottle and not pushing as hard as I should have been, Dave went FLYING by me at record speed. As a result and with realization, I reinserted my bottle into the water rack, put my head down, got aero, and started APPLYING Dave’ coaching, once again.
Next up, the run, which I live for! Breathe in, exhale, and get it all! As I was zipping out I heard my girl Kim cheering for me and others, an additional HIGH. I saw all kinds of runners and ignited into my gear of the race. Not a competent swimmer but a gutsy one, I knew I needed to make up time. My head was emphatically asserting, “pass another” while my heart and legs, allowed me to do so. With every pass I felt lighter and faster. Words of encouragement I sent off to other runners because we were all doing this TOGETHER. Throughout the run, I saw countless SB Club racers and this felt like Family. (The team sports girl in me growing up and in college embraces the unity). Some members I saw on the run were Sue Beatty, Matt Trost, and Taj Hudson…. While I love Sue (who doesn’t! sweetest gal), I knew I should goal-set not to have her catch me because she was in the heat behind me! Knowing she is a better swimmer AND biker, I understood that our five minute difference in starting time was now a matter of seconds, a productive incentive for me to push harder. (Sue finished 1st place in her age division, 45-49 and I finished 2nd in my 35-39 age). Besides our team members, I saw tri-athletes from other races, city to city, looking more familiar. Potently, I observed the STUDS I have never seen before and the looks of them lit another fire in me.
Knowing that I was closing in on the last quarter mile, I made the intention to pass three more women. The first, easy. The second, a dig harder. The third, I couldn’t quite seem to catch her but got in eye’s range to read the age on her leg. Reading age 30, my brain calculated that I didn’t “have to” pass her, but the fighter in me, thought, “there’s got to be more in me right this moment!” Since betting FOR oneself is always more advantageous than betting against, I put my pedal to the medal and fulfilled it. After the race, “Lady 30” and I had pleasant and engaging congratulations for each other. Then, I went for my cool down jog to see friends’ race and share words of encouragement. Sandy, Davey, and many other club members were running with heart. Smiles were exchanged and legs were leaping. The sun was out and everywhere I looked I saw people living extraordinary lives.
Race over… Party time. Paul brought the cooler (thank you!), Dave brought the music (which lead to dancing on the grass), and Taj brought the tree-to-tree slack line to play with our core and balance (which led to buddy-to-buddy arm holding, bouncing on and off, smiles, and laughs). A must try! More of our racers collaborated in our “fun zone” and friends of mine from out of town. We had a wealth of playtime, talk time, rehash the race time, sun time, fresh strawberries, delicious olive/chicken pasta, and adult beverage time before the awards. I can’t name them all, but I know some of our medalists included- Sarah Claus, Sue Beatty, David Groom, Sandy Roberts, my friends Woody (Danielle Harper) and Cathy Kaufman, and myself. At the Strawberry Fields Triathlon there is a special nostalgia to jumping onto a haystack for victory and smiling for Dave’s camera. Funny, how he always is pushing people’s fun buttons but we could hardly get him to un-button his shirt for the podium presentation. (LOL!) Sandy didn’t get to have his glory moment because his wifey had secretive love plans, so a little birdie whispered to me. However, the medals were just a sprinkle of powdered sugar on fresh pancakes. The real pancakes were the “strawberries”, the racers, out there. Each and every person who raced the “fields” (swimming, biking, running) was CROWNED with an endless power of Love.
Last but most significantly, the most invigorating and cherished thought in my mind the whole race was KNOWING that simultaneously our Lizzie, Sarah, Amy, John, and Frederick were all doing something TEN times more demanding than what I was doing- therefore- “On ON” I would push, and faster and better I strived to race!
Fred Maggiore’s Lompoc Triathlon….or not!!!
July 22, 2009
Okay, here’s a brief “race report” on my weekend…
Lompoc Sprint Tri
I had hoped to be able to report on my two races last weekend, the Lompoc Sprint Tri and the Strawberry Fields Olympic distance tri, on how my wife had broken her own age group record in Lompoc, how I had broken the existing record in my age group, and how I came to grips with racing longer on Sunday following a hard sprint race. Unfortunately as some people already know, I didn’t even make it through the first two parts of the first day, no less two tris!
Long story short, coming up to an intersection with a four way stop, very early in the bike, one of the first people out of the pool and onto the course, a large utility truck partially blocked the view of the cross traffic, so with a car in “my lane”, I opted to go to the left of the car, seeing a volunteer in the intersection, assuming I would have the right of way and be clear. Well another volunteer, who I didn’t see, who didn’t see me (remember the large utility truck? It blocked their view! Duh, move out so you can see the riders!!!), waved a car into the intersection, just as I approached it.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye, my brain said “Oh shit, I’m going to hit that car!”, so I jerked my bike to the left, supposedly out of harms way, but into and across a section of road with unused railroad tracks and broken up and uneven pavement. I tried to get back into my lane, but lost control and went down, requiring a visit to the local ER. Nothing broken, hardly any black and blue marks (how did I hit the ground and not bruise?), but a large hole in my right elbow that some creative suturing and 10 stitches managed to pull back together, and some patches of healing road rash scattering all over my body.
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, much appreciated.
The other news is that Janice did break her own age group record, but then unfortunately had to come and collect her husband in the ER, definitely a buzz kill! And yes, I decided it was better to skip the Strawberry Fields race the next day, actually planning to listen to the ER Doc that said no swimming for two weeks. Fine, I’ll work on my bike and run!
Fred
Strawberry Fields Forever…swimming!
July 22, 2009
Heading south to Oxnard State Beach Park where the beautiful beachside communities of Oxnard Shores hosts the famous Strawberry Fields Triathlon. This year was a variety of multisport event & course distances
including: Sprint Triathlon – ¼ mile swim; 11.5 mile bike; 3 mile run, Olympic Triathlon – .9 mile swim; 24 mile bike; 6 mile 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. This family spectator-friendly event was sold out with 1200 participants competing. I was fortunate to be in the water long enough to witness all of them swim by in a parade of rainbow swim caps. Maybe a little valium in my gu would have helped me through the shore break and choppy seas to overcome my pre-existing wussy water skills. However, the day was as good as it gets.
Here are the results of our 18 tri club members starting with the Sprint Course: Sue Beatty 1:13:04 1st F45-49, Paul Bullock 1:22:45, Desa Mandarino 1:15:20 2nd F35-39, Mark Polomski 1:23:40, Pamela Polomski 1:37:32, Harold Thompson 1:29:39, Kevin McKennon 1:26:05 4th M55-59
Olympic Course: Matt Trost 2:17:29 4th M40-49, Ali Aghayan 3:10:42, David Groom 2:23:54 1st M60-64, Taj Hudson 2:12:37 5th M35-39, Richard Konoske 2:44:02 (Michelle flatted), Andrew Riley 2:24:04, Cameron Sublett 2:18:06, Kyle Visin 2:02:04 4th M25-29, Lesley Wiscomb 3:17:28 3rd F60-64 and Zach Komon 2:30:30 5th M30-34.
Well sports fans, this is Sandy’s Sports, “speaking of sports”, sports spotlight signing off for now. However, please stay tuned to this channel soon for the completion of the Strawberry Fields report. I wanted to post this now to stay current but I’m waiting on a few reports yet to come in.
Hot Times at Vineman!
July 22, 2009
Last weekend our tri club members trekked north and south to compete in a Sprint, Olympic and a 70.3 Ironman. Lets head north to Vineman Ironman 70.3, one of the most popular long course triathlons in the country. This point-to-point event begins at Johnsons Beach in Guerneville and takes entrants past literally hundreds of vineyards, dozens of wineries, and passes through four different grape growing regions (the Russian River Region, the Dry Creek Valley, the Alexander Valley, and Chalk Hill) before it finishes up at Windsor High School (just north of Santa Rosa). It was a warmer than normal day in Sonoma County. The news described the weather lacking the usual marine layer with athletes hitting the 75 degree Russian River to start an unlikely day to yield some course records for the pros and some impressive time for the 9 SB tri club members competing with 2000 other participants. I researched reports of injuries on the bike stage, here are the details: “Three cyclists are recovering from injuries after an oak tree fell on them during a California triathlon. Officials say Howard Holderness, a 43-year-old San Francisco attorney, suffered a severe back injury and broken arm Sunday during the Vineman Ironman race in Sonoma County. Two other competitors sustained broken collarbones.” The incident occurred around mile 7 and hampered the race for at least 15 minutes as the power lines were being removed off the ground.
I know they are difficult to find these days but I decided to seek out some virgins. Vineman virgins that is, to provide their personal experiences and of course to support my ploy to have other people do my reporting work. Moments ago I received my first virgin report from Amy Carlson:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Vineman 70.3 2009 was both amazing and insane! The morning started very early at 3:45am when Liz’s watch alarm inadvertently went off. I thought it was time to get up which was supposed to be 5:45am, so I proceeded to the kitchen and made coffee. I then looked at the time it really was and tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t as I was too eager for the race to begin.I was strangely calm for this race. Not making up my usual excuses in case I didn’t do well, nor was I having any phantom injury pain I usually feel when I taper. I went into this race with 2 goals. Number one was to have a killer bike with a goal of faster than 2:52 and finishing in the top 10% in the bike portion. My other goal, was to come away from this race without a silly race outfit sunburn and no injuries to my feet as my wedding is one week away! Yep, honestly, those were my only goals.
So, I did achieve them both, but paid the price severely on the run. I really thought I could go mostly all out on the bike and would be able to produce some more energy somehow for the run. This was not the case. Funny, I remembered when Dave Groom told me that when I became a triathlete my run would suffer. He was talking about solely runners who convert to tri’s. Boy, was he right!
I thought the swim was great, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like it much. But, it was super easy compared to swimming in the ocean and found myself enjoying it and being present in the moment. Maybe, that was because when I was stroking my hand hit the bottom a couple of times, so I actually walked a couple of minutes of it! I noticed that I was going faster walking than the people who were swimming around me. My time on the swim will probably make the all time slowest list for the tri-club, but I really didn’t care and knew I could make up some time on the bike.
The bike course was absolutely awesome and thrilling. It was one of the best courses I have raced on. I had so much fun out there passing hundreds of people trying to catch Lizzie but she was too fast! I beat my goal time with a 2:49 split averaging 20.5 mph, while not even having a fancy triathlon race bike or aerobars. The bike portion was definitely worth the whole cost of admission! With beautiful rolling hills and miles and miles of grapes and wineries everywhere.
When I got to T2, that is when my race started going downhill. My salt tablets that I had laid out were missing! Dang it, I could have used them as I sweated a lot and the major heat out on the run was yet to come. I heard after the race that the temperature was 102 degrees!! I started out running ok, but my quads were super tight. I made it one mile then saw some pro’s and elites coming in and some of them were walking. That kinda broke me right then and there thinking I still had 11 plus miles to run. My quads simply only allowed me to do a shuffle. I had to start walking at the first uphill around mile 2 and walked some of every mile after that. I have never walked in any race before so it was unchartered territory for me mentally and physically. I got to the half way point at La Crema winery and had my only good run there around the little lake and winery. I was finally off the steaming hot pavement on gravel running and it was heavenly. I sorta got recharged for a moment and caught up to Liz. We chatted for a bit then suddenly when I got back on the pavement, my quads reacted violently and I yelled out “owe” and quickly came to a halting stop. Retrospectively, I didn’t have enough sodium and electrolytes in me for that kind of heat. My queasy stomach couldn’t bear the thought of drinking warm lemon-lime gatorade so I was only drinking water and turned out to be a very big mistake on my part and I didn’t have my first gatorade until mile 11.
I was determined to finish but was concerned I might pass out. I knew I was in trouble when I started envisioning paramedics putting IV’s in both arms and filling my veins with Normal Saline bags. Almost everyone was walking at some point. I think the run course was hilly and hard. I didn’t think it would be that hilly. I think I have run up Gibraltar faster than I ran this race. I got to mile 12 and became a little teary eyed and had to fight back the emotions. I think it was tears of joy and accomplishment but may have been tears of pain. I sucked it up and jogged the entire last mile and gave Liz and Sarah a high five as they were on the course cheering for me and crossed the finish with a smile. I felt pretty bad at the finish, kinda wishing someone could carry me over to the medical tent. But being the independent woman that I am, I attempted to treat myself. I should have went as I didn’t urinate all day and into the evening. I went 11 hours without the need to go to the bathroom. I was severely dehydrated and overheated. I got better into the evening and all is well today.
My experience, may sound bad here, but I would recommend this race. The heat and my lack of experience got the best of me. I do come away from this feeling satisfied of completing my first half-ironman and glad I did it. It was a nostalgic trip for me as one year ago, I was a spectator at this race, not yet a triathlete. Heck, I couldn’t even swim one length of a pool without being majorly out of breath. But, I decided watching the race that day, that I was going to be a triathlete and not watch this next year but compete in it. I left that trip and went home and bought a wetsuit. So one year later, found me back in Guerneville as a competitor!
I want to acknowledge Sarah, who had the race of the day! She ran the entire time and pulled out at 1:35 1/2 marathon. Amazing! Great job to Liz, John and Frederick who all had great races considering the conditions and made this trip so much fun. I am in awe of all of you.
-Amy Carlson (5:49:52)
Amy, thank you so much for a great report and for helping me with those nice cool down runs after Nite Moves. I think Dave, your wedding groom, is one lucky guy!
A word from Fredrik Rosvall(5:37:26) as dictated from his car driving south:
“I’m on fire and can’t wait to do the Couer d’Alene Ironman next June!” Fredrik was almost busting through the phone with enthusiasm about his experience at Vineman. He said the swim was great and the ride was beautiful even though he was delayed 11 minutes because of the tree branch accident. He started the run with an outside temp of 96 degree making the rolling hills very challenging. However, he felt the energy of the crowd to sprint through the finish line chute. Overall he enjoyed being around the other fiercely competitive athletes that characterize this long triathlon level.
John Herzog (5:33:50) writes: As
for my race, I have just one word HOT! The venue is beautiful, the bike
course is stunning, the run was a bear. I had the last wave start at 8:30.
The temp slowly inched up. The official high was 103, and I heard the temp
at my finish was 102. Fast 2:40 bike, slow 2:09 run. Ended up 41st in my age
group of 209 people with a time pf 5:33:50. I feel good about my first half,
although I did suffer heat exhaustion at the finish. My HR stayed at over 90
for 40minutes after the race, and today I just feel completely spent, have a
slight fever, and am taking it really easy. I think I blew it on hydration
and fueling.I’m sure I will be ready to race soon, but right now I feel like
crap!! My hat is off to my fellow racers!
Here is Sarah’s report just received after recovering from her post race dehydration:
Vineman was a blast! I loved every minute of the race!
The swim in the river was so-so. It’s nice to not have to battle the
ocean currents, but the water was extremely silty. Its murkiness made
it really difficult to see the other swimmers right next to me. The 180
of us in my age group starting off together made for packed conditions,
too.
I loved the bike course. It was a good mix of rolling hills – not too
difficult but enough to keep it interesting. Even though my bike split
was slow by my friends’ standards, I was really happy with it. I hoped
to average 17.6 mph and finished at 17.8; this is after taking into
consideration time lost (>4-1/2 min) for having to stop for a tree that
fell in the road (!).
The run course was HOT! I tried to keep my pace a little conservative
so that I could stay strong through the finish, and I succeeded. My
real complaint during the run was that there weren’t nearly enough
volunteers working the aid stations. I like to go through them pretty
quickly, but most didn’t have enough people there to keep cups filled
and ready to hand out. It’s a fairly challenging course with a lot of
hills, but other than being brutally hot, it was a lot of fun.
The post-race food spread was incredible – tons and TONS of fresh fruit,
veggie burgers, and chicken. I feasted on a plate of water mellon and
cantaloupe.
The logisitics of this course are a pain with the point-to-point finish,
but if you can figure that out, I highly recommend this race. The
scenery is spectacular the whole way, and the volunteers and other
competitors were extremely friendly. Just remember to keep hydrating
post-race!
- Sarah
I just heard Sarah Mandes and John Herzog went to Cottage ER because of their post race symptoms. They both received IV fluids and watched after by our own medical team of Tokie Shynk and Amy Carlson.
They have been released and recovering nicely.
Here are the rest of the SB Tri Club members results: Rick Jones 4:43:22, Mariann Thomas 5:32:30 and 5th F45-49, Tamara Berndt 6:25:32, Sarah Mandes 5:29:02, Elizabeth Cholawsky 6:20:39 and Liz Groom 5:44:47. I concur with my fellow reportees, you guys are awesome!
Semana Nautica 6 Mile Swim
July 17, 2009
video race report by Stuart Sato
Tonights meeting July 9th
July 9, 2009
Just a quick reminder that the meeting tonight will NOT BE AT HAZARDS, instead we will be meeting at Elite Performance and Rehabilitation, the office of Mike Swan and Amanda Nicolato. The address is at The Magnolia Shopping Center 5152 Hollister Ave Santa Barbara.
We have a very full program so I will be starting the meeting at about 6.45pm. Come and enjoy some good food, fellowship and an interesting and varied program.
The Pres
San Diego International Triathlon by Zach Komon
July 7, 2009
I have a race report for you for the San Diego International Triathlon. I did it as a relay with my wife, Janice. Here it is:
Relays are fun. I like to try to find one or two to do a year and form a team with my wife. This year, we targeted the San Diego International Triathlon (SDIT) as our relay race. The race itself is kind of a weird distance, not quite an Olympic, but more than a typical sprint. It is a 1K swim in the harbor, a 30K bike down to the Cabrillo National Monument and, oddly, a 10K run, which seems long relative to the swim and bike. Having done the Boston Marathon and more-recently running almost 41 miles at the 6 hour Lake Merritt run, I gladly let my wife, Janice take the run leg, while I was to take care of the swim and the bike legs.
Check-in the day before was a bit of a surprise. We were not notified that bikes had to be dropped off at check-in and left overnight. Fortunately I still had my bike in the trunk of my car after the drive down from Santa Barbara. Everything else went smoothly though and they didn’t seem to notice or care that the registered swimmer and biker had the same name (nor should they care since it’s not an advantage).
Come race day, there was a lot of waiting around since the relays all went off in one wave at the very end of the international distance starts. This was good though since we didn’t have to rush to get ready and had time to check out the transition area and swim course a bit. Soon enough, it was time to get in the water. This was a rather unique swim start for me since I’d never done a deep-water start before. It’s a good way to start though since you have a built-in warm up swim to the starting line. The other nice thing about this swim was that since it’s in the harbor, you get the buoyancy of the ocean without all the waves and current. Also interesting to note, but of no advantage or disadvantage, is the sponginess of the bottom. It felt very strange, kind of muddy, but didn’t dirty up your feet. When the relay wave finally started, I was feeling pretty good during the swim and even caught of to some of the stragglers from the previous wave. Once turned around, you swim maybe 20 feet away from the edge of the harbor next to the park which provides an excellent opportunity for onlookers to grab some great swim action pictures. Once out of the water, there was Astroturf leading you back to the transition area with a timing mat about a third of the way up. With the noise form the crowd and earplugs in, I didn’t hear them saying “left foot on the mat” so the timing chip would register. I did get the split on my watch though. For the official results, it looks like they took a guess at my T1 time and subtracted that out to figure a swim time. This was way off since I actually had to transition while the other relays just passed the timing chip in practically no time. My official T1 time is 1:20 – there is no way I could lose my wetsuit and get my helmet and shoes on that fast – so my official swim time is 18:24, when I had it at 17:24. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter overall. I actually did transition pretty fast though, 2:09 by my watch, which might be a PR for me.
On the Bike, I felt a little tired first few miles, but then fell into a pretty good rhythm. The course went out a little peninsula and was basically a 6 mile climb with a couple of dips, then you turn around at the Cabrillo National Monument. You go 3 miles back, turn around again and loop back to the monument. Turn around one last time and then you have a nice, mostly downhill jaunt back to transition. The course was pretty scenic, but admittedly, I wasn’t looking around a whole lot. There was a nice tailwind on the uphill, and of course, a headwind on the way back, which only sucked for the two climbs on the way back. It would have been much worse the other way around. The only other thing of significance about the bike course is that it was short. They said 30K, I measured 17.8 miles, so it was short by about 8/10ths of a mile. Heading back into the transition area, I heard the requests for left foot on the mat this time so we got an accurate official bike split. I trotted back to our spot in transition, Janice grabbed the timing chip and was off.
By this time, the sun was out, making it a beautiful day, but a little hot and exposed for running. The course was pretty nice, with about half of it right along the water, but not a lot of shade. It’s a point-to-point run with a shuttle to take you back to transition afterwards. You run most of the perimeter of Harbor Island, then out around the east side of the harbor down to Seaport Village. While janice was running, I packed up, threw everything in the car and drove down to the finish to fight for a parking spot. I got there with only a few minutes to spare before I saw Janice coming around the corner back along the waters edge. I cheered her on and she picked up the pace for a strong finish. We ended up 9th out of 15 mixed team relays (and probably 1 of 1 two-person relays) and 17th out of 30 total relay teams.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this race especially for anyone doing their first triathlon (there’s also a sprint distance). This is also good for anyone scared of the water since, not only is it in the calm harbor, but you can also get a swim buddy to stay with you the whole swim leg (they do not provide floaties as far as i can tell though).
Pictures can be seen at my website http://www.komon.us if you’re interested!
-Zach
Jason George
July 2, 2009
Jason George
Years in Triathlons: 4 Years
Employment: Since 2004, I have worked as a cardiac/telemetry Registered Nurse at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Family Life: I have a beautiful & Wonderful bride named Melody. We have an adventurous, will try anything, 3 year old son named MD (Matthew Daniel). We are surrounded by our families locally except for my dad who lives in Thailand, & brother-n-law’s family in Washington.
My hero: Jesus Christ. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, & the failing which easily ensnares us, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” (Hebrews 12:1) Jesus never gave in, never gave up, always endured, & finished the race with victory.
Athletic Background: Soccer, volleyball & ice/rollerblade hockey. Played NCAA College tennis. . Rock climber since 1994. Backpacker/cross country skier. Handbell ringer (Bass bells weight 10-12lbs) for 6 years touring Camp Pendleton Marine Base & Soledad, Tracy, & San Quinton State Prisons.
My favorite race & why: I love race the Carpinteria Triathlon. Well put together. Love the local & family feel. Beautiful course whether Sprint or Olympic distances. It is fun & a great way to meet other people.
My worse race & why: The Admiral’s Cup Triathlon NBVC Point Mugu 2009. The night before I stayed with Lt. Spencer & his wife on base, their beagle opened my duffle bag & pulled out all my food for the race (including Tupperware containers) & went out the doggy door & ate my food, leaving 1 GU gel behind with teeth marks. Then in the race, my timing chip fell off during the bike leg. Then a volunteered who stood in the middle of the run course, yelled at me to go left & not right which then put me at the finish line 1 lap too early. Ran through the spectators & finished the last lap 20 seconds faster than the first. What a race to remember! By the way, the beagle had diarrhea for days.
This year’s goals: Compete in 5 triathlons (2 Olympic and 3 Sprint) & place well. Finish under 26 minutes in the TT series put on by Echelon.
In 5 years I hope to train alongside my son as we both compete in triathlons together. That would be so COOL! Accomplish one ½ or full marathon or a Half Ironman. Oh, have another kid & maybe a pet.
Something most people do not know about me: Repelled with a climbing harness out of the ceiling of Trinity Baptist Church with a cowboy tux on with Mission Impossible music in my wedding.
