Race Report: XTERRA Renegade (San Dimas, CA)

So.. I realize that it’s been a LONG TIME (over three months!) since this race, but I’ve only just now decided to put together a race report. The number one lesson out of this race (as it has been for nearly ALL of my races this year) is a lesson in PREPARATION (or lack, thereof). I’ve been really BAD about race prep and training this season. It’s  a mix of a lack of motivation, of wanting to do other things, of wanting to “have fun” rather than train… I know it’s a bad excuse for poor performance… but in reality, I don’t think I did THAT poorly. I’ll just blame it on the fact that I had very strong competitors.

Getting transition area set up...

Swim went off without any surprises. A swim is a swim to me, and I’m usually just happy to get it over with.

Done with the swim!

The usual routine for T1.. blow nose.. spend 5 minutes trying to get wetsuit off..

Coming out of T1

The biking leg was another thing altogether. Minh and I had previewed the course, and decided that the best place to make up time would be on the “road”. If I could tuck down and haul-it on the road section, then I would be able to close a significant gap between me and the girl who swims faster than me. Pretty good advice, and I think it worked pretty well… only the girl who swims faster than me also bikes faster than me… I ended up throwing up on the bike (that took up at least five minutes.. probably more).. on the first lap, about half way up on the first big climb (not the walking one). That almost took me out of the race, but I was able to recover reasonably on the rest of the lap and decided to power through it.

First Lap... My typical riding position.. hunched over and head down.. :-/

 

Pretty butterfly Minh saw while waiting for me to finish riding..

End of the second lap on the bike... head up this time..

I felt decent getting off the bike, but I knew that the run would be PAINFUL. Honestly, before this race, I hadn’t REALLY run since December (XTERRA Crystal Cove 21k) – what with shin splints and laziness and all… So the run was mostly a walk and a slow jog. I tried to keep a decent enough pace, and tried to finish pretty strong, but I finished knowing that I probably didn’t podium (and I didn’t).

Last turn for the run.. homestretch...

Smiling because I know the race is almost over... (note Minh all the way in the back...)

Overall, I enjoyed this race. The course didn’t change too much from the year before, and I had a pretty good time. Granted, I wasn’t completely prepared for it, but they run a good race (Renegade Racing). And.. of course… I had a great time rocking my new Run Team Sparkle Skirt:

Silverman Triathlon – Part TWO: Race Day

FINALLY getting around to posting up my race report for Silverman. I had the text all typed up, but hadn’t sifted through the pictures yet. There were hundreds, and I somehow managed to whittle them down to the ones included here…

After an EXTRA LONG night’s sleep (went to bed early + end of daylight savings).. Minh and I woke up to the pleasant sounds of race announcements outside our window…

Part TWO – Race Day

I thought we should wake up early to make sure we had plenty of time to get ready. Full distance was off at 7AM, Half distance off at 8:30AM… and we woke up at 6AM… why? I don’t know.. but that’s the time I picked. I should have slept in longer, since I had more than an hour of down time before the race started, but it was nice to be up and eat and be completely ready.

T1 set-up.. perhaps not the most efficient way for this race...

The swim was a MASS START at 8:30AM. Over 1000 swimmers all starting at the same time… it was a little intimidating. I stayed off to the left and near the middle since I’m not a fast swimmer. I ended up making an EXTRA big loop around the buoys, which probably increased my swim distance and time, but kept me away from elbows, feet, black eyes, and punches in the gut. The swim felt like it lasted forever… I was definitely happy to be done with it.

I'm amazed the Minh was able to find me in that crowd of swimmers (Green cap in the middle)

A sea of swimmers... so that's what a mass start looks like...

Here’s a quick look at how to T1 like a World Champion… Macca-style…

Macca shows us how to T1 like a World Champion...

My T1 (in comparison) was much slower and not as graceful…

First time getting my wetsuit ripped off me... was... different...

Here I am putting on socks.. because I STILL cannot ride without them..

Somehow I managed to drop my bike (twice) on the way out of T1... ::what a clutz::

Heading out onto the bike course.. I had a rock stuck in my left cleat, so it tooke me FOREVER to clip in...

The bike course was killer… by far the toughest bike course I’ve ever had to ride. The first half of the course through Lake Mead National Recreational Area wasn’t so bad. There were some nice long hills, followed by some long descents for recovery. I was pushing hard up the hills and flying down the descents as fast as I was comfortable (sometimes faster than I was comfortable with). I got passed by a lot of athletes, but I also passed a lot of athletes, so I was feeling confident in my pace. That was until we left the Lake Mead NRA.

Beautiful winding/rolling hills through the dessert...

Athletes facing a mild (by this race's standards) hill about 20-miles into the bike course..

Here I am going up that same hill.. First time I saw Minh all day.. ::thumbs up::

Last climb out before leaving Lake Mead NRA

Riding through Lake Mead NRA was more difficult than riding through Santiago Canyon, and more difficult than the second half of the River Mountain Trail Loop and then through Henderson to T2. What made the second half of the course so difficult was a few things compounding on eachother:

1. fatigue from the first half of the course with the hills and descents
2. a long, seemingly never-ending gradual climb
3. head winds or cross winds the whole time
4. three very steep “sisters” in the middle of the long, seemingly never-ending gradual climb
5. very little downhill recovery time

The second half of the course seemed to last FOREVER… and I seemed to be going SOOOOOO S-L-O-W-L-Y that it was incredibly frustrating. It was a much harder bike course than I was prepared for, but I also had a great time riding it. It definitely makes you PUSH yourself, even if you weren’t in a race.

FINALLY got to T2 and handed my bike off to one of the lovely volunteers who disposed of it as necessary. By this time, I was ready to be rid of the thing and get my run on. Unfortunately, my body wasn’t exactly ready to get my run on. I didn’t eat much while on the bike (three gels, two bottles of HEED, one packet of Clif Bloks, some Gatorade), so I figured I’d start fueling at the beginning of the run. First stop I took half a banana and some water. Second stop I took a gel and some water and Gatorade. Third stop I took a handful of pretzels and water…. and then my stomach started to church and ache and running became nearly impossible.. so I had to slow to a walk. For the next few miles I only took in water and had to walk.. A LOT… which made my run a lot slower than I wanted. I would alternate between walking and jogging, but the jogging was very difficult. Overall.. my legs were fine… it was my stomach that didn’t want me running..

I think this is around Mile 6..

What also made it difficult were the HILLS on the course. Some of those hills seemed never-ending.. just like on the bike. Who would have thought a desert city had so many hills??? I never would have guessed. I also am always so surprised at how long a half-marathon actually is. There were times during the run when I thought I was getting close to the finish and there’d still be 3 miles left.. and those three miles seemed to last FOREVER. I don’t know if my head could handle the crazy mind-games… luckily I survived.

Tried to muster up a "sprint" through the finish..

After getting through the finishline and getting my medal and t-shirt.. I went straight for the food tent. I was STARVING. I barely ate anything all day on the course, so I was happy to see all the food they had available for us. Two different pastas from Macaroni Grill, pizza (the local pizza store actual had to close down to support the race), chili, milk, sodas, water, cookies, pretzels, bananas, etc. etc. etc… I grabbed a plate-full of pasta, a Coke, and a bowl of chili. It was the most delicious post-race meal I’ve ever eaten. By-passed the massage tent and headed out to meet Minh.

Silverman "SURVIVOR"!!!

I was definitely a lot MORE SORE after the race than I was after Oceanside… but I survived.. and I had a GREAT time. Still debating whether to come back. It was a great race and an awesome, challenging course. It was also one of the most well-organized races I’d ever been to, with nearly as many volunteers as there were athletes. If I ever DO decide to compete in this race again.. I’ll definitely need to be better prepared.

RESULTS
SWIM – 0:50:24
T1 – 0:05:45
BIKE – 3:55:19
T2 – 0:03:07
RUN – 2:35:30
OVERALL – 7:30:03

Silverman… They don’t call it the “World’s Toughest Triathlon” for nothing…. trust me.

Nice shot of the Las Vegas skyline.. GOODNIGHT, Henderson!

Silverman Triathlon – Part ONE: Pre-Race

The Silverman Triathlon was a bit of a last minute addition to my triathlon season. It wasn’t on the original season schedule, but I decided to sign up for it around July as one last “hurrah” for my year. I’m really glad I did, because it was such a GREAT race.

Part ONE – Pre-Race

Minh and I packed up the car and headed out Friday evening after work. Minh built this new bike rack thing so that we could put the bikes INSIDE the car. It was pretty cool. We were ablet o fit his cross bike and my tri bike, plus all our other gear and travel things, and snacks, for the trip. Much better than having to leave the bikes outside while we drove four hours across the desert with the howling winds.

LEFT: Just the bikes... RIGHT: All packed up...

We opted to NOT get a room Friday night because we would be getting to the Las Vegas area pretty late. Instead, we made plans to pull an “all-nighter”. We got to Vegas around 11PM.. so we parked the car at Bellagio and walked down to MGM Grand to watch Saw 3D – I’ve been wanting to see this movie since Minh first showed me the trailer.. if you like the Saw movies, then you’ll definitely like it. But don’t go to see it until you’ve seen the ENTIRE series. After the movie, we headed back to the Bellagio to walk through the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. I thought it would be bigger and take more of our time.. but it was still pretty cool.

Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden

By now it was probably 3AM… we didn’t know what else to do and we’re not much of gamblers… so we went to sleep in the car. We got kicked out of the parking structure around 5AM by a security guard.. hehe.. it was a good nap though. By that time, we decided to head out to Henderson and find breakfast. Made a quick stop at the Las Vegas Welcome Sign for a photo-op.

Ahh.. Las Vegas.. Where else can you get "internet beer"?

The drive to Henderson wasn’t very long, and thus, did not kill very much time. We found a place to get breakfast that opens at 6AM.. so we only had to chill in the car for about half an hour before eating. The restaurant is called The Cracked Egg. It was OK for a breakfast place.. nothing special.

Breakfast from the Cracked Egg

After we finished eating, we still had about an hour to kill before the Race Packet Pick-Up opened… so we went to Whole Foods and walked around looking at groceries. I had forgotten that their was a Pancake Breakfast going on at the Expo, or else we would have gone to that. Eventually we got to the Expo and Race Packet Pick-up and Mandatory Athlete Meeting and all that other good stuff.

Silverman Finish-line.. I'll see you TOMORROW!!

Coffee and Kahlua to keep us awake during Mandatory Athlete Meeting

After leaving the expo, we headed out to the Race Start/T1 area (which was next to our hotel) to drop off my bike, bike gear, and run gear. I got a pretty good spot in my aisle since no one else had showed up to drop off their bike.

Bike Checked IN!! Best spot in my row!

Once all my gear was dropped off, we headed to the hotel to see if we could check-in early…. and we DID!!! YAY!!! The room was really nice and spacious and RIGHT NEXT TO the race start. There was also a nice small kitchen area with stove, dishwasher, sink, mini fridge, pots, pans, plates, silverware, cooking utensils, etc.. so we could make food.

I was hoping for a nap once we were all checked in, but Minh said “NO!”. His thinking was that if we napped, then we wouldn’t get a good night’s rest that night… so.. We went to go find lunch and things to make for dinner. Then we ate.. watched TV.. walked around a little bit.. pre=drove parts of the course.. made dinner.. and went to bed.

Lunchtime!

For dinner... browned butter and mushroom pasta

Race day report coming… in Part TWO…

Good night BIKES.. I'll see you in the morning!

Love-Hate Relationship with Ironman

UPDATE: Looks like all the ranting on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, and blogs) has paid off and we can now all celebrate the short-lived program that was Ironman Access. See the official statement from WTC CEO and President Ben Fertic here: http://ironman.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/ironman-access.

The WTC has been busy lately… what with announcing a new olympic distance series, stepping on some toes when moving the 70.3 championships, and now launching a ridiculously expensive membership club??? There’s definitely more ranting than raving going on with regard to the latest news stories.

Adding up the Costs

Triathlon is expensive enough as it is. First you need to pick a race and register. Depending on the race (distance, location, popularity, and who’s running it), this can be as little as $60 (this is the LEAST I’ve ever paid for a sprint triathlon) or as much as $575 for an Ironman (if you’re lucky and fast enough to nab a spot at any of their races) or EVEN MORE if you’re going for a foundation spot or a longer race (yes.. those DO exist).

Next.. get yourself some gear. This is where you can spend as little or as much as you like. Basically, all you need is a swimsuit, goggles, running shoes, a bike and a helmet. That’s the bare-bones of it. But, once you’ve been bitten by the triathlon bug, there is NO END to wanting to upgrade parts, buy the newest shoes, get the snazziest (yes… I use that word) kits, plus all the accessories and non-gear needs … anti-friction lube (Glide ), special shampoo and conditioner to get the chlorine out of your hair (my choice is TriSwim), customized sunglasses (Oakley Jawbone), Garmin (so many to choose from), Yankz!, etc.. etc… the list goes on and on.

Now add to all that gear (which is used on race day) the gear that you’ll use during training. I’ve got training shoes and race shoes for running. I’ve got an indoor trainer for the bike with it’s own wheel (so I don’t wear out the wheel I actually use on the road). I’ve got a treadmill (ok.. I didn’t technically buy this one, but I use it… so it counts). I’ve got numerous books regarding training plans, strategies, skill specific workouts, injury prevention, nutrition, stretching, and more. I’ve got recovery apparatusses (apparati??) including The Stick, massage ball, compression tights, ice packs, and EMS.

All that seriously adds up to thousands of dollars over the course of one year. Some people do it for much less… some people do it for much much more. I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, due mostly to Minh’s bargain-hunting skills and nose for sales and coupons (we NEVER buy anything full price). Now WTC wants me to add $1000 to that? Are you KIDDING ME??

What will $1000 get me?

1. Exclusive advance registration to Ironman events
2. Second chance in the Ironman Lottery Program
3. Two VIP passes per registered event
4. Official member ID Card
5. One-year subscription to LAVA Magazine
6. Discounts on Ironman partner products at shopironman.com and at Ironman’s on-site event retail stores
7. 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship NBC broadcast on DVD.

Let’s break that down into what really matters

1. This one’s helpful because Ironman events sell out so quickly now that you have to commit before you even know if you’re going to be ready for it. Case in point, Ironman 70.3 California. I just realized TODAY that it’s SOLD OUT and I hadn’t even registered for it yet. Even the foundation slots are sold out. RIDICULOUS! Scratch that one off my race calendar for 2011…. grr…
2. Another chance at the lottery is a perk, but the lottery is also STILL very expensive (and you don’t even get that money back if you don’t get a spot). Plus, I’m a firm believer that participants in the World Championships should deserve it, not win a spot out of luck.
3. The VIP pass probably consists of entry into a special food tent and drinks (if that). Not really worth it, especially if you’re bringing out MORE than just one friend or family member.
4. Yet another thing to add to my stack of useless cards.
5. Yet another yearly subscription that I won’t read because I get all the same information on the Internet.
6. A discount perk that may be worth it at times, but probably won’t compare to the discounts and deals we can find on eBay or with some good searching.
7. A show that you can stream for FREE on the internet (or probably even download if you’re so inclined). I’ve got all of them starting in 2005.

So… it would seem that the only worthy perk to membership in Ironman Access is the ability to register early for events. But is that really worth $1000?? I think most of the triathlon community is on the same page about this topic.. and the resounding answer is… NO, it’s totally NOT WORTH IT.

You can read more rants here, here, here, and on Facebook.

Race Report: Big Rock Triathlon

Minh and I headed out to Lake Perris SRA (State Recreational Area) for the Big Rock Triathlon on Saturday. We headed out Friday night for some camping so that we wouldn’t have to get up SUPER early on Saturday to make it to the race.

FUN FUN FUN... sitting in traffic..

"Late-night" Race Check-in

Our only sources of light (for the night)..

Big Rock was my “first” olympic distance triathlon last year. Technically, I didn’t finish that first time because I only did one lap on the swim because I felt like I wouldn’t survive a second lap. I came into this race knowing what was in store for me: a smooth 2-loop swim, a fairly easy bike with one big hill, and a relatively flat run across the damn and back to the start. I also came into the race with low expectations on my performance because of my training (or lack of training) in preparation for this race. It’s nearing the end of the season, and although I didn’t do THAT many races this year, I was obviously feeling burnt out from the training and finding excuses left and right to get out of it. The goal was to finish and to perhaps do a bit better than the year previous.

Stats from LAST YEAR:
Swim – 22:28 (only one lap.. double it and I would have been LAST out of the water)
T1 – 8:41 (super LONG because of approximate .25 jog from the water to transition)
Bike – 1:27:24 (not a bad bike split)
T2 – 1:58
Run – 1:05:38 (not a horrible 10k)

I had A LOT of time to kill before the start.. so I hit the bathroom about 4 times and walked down to the water to check it out before the start of the race.

Lake was glassy smooth.. like swimming in a pool..

SWIM WAS GREAT!!! The water was SO warm.. around mid- to lo- 70s. And the water was smooth and glassy. Like swimming in the pool, but not too hot that a wetsuit was unbearable. Visibility in the water was worse than the ocean, but that wasn’t a problem. I think I probably kept a better pace than I usually do during practice, but that was to my advantage. Tried my best to find feet to follow, but always ended up overtaking the feet I was behind.

Good swim.. followed by a rather mediocre transition..

T1 was slow, again.. mainly because of the jog/walk from the beach to transition. I had a stitch, so I couldn’t jog the whole thing. Wish I did, because I came out of the water the SAME TIME as 2nd place, but her T1 was 2 minutes faster than mine.

The bike was a little slower than I had hoped for. There’s a small hill near the start to get over, and because I hadn’t been on my bike in a while, I wasn’t strong as I had hoped. There was also road construction on Ramona Expressway (part of the bike course), so I couldn’t go as fast as I would have like through there (needed to be extra careful to stay in the coned-off bike area). The hill was good, though. My pace may have slowed to a crawl, but I made it up.. perhaps faster than last year. Then the nice long DOWNHILL back to transition. I passed maybe 20 people on the bike. I wish I had gone 2 minutes faster though.. because the girl in 2nd had a nearly identical bike split (and she only started 2 minutes ahead of me).

That dude's about to get PASSED!!

Bike Leg: 2 loops of relatively painless spinning..

T2 was fast. Just swapped shoes and took a gel and water. I didn’t wear gloves on the bike, so there was no worry that I would forget to take those off.. I almost forgot to take off my helmet, but remembered to put on my visor… haha.

Ready or not.. heading out for a long run across the dam...

The run was.. weird. My legs wanted a quick turnover because they were used to being on the bike. So.. even though I usually start the run with a much slower pace, my legs wanted to go faster. The rest of my body, however, wasn’t feeling it.. I developed a rather painful stitch that lasted the entire run. Eventually, my legs caught up with the rest of my body, and I started to feel a little worst for wears. First my lower legs, then that pain left to make way for my quads, a little in my knees, but a lot of pain in my right hip. I did a lot more walking than I wanted to, but it would seem that I just wasn’t ready to run 10k. Towards the end, I was feeling a little dejected on the run, but started using another runner to pace me. Probably the only reason I finished stronger than I was feeling in the middle of the run.RESULTS:

Run run run...

Swim – 0:27:05 (2nd place – 0:27:04)
T1 – 6:04 (2nd place – 4:48)
Bike – 1:23:06 (2nd place – 1:26:15)
T2 – 0:52 (2nd place – 1:30)
Run – 0:59:16 (2nd place – 0:58:34)

TOTAL: 2:56:24 (2nd place – 2:55:13)
3rd in AG (F25-29), 10/21 Female, 74/105 Overall

FINISH LINE!! (liquids and food)

YAY! Podium!! If I was just a tiny bit faster.. I would have gotten 2nd. Maybe if I pushed a little bit harder on the run.. but.. ALAS… we can’t live in a world of “what if”s and “could have been”s. Compared to last year.. I was a little bit faster, but the main improvement was on the swim. I’m happy with that. Just shows that a year of training (partial training and slacking off ) has paid off a little bit. Now.. imagine what next year will be like when I actually FOCUS on training.

PODIUM!!!

Race Report: San Diego Triathlon Classic

I went into the race with a goal finish time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. Here’s how that was supposed to break down: 45 minutes for the swim. 1 hour 30 minutes for the bike. 1 hour for the run. 15 minutes for transition and allowing for any technical/mechanical difficulties (potty breaks, flats, dropped chains, bonking,etc.. ). I thought that was a pretty good goal to hit – easily attainable with effort but not to far-fetched that I would get disheartened.

Race Morning – Setting Up

We got up at the not-so-early hour of 5AM. Since the hotel was right next to the race venue, we figured we didn’t need to get up TOO early. Transition was about half full by the time I got there. I headed in to get my area set up (sans bike), and found a good spot in the middle of the rack. Transition was awesome. The racks were super tall (taller than usual) which made it a bit hard to rack the bike, but made it super easy to duck under the rack (which is something that I’ve done in pretty much every race). The racks were also super spread apart, so there was plenty of room between racks to run through and not bump into anyone else.

Race Venue

Minh had just put new brakes on my bike and did some adjustments before the race. I didn’t have a chance to ride it before heading out on Friday, so I had to take it out for a quick ride before the race started. Everything worked beautifully, so I took it into transition to rack. To my surprise, someone racked her bike right on top of my transition area (where I had set up the rest of my stuff). Luckily, there was barely enough room to squeeze my bike in (facing the opposite direction and sandwiched between two other bikes). It wasn’t a huge problem, but a little annoying.

Ratio of Port-o-Potties to Racers was good.. even had some specific for #1 or #2 ONLY!

They cleared out transition at 6:15AM, so everyone was out near the water to watch the pro men start. Water temperature was supposedly 68°, but felt cooler than that. Water visibility was low (very murky, but also very shallow). They had given us a warning flyer at the expo that there are chemicals and PCBs in the water, but that the levels are low enough to be not harmful, or something like that. It was hard to understand because the notice used lots of double negatives. Maybe it said “not unharmful.”

The Swim

Nice shot of the swim course

The swim was ok. I just told myself to keep a good, steady pace and not get psyched out. I got passed by a bunch of girls (but mostly because I started near the front.. don’t want to add extra distance by starting inthe back), but I also passed a bunch of girls later on who must’ve started fast, but slowed down later. I got passed by a bunch of people starting in the wave behind. That as both exhilerating (because I could catch a draft for a few seconds as they were passing) and terrifying (because I got kicked in the face a couple of times). The swim seemed to go on FOREVER (seemed much longer than the IM 70.3), but maybe because I had difficulty sighting (ended up sighting mostly off of other swimmers in front of me) and kept zigzagging. I had some good energy out of the water though, and was able to jog to transition.

Coming in from the Swim.. I actually had the energy to jog!

T1

T1 always takes FOREVER for me. I have the hardest time getting my wetsuit off. And then takes forever to get my socks on with wet feet. Yes.. I wear socks on the bike. I can’t bike without socks. I can’t run without socks. I like my feet to be blister free and snug in my socks.

The Ride

The bike ride was.. unexpected. Since most of the bike course was on the Point Loma Naval Base, we weren’t able to pre-ride and do course recon. I had heard that there was a big hill, but didn’t know really what to expect. I also was hoping that there would be port-o-potties on the course, because I really needed to go. Unfortunately for me, the hill was LONG and STEEP (at least at the beginning) and there were no port-o-potties, so I had to hold it. Actually, the hill was not as bad as I had thought it would be. It looked intimidating, but I just found a good gear (i.e. granny) and kept cranking till I got to the top. My quads were burning, but I made it unscathed, and passed a bunch of people on the way up. The rest of the lap (we had to do two laps) was pretty “easy” with a super fast downhill back to the beginning of the lap. I maxed out at 33.4 mph!!! (in contrast to the 6.2 mph I was cranking going uphill).

Lightning FAST!!!

T2

T2 was much faster than T1, as expected. I just swapped shoes and headed out. Almost forgot to take off my helmet (that would have been embarassing).. but totally forgot to take off my cycling gloves (yes, I wear those too). Ended up having to take them off and stuff them in my pocket for the rest of the run.

The Run

The run was good. My legs felt a little off after the bike leg, but my main focus was finding a port-o-pottie. I still had to go, and now I REALLY had to go. I knew there were port-o-potties outside transition, but they weren’t on the run course (and I wasn’t about to add extra distance to my run). So I ended up holding it… for about a mile. Then the course FINALLY meets up with a bathroom.. took longer than expected because I actually had to WAIT for a stall. But, I was happy to be relieved, and continued on my run.

Heading out on the run.. this is after I FINALLY got to use a bathroom..

My right shin was acting up (shin splints??? I hope not), but eventually it went away. I was able to find a good groove for the run, stopping to walk for a few seconds here and there when I would get a side stitch or hunger pang (I didn’t take any gels in transition like I was supposed to, and ended up only taking 2 GUs during the entire race). The run was a nice flat course through NTC Park, with half of it on dirt/grass, and the other half on asphalt/sidewalks. It consisted of two 5k loops, which felt like forever, but ended up going by pretty quickly. I finished just under and hour, and when I look back I think I could have pushed myself a little harder on the run and gotten an even better time (break 3 hours maybe??). Overall, though, I was really happy with my run leg.

RESULTS

I pretty much smashed my goal time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. Even though I finished in the middle of my age group (19 out of 41), I finished 25 minutes ahead of my planned goal… 3 hours and 5 minutes!!! Here are the stats:

Swim Leg – 1500m – 0:39:47
T1 – 0:04:18
Bike Leg – 40k – 1:20:58
T2 – 0:01:43
Run Leg – 10k – 0:58:45
Total Time: 3:05:31

F25-29 AG Rank: 19 out of 41
Gender Rank: 129 out of 255
Overall Rank: 504 out of 771

Post-Race

The folks organizing the San Diego Triathlon Classic really know how to take care of their racers. They had pizza and drinks and fruit and snacks… but most importantly.. they had BEER AND WINE!!! They also had a really cool “home-made” trophy for top 5 finishers in each age group, and a sweet raffle for some Zipp wheels. Overall, it was a great experience. .. and I got to see Chris McCormack (not during the race, but after). I should have tried to get my picture taken with him, but I didn’t think about it till after the fact. He won, of course.

Chris McCormack saying a few words about the race..

GALLERY:

Let’s GO!!!

Race Venue

Ratio of Port-o-Potties to Racers was good.. even had some specific for #1 or #2 ONLY!

Swim Start and Finish was up/down these stairs

Pretty view of the water… was pretty dark that morning..

We ended up taking one of these signs home with us.

Shot of Transition before the race..

Floating around waiting for my wave start..

Swim Start.. I think i’m either right next to or behind the buoy..

This is my wave.. of on the 1500 m swim…

Nice shot of the swim course

Coming in from the Swim.. I actually had the energy to jog!

Heading out of T1.. Trying to adjust the aerobottle.. it was rubbing on the wheel..

Heading out on the Bike Leg.. still needing to go to the bathroom..

See you later, MINH!

Chris McCormack coming in off the bike.. with his puffy cheeks!!

Back for the last few miles after two laps on the bike..

Lightning FAST!!!

Check out this guys CRAZY “aero” helmet that he paper mache’d together!!!

Heading back to T2.. looks like I’m illegally drafting.. but we weren’t going fast enough for it to matter..

The run course ran along side the water that we swam in earlier..

Heading out on the run.. this is after I FINALLY got to use a bathroom..

Grabbing some water at the aid station.. Minh told me later that they ran out of cups..

Need to learn how to drink and run without spilling all over myself..

Home stretch on the run.. trying to give it all I had left..

Stuffing my face with bananas after the race..

Puffy cheeks full of banana-y goodness..

I’m thinking I don’t want to go use any of these.. haha..

Cool “home-made” trophies

Pro Mens Podium.. Of course IM World Champ Chris McCormack would win…

Chris McCormack saying a few words about the race..

One of the race organizers, trying to be “inconspicuously” out of the way..

Zipp Wheels (404 front, 808 rear) being raffled off

Pre-Race Report: San Diego Triathlon Classic (EXPO)

I’ve been doing triathlons for about a year now.. and here’s the funny thing… I’ve never actually completed an olympic distance event. My first triathlon ever was the Los Angeles Triathlon last year. I had originally signed up for the olympic distance, but switched to the sprint the day before. And even then, I didn’t do the swim. The second triathlon I had signed up for the Big Rock Triathlon at Lake Perris. I had signed up for the olympic distance, but ended up doing only one lap on the swim (because I thought I was going to DIE) and then did the rest of the race. Since then, it’s been a bunch of sprint distance races and the Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside. Until this weekend…. heading south for the San Diego Triathlon Classic.

Pre-Race:

I took off work early on Friday so that we could beat the traffic heading down to San Diego. We had packed everything in the car in the morning so that we could leave straight from work, rather than having to run home first (which is a little out of the way). We were on the road to San Diego by 3:15, and the drive was relatively smooth – took about 2 hours with light traffic around Oceanside/Camp Pendleton.

We went to the Expo first, to make sure that I got all checked-in before they closed at 7pm. I was already hungry, but figured I’d stick it out to get some schwag. Good thing too, becuase they had a wine/beer garden set up (compliments of the sponsors – Barefoot Bubbly and Stone Brewery). They also had cheese and crackers and fruits available to snack on.

Barefoot Bubbly at the Wine/Beer Garden

Free Food/Snacks provided during the Expo

Cheese, Crackers, and Fruit to go with our FREE wine and beer

After the expo, Minh and I were satiated for a little while, so we decided to walk down to the new Moment Cycle Sport store at Liberty Station to enter the raffle. They were going to raffle off a set of Zipp Wheels (404 for the front and 808 for the back) after the awards ceremony on race day. We got a little lost on the way to the store… actually.. we walked right past it and then couldn’t find it for a while. Instead, we took fun pictures in the abandoned/deserted halls. We did eventually find the store (which was closed) and signed up for the raffle.

WEEEE!!!

YAY!!!

Liberty Station used to be the Navel Training Center

After the expo and scavenger hunt, we headed to the hotel to check-in. It’s a little bit deceiving to say “we headed to the hotel” since the hotel was right next to the park where the expo and race was going to be. (Note to self: If possible, try to get a hotel RIGHT NEXT TO the race venue. It saves SO MUCH time and energy in the morning and afterwards getting your stuff there and back and getting cleaned up and such). It was a pretty nice place. They only had dbl/dbl rooms left when I booked, so we ended up with a huge bed to throw our junk on. We settled in a little bit and found a place to park the bike before heading out for dinner.

Getting settled in.. this place is more than 2x bigger than the last place we stayed (i.e. cruise)

Parking spot for the bike.. for the night..

I have been craving Five Guys since they opened their FIRST OC LOCATION a couple months ago. Unfortunately, it’s all the way in Anaheim Hills (nowhere close to Fountain Valley) and the one time we were in the area, the line was out the door (and Minh was not about to stand in it). Luckily for me, there was a Five Guys at Liberty Station. I didn’t want to be completely unhealthy, since the race was the next day, so I only ate half of my baby burger and a handful of fries. We also stopped by Trader Joe’s and Vons for pre-race breakfast and water. Then it was back to the hotel for bed.

These potatoes will soon become delicious fries.. Five Guys Fries blows In-n-Out Fries OUT OF THE WATER!!!

Baby Burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo, and grilled mushrooms

Race Day Report – coming soon…