1/2 mile Swim | 15k Bike | 5k Run
1:20:22 2/18(55-59) 16/197 F 109/452 OA
What a fun race! Clean, clear, cool water. An easy swim around the Green Avalon Pier. We stayed at the Las Paloma las Flores apartments in Avalon, a really sweet place to stay. We had #16, which is up many flights of stairs with a great view of the town.
Race start was 9:00am, the transition area was cleared at 8:45 am. I got up at 6:15 am and had a leisurely breakfast, all the usual stuff. Then rode my bike down to the race sight at 7:20 ish. I racked my bike in the sand. I should have put my shoes, etc out on the pavement under the concrete bench. Next time I'll know. And also, next time I need to bring the platforms for my bike pedals, so that I can wear run shoes for biking. There is a long run on the pavement before the bike mount, it would have been nice to run in my running shoes vs bike shoes!
The race started on time at 9:00. I swam close to the pier, then turned rightish after I could see the buoy. I headed straight there. My turn at the next buoy was fine - I then headed straight to the shore...but I couldn't see the finish for quite a while. The black and white flags were just elusive.. but I finally did see them and got in from the swim in good time, I was first in all women over 40.. yahoo! The water was FABULOUS! It was cool, clear, clean and one cap with my Xterra sleeveless suit was perfect.
The three loop bike course was the most challenging on the first loop - my quads were screaming! The two loop run was also challenging, a large and steep hill twice. I didn't see anyone in my age group, but a 55 - 59 woman much have passed me at some point in the bike or run. Maybe she racked closer to the bike out.. which is always the best idea.
I had seen Secretariat at the Avalon Theater the night before the race, so all I could think of was Secretariat running.. I heard the heavy breathing and somehow channeled race horse energy.
The run was sweet, lots of good folks on the side lines and lots of good cheering. A well supported race - definitely a do again. I won a TYR beach towel for my 2nd place age group win..Sweet!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Marin County Triathon October 31 2010
Olympic Distance 2:49:23 1/4 (55-59) 30/155 Female Overall
S 27:04 | B 1:19:43 | R 58:40
Nutrition:
Pre - Oatmeal, Hammer Gel, banana + milk. Usual vitamins + 3 extra Race Caps Supreme and 3 Endurolytes. Protein powder w/water + milk. 8 - 12 ounces Heed prior to swim start.
During - Heed, Hammer Gel, 3 more Race Caps and Endurolytes during bike.
A race close to home at Mc Near's Beach in San Rafael. I left my house by 6:10am or so and parked about a mile away on Oak to avoid the line of cars and parking scene at the park. I arrived at the transition area by 6:45ish and racked my bike by the bike out. The racks were on extremely wet grass. I had brought a plastic bag with me to use instead of a towel to set up my bike and run stuff. It turned out to be a good idea. The race started a little bit late because of the long time it took for people to file in and park their cars.
I walked over to the swim start at 7:45. Lots of folks were in costume, as it WAS Halloween - very festive feel to the morning. This race is organized really well, no lines for any of the many porta - johns, lots of body markers, good food for volunteers and competitors, great sponsors -- generally a great race!
Thank goodness, the weather had cleared from the previous rainy and wet conditions, there were no rain clouds and this was turning out to be a clear and cool Sunday morning. But.. the water was COLD! I wore 2 regular swim caps and my long sleeved Xterra wetsuit - and I was still cold. My wave ( wave #6 - pink caps) went off at 8:25 am.. we still had some Flood tide left at that point which helped us get to the end more quickly. The swim course had us swim past the end chute to a turn around buoy. By the time I got to there -- the ebb had started to kick in, so it was a swift and smooth ride to the finishing chute. But, I felt badly for the wave that left after us.. they were caught in the Ebb, and had to swim against the current for most of the swim course.
I had a slow transition from the swim to bike, my hands were freezing so everything was difficult. Everyone had green scum on their faces from the water ( I don't want to think about what it actually was...... yuck!) I should have grabbed my jacket, but I didn't. Parts of the bike course were still in the shade and were.. how do I say it... friggin' freezing! My feet never really warmed up. The bike course was a three loop adventure with 6 very tight turns. I managed to swallow my race caps and endurolytes, have a swig or two of Hammer Gel and Heed, but my hands were cold for the entire ride.
In T2, I still couldn't feel my feet, so putting on my running shoes was very difficult. My right foot looked like a foreign object at that point, but they finally warmed up at mile 5 in the run. My run was steady and slow, I walked for 30 seconds twice and then for 20 seconds once. I hadn't been training for running much at all -- in an effort to save my right knee for the races.. I dunno if that was such a good idea... but the run to the finish was sweet. Whit was announcing, so he pronounced my name correctly.. which is always nice - he also announced me as the winner of my age group, which is also, always a sweet thing to hear at the end of the race.
A great race, great prizes ( I won a full tune up for my bike.. something I really needed!) and good schwag.
S 27:04 | B 1:19:43 | R 58:40
Nutrition:
Pre - Oatmeal, Hammer Gel, banana + milk. Usual vitamins + 3 extra Race Caps Supreme and 3 Endurolytes. Protein powder w/water + milk. 8 - 12 ounces Heed prior to swim start.
During - Heed, Hammer Gel, 3 more Race Caps and Endurolytes during bike.
A race close to home at Mc Near's Beach in San Rafael. I left my house by 6:10am or so and parked about a mile away on Oak to avoid the line of cars and parking scene at the park. I arrived at the transition area by 6:45ish and racked my bike by the bike out. The racks were on extremely wet grass. I had brought a plastic bag with me to use instead of a towel to set up my bike and run stuff. It turned out to be a good idea. The race started a little bit late because of the long time it took for people to file in and park their cars.
I walked over to the swim start at 7:45. Lots of folks were in costume, as it WAS Halloween - very festive feel to the morning. This race is organized really well, no lines for any of the many porta - johns, lots of body markers, good food for volunteers and competitors, great sponsors -- generally a great race!
Thank goodness, the weather had cleared from the previous rainy and wet conditions, there were no rain clouds and this was turning out to be a clear and cool Sunday morning. But.. the water was COLD! I wore 2 regular swim caps and my long sleeved Xterra wetsuit - and I was still cold. My wave ( wave #6 - pink caps) went off at 8:25 am.. we still had some Flood tide left at that point which helped us get to the end more quickly. The swim course had us swim past the end chute to a turn around buoy. By the time I got to there -- the ebb had started to kick in, so it was a swift and smooth ride to the finishing chute. But, I felt badly for the wave that left after us.. they were caught in the Ebb, and had to swim against the current for most of the swim course.
I had a slow transition from the swim to bike, my hands were freezing so everything was difficult. Everyone had green scum on their faces from the water ( I don't want to think about what it actually was...... yuck!) I should have grabbed my jacket, but I didn't. Parts of the bike course were still in the shade and were.. how do I say it... friggin' freezing! My feet never really warmed up. The bike course was a three loop adventure with 6 very tight turns. I managed to swallow my race caps and endurolytes, have a swig or two of Hammer Gel and Heed, but my hands were cold for the entire ride.
In T2, I still couldn't feel my feet, so putting on my running shoes was very difficult. My right foot looked like a foreign object at that point, but they finally warmed up at mile 5 in the run. My run was steady and slow, I walked for 30 seconds twice and then for 20 seconds once. I hadn't been training for running much at all -- in an effort to save my right knee for the races.. I dunno if that was such a good idea... but the run to the finish was sweet. Whit was announcing, so he pronounced my name correctly.. which is always nice - he also announced me as the winner of my age group, which is also, always a sweet thing to hear at the end of the race.
A great race, great prizes ( I won a full tune up for my bike.. something I really needed!) and good schwag.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Envirosports | Lake Berryessa Tri-Girl-Tri Oct. 9, 2010
1/2 Mile Swim | 11 Mile Bike | 3 Mile Run
1:18:47 #1/8 (55-59) #6/392 overall
Up at 4:40am -- out the door for the 1:45minute drive by 5:40am. I parked about a mile away from the transition and check-in area. Race start at 9:00am. I went in with the first 15 or so swimmers.. I mostly swam alone, hit all of the buoys and was in to the shore within 12 minutes. It was a long run up to the timing mat, than another run up to my bike. I parked myself close to the Bike Out, so I put on bike shoes on and ran out to the bike staring mat. The Bike In was down at the other end of transition, but I took my feet out of the shoes, and ran in my socks to the bike rack. The run was fine, not too much suffering. I was #6 across the finish line and came home with a bottle of wine and a gift card for a day at the St Helena Spa.. sweet!
1:18:47 #1/8 (55-59) #6/392 overall
Up at 4:40am -- out the door for the 1:45minute drive by 5:40am. I parked about a mile away from the transition and check-in area. Race start at 9:00am. I went in with the first 15 or so swimmers.. I mostly swam alone, hit all of the buoys and was in to the shore within 12 minutes. It was a long run up to the timing mat, than another run up to my bike. I parked myself close to the Bike Out, so I put on bike shoes on and ran out to the bike staring mat. The Bike In was down at the other end of transition, but I took my feet out of the shoes, and ran in my socks to the bike rack. The run was fine, not too much suffering. I was #6 across the finish line and came home with a bottle of wine and a gift card for a day at the St Helena Spa.. sweet!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
AFLAC Iron Girl Lake Tahoe September 19, 2010
#2 (55-59) Deb Melnikoff | #1 (55-59) Melanie Mociun
400 Meter Swim | 24k Bike | 5k Run - 1:26:07
This was my first AFLAC Iron Girl event, when I signed up for it, I expected that the weather would be warm.. Indian Summer in Lake Tahoe, which wasn't exactly the case. At the start of the race, the lake was warmer than the air. I stood in the water to keep my feet "warm" while we waited for the race to begin. The water was about 61 degrees, air and sand, much cooler than that!
There was a mandatory bike drop off the day before the race. I bought a cheapo plastic tarp and some masking tape on the way up to So Lake Tahoe to wrap up my bike... I wanted to protect it from the elements as it sat outside in the Harvey's Casino parking lot all night. I arrived to the race by about 6:00am, took the plastic off of my bike, set up my things and headed down to the lake at 6:45am when transition was cleared. I took 3 Race Caps Supreme and 3 Endurolytes at about 6:30am, an hour before race start. At breakfast, I had my usual, oatmeal, banana, apple cinnamon hammer gel, all of the vitamins and supplements including Premium Insurance Caps, Super Antioxidant, Mito Caps, Tissue Rejuvenator, Race Caps Supreme and Zobaline.
I felt too cold to get in the water for a warm up swim, even though I had my full Xterra suit on. It was CHILLY! The swim was a rectangle, I think it was a little bit longer than 400 meters, but it was well marked with large yellow buoys and sighting was fine until we turned back into the sun rising in the East. I was blinded, couldn't see anything at all, I just followed the splashed of the two swimmers in front of me. The altitude started to get to me bay the end of the swim and I was glad to get out of the water.
What class! Every swimmer was handed an AFLAC hand towel as we ran up to the transition area. I sat on the pavement and took off my wetsuit and then ran some more up to my bike. UGH.. it was tough and I was doing some heavy breathing.
I got to my bike, had a sip of water and had a hard time putting on my bike shoes and helmet because I was still so cold. I couldn't feel my feet at all. I had a Hammer Jersey ready to pull on over my singlet, but it didn't seem that cold, so I just went sleeveless and wet.. Ouch! There were some cold spots on the bike ride, but it turned out to be okay. It was a quick out and back to Cave Rock in the two middle lanes of the highway - it was a partially closed course. I had a few swigs of Chocolate Hammer Gel and a few sips of Melon Heed during the ride. I missed the turn into the end of the bike course and had to cross in front of traffic to get to the correct turn.. I don't know how I missed it, but I did.
Bike In and Run Out was a smooth transition, I grabbed an Espresso Hammer Gel as I headed out on the run. The run turns were a little bit unclear in the beginning, but then we climbed up and around the casinos to head back to the finish.. I walked a little as I was feeling the altitude lots, but when I saw Hwy 50, I knew the end was near. I hung on and gave it a big effort to run in to the finish. All in all the race was well organized and inspirational - many people were doing the race in memory of people who had passed.
I would definitely do another AFLAC Iron Girl event. And I was thrilled to win my age group as I knew there were at least a few tough competitors in the group. The awards were efficient and on time, the post race breakfast was awesome.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Malibu Nautica Triathlon Sept 12, 2010
#2-melanie mociun, #1-tove shere, #3-jeanne davis thompson
Classic Distance Malibu Nautica Triathlon
1:53:18 #2(F55-59) | #35/587 F | #261/1501 overall
This is one of my favorite triathlons... I love the ocean swim, I love being at the beach in the early morning fog and the race organization is top notch!
Details: To bed at 9:30pm.. up at 2:00am, 3:30am, 4:00am and then 4:40am... ugh. I set my watch alarm for pm instead of am.. luckily my phone alarm did go off, but so did the low battery alarm, at least a few times in the night. This is a new phone, I didn't recognize the sound of the alarm, so in my dream state, I thought that maybe there were raccoons outside. I was staying on an estate one mile inland with lots of horses, a dog and many, many green parrots... there could have been a raccoon too.
Okay.. getting to the race. There were 3000 race participants, many parking in the lots at Zuma Beach, many parking on the side streets, in other words.. crowded chaos. I prefer to ride my bike to race starts if I'm staying close enough. I was definitely close enough, but the problem was.. it was DARK!!! I left the cottage at 5:45am, headlamp on the front and flasher on my back pack... I crossed Pacific Coast Highway at a crosswalk and headed down to the transition area - a 2.5 mile flat ride in the dark.
I held my yellow wrist band high while passing through the entrance and prepared myself for a long walk, searching for my race number on the bike racks. To my complete surprise and delight, I saw my number on the third rack in.. three racks from the bike out... sweet! Now I didn't need to worry about running to the bike out in my bike shoes on wet pavement. Two years ago, I carried my shoes and socks and ran barefoot to the bike out after the swim -- I'm not sure that I saved any time.. but my feet were dry for the ride and the run.
The transition area was cleared at 6:55am for the mandatory pre race meeting on the beach. Everyone filed out and hung out in the cold fog until their wave (one of fourteen) gathered in the corral and dashed to the waves to start the race. My wave went off at 8:20am. For us, the blue caps, there was a slight current moving towards the race finish. The water was 58 degrees, I was happy to have two caps and my full wetsuit.. the wetsuit I use in San Francisco!!! My swim felt great, I passed the buoys closely and got to the finish within 15 or 16 minutes. I took off the top of my wet suit while running out the the water, then took off the rest of it before running down the parking lot to my bike.
As I ran out to start the bike, a volunteer yelled "where's your chip?". I stopped and said, "right here on my leg". I used my own chip strap instead of the orange plastic band.. he didn't see it because my strap is black... oh well...on to the bike.
The bike felt great, I passed lots of people and near the end some 45+ year old women passed me, but I hadn't seen anyone in my age group yet. The Bike In was at the far end of the transition area, so there was another long run up to my running shoes.
I changed shoes, grabbed my number belt and an espresso hammer gel and took off. It wasn't long before a 58 year old woman passed me.. I simply couldn't keep up with her.. I just hoped that there were no other 55+ women close to me. The run felt good, I was just kind of slow, I averaged 8:45 minute miles, which felt good, considering I really do not run much anymore. The finish was fantastic, except that I went the wrong way just before coming in to the shute -- one of the volunteers had yelled "stay right".. they were talking to people running the opposite direction from me. Over all, I had a blast and will definitely plan to come back to this race!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Alcatraz Crossing August 14, 2010
7:40am (ish) jump -- 38:39 to St Francis Yacht Club beach 3.5 knot ebb tide.
With Waterworld Swim. 26 people - a few with no wetsuits
We met at Hyde Street Pier at 6:45 - 7:15am. Had a detailed briefing and then headed down the dock to the Dauntless. I used my windshield wipers on the drive over.. heavy mist? light rain? didn't matter, because the solution was the same.. turn on the wipers even though it's the middle of summer. Dog days??? I'd call the weather we've been having a "huskie's delight". Brrrr. But the good news is that the water is slightly warmer than the air.
We approached Alcatraz by 7:35 or so, and quickly filed through the ladder and jumped in to the Bay. The water was rough, sky was gray but visibility was great.. We headed towards the Fontana Towers.. then Fort Mason, then the Palace of Fine Arts Theater near the Exploratorium. I ended up sort of staying with a few people. I breast stroked, I back stroked and I free styled. The Ebb Tide seemed pretty darned strong, and once I passed the "A" bouy, I stopped trying to stay with anyone else, put my head down and swam for the beach. It seemed to take a long time to get there, and seemed to take a great effort.. but once I was on the beach, I felt great.. we all stood around comparing notes before swimming back to the Dauntless. Getting in the water the second time was kind of hard.. even though it was a very short distance to the boat.. we picked up the rest of the swimmers and headed back to the Hyde Street Pier. On the way back, I got very cold.. I, once again, didn't really bring the right clothes.. I Should have brought 2 towels, (one for the bay water and one for the hot shower after reaching shore), and an extra set of really warm pants and shirt and hat... live and learn!
All in all, a fun and safe crossing on a screaming ebb tide.
With Waterworld Swim. 26 people - a few with no wetsuits
We met at Hyde Street Pier at 6:45 - 7:15am. Had a detailed briefing and then headed down the dock to the Dauntless. I used my windshield wipers on the drive over.. heavy mist? light rain? didn't matter, because the solution was the same.. turn on the wipers even though it's the middle of summer. Dog days??? I'd call the weather we've been having a "huskie's delight". Brrrr. But the good news is that the water is slightly warmer than the air.
We approached Alcatraz by 7:35 or so, and quickly filed through the ladder and jumped in to the Bay. The water was rough, sky was gray but visibility was great.. We headed towards the Fontana Towers.. then Fort Mason, then the Palace of Fine Arts Theater near the Exploratorium. I ended up sort of staying with a few people. I breast stroked, I back stroked and I free styled. The Ebb Tide seemed pretty darned strong, and once I passed the "A" bouy, I stopped trying to stay with anyone else, put my head down and swam for the beach. It seemed to take a long time to get there, and seemed to take a great effort.. but once I was on the beach, I felt great.. we all stood around comparing notes before swimming back to the Dauntless. Getting in the water the second time was kind of hard.. even though it was a very short distance to the boat.. we picked up the rest of the swimmers and headed back to the Hyde Street Pier. On the way back, I got very cold.. I, once again, didn't really bring the right clothes.. I Should have brought 2 towels, (one for the bay water and one for the hot shower after reaching shore), and an extra set of really warm pants and shirt and hat... live and learn!
All in all, a fun and safe crossing on a screaming ebb tide.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon August 8, 2010
750 yd S / 12 mile B / 5k R
1:19:07 #1/8 F55-59 | #19/135 F overall | #113/389 overall
The drive to Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon was long.. lots of afternoon traffic, but we arrived by about 4:00pm. We tried to drive to Depot Park to check in to the race.. but soon realized that that would be impossible.. the traffic was simply not moving. We parked, pulled the bikes off the car and road to check-in. This was the fastest check -in ever.. no waiting, no mistakes, all good.. I think it took about 30 seconds total. Then we went over to our friend's house off of King Street where we stayed for the night. I had planned to go in the ocean and play in the waves.. but it was frankly too cold and foggy and windy to sound appealing. Even though, there were PLENTY of folks surfing, boogie boarding and SUPing all along the shore. We went for a bike ride instead.. just an easy ride up and down the coast and to the race venue (practice route for the morning). We did, however, end up getting lost on the way back to the house.. had to stop at one of the hotels for a map -- which, by the way proved to be a VERY good idea!!!
Dinner was at Avanti on Mission. Great restaurant! great food! we walked in and were able to sit at the bar after a 2 minute wait.. just perfect.
After 8 hours of an incredibly deep sleep, I got up, had coffee, oatmeal, banana, hammer gel, race caps, vitamins and protein powder before getting on my bike to ride to Depot Park.. It took about 8 minutes to get there.
The USAT rules are strict in this race.. assigned spots for racking your bike, specific way to hang bike, etc, etc. The space reserved for the people with numbers close to mine had been freshly watered by the automatic sprinkler system. As I looked down at the ground, assessing just how wet it actually was, I noticed bits of glass... yes.. broken glass in the area where I had just rolled my bike. Not good. I picked up as much as I could, cleaned off my tires and moved my bike to the other side of the rack. I later had to move my bike back to my rack space.. or face a DQ.... The race organizers cleaned up as much glass as possible and provided a USAT "mat" for my bike wheel.. thankfully!
Our wave was the last of 4, so we all have ample time to see what the current did to the prior swimmers.. it was a long shore current pulling people to the left of the first turn buoy. When our wave went off, I started at the right of the crowd, and headed to the right of the first turn, then powered up to the second turn. It was fantastic to not have anyone around me.. a clear clean shot. At about 3/4 of the way to the second turn, another Blue Cap swimmer from my wave joined me, I followed around the turn and into shore. After a short run up the beach, I took my wetsuit off at the usual concrete step near the sand, and kept running to Depot Park. The first bike loop was great, fast and without incident. I had an Espresso Hammer Gel at about mile 3, some sips of Heed during the rest of the ride. Second loop went quickly, then down the hill back to Depot Park and back out for the run. I didn't know if anyone in my age group was ahead of me or not, I just put the hammer down and did my best. I ended up coming in about 13 minutes ahead of the second person in my age group.. woo hoo!
Another great race!
1:19:07 #1/8 F55-59 | #19/135 F overall | #113/389 overall
The drive to Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon was long.. lots of afternoon traffic, but we arrived by about 4:00pm. We tried to drive to Depot Park to check in to the race.. but soon realized that that would be impossible.. the traffic was simply not moving. We parked, pulled the bikes off the car and road to check-in. This was the fastest check -in ever.. no waiting, no mistakes, all good.. I think it took about 30 seconds total. Then we went over to our friend's house off of King Street where we stayed for the night. I had planned to go in the ocean and play in the waves.. but it was frankly too cold and foggy and windy to sound appealing. Even though, there were PLENTY of folks surfing, boogie boarding and SUPing all along the shore. We went for a bike ride instead.. just an easy ride up and down the coast and to the race venue (practice route for the morning). We did, however, end up getting lost on the way back to the house.. had to stop at one of the hotels for a map -- which, by the way proved to be a VERY good idea!!!
Dinner was at Avanti on Mission. Great restaurant! great food! we walked in and were able to sit at the bar after a 2 minute wait.. just perfect.
After 8 hours of an incredibly deep sleep, I got up, had coffee, oatmeal, banana, hammer gel, race caps, vitamins and protein powder before getting on my bike to ride to Depot Park.. It took about 8 minutes to get there.
The USAT rules are strict in this race.. assigned spots for racking your bike, specific way to hang bike, etc, etc. The space reserved for the people with numbers close to mine had been freshly watered by the automatic sprinkler system. As I looked down at the ground, assessing just how wet it actually was, I noticed bits of glass... yes.. broken glass in the area where I had just rolled my bike. Not good. I picked up as much as I could, cleaned off my tires and moved my bike to the other side of the rack. I later had to move my bike back to my rack space.. or face a DQ.... The race organizers cleaned up as much glass as possible and provided a USAT "mat" for my bike wheel.. thankfully!
Our wave was the last of 4, so we all have ample time to see what the current did to the prior swimmers.. it was a long shore current pulling people to the left of the first turn buoy. When our wave went off, I started at the right of the crowd, and headed to the right of the first turn, then powered up to the second turn. It was fantastic to not have anyone around me.. a clear clean shot. At about 3/4 of the way to the second turn, another Blue Cap swimmer from my wave joined me, I followed around the turn and into shore. After a short run up the beach, I took my wetsuit off at the usual concrete step near the sand, and kept running to Depot Park. The first bike loop was great, fast and without incident. I had an Espresso Hammer Gel at about mile 3, some sips of Heed during the rest of the ride. Second loop went quickly, then down the hill back to Depot Park and back out for the run. I didn't know if anyone in my age group was ahead of me or not, I just put the hammer down and did my best. I ended up coming in about 13 minutes ahead of the second person in my age group.. woo hoo!
Another great race!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
VINEMAN HALF AQUABIKE July 31, 2010
1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike
#1/5 F (55-59) / #12/89 F / #45/166 Overall
Alarm set for 4:45am -- up and out of the house by 5:40am - I arrived to Johnson Beach, Russian River by 7:00am... this was a far cry from the LONG drive up on Friday to check into the race. I live only 50 miles away from Santa Rosa, but the traffic on Friday afternoons is almost always heavy. Once I arrived to the check in at Windsor High School, it didn't take long to go through the lines and pick up my race numbers and chip.
Okay, back at the river in the AM. The Half AquaBike racers had a designated spot in the transition area.. there were spots for the Full Ironman, the Full AquaBike the Vineman Relay and Barb's Race. I didn't really know who I was racing against for most of the race.. I finally figured out that (maybe) the Half Aqua Bike racers all had red race numbers... but that was late in the bike race.
The swim felt long, the water was somewhere in the low 70's, so I just wore my Xterra Speedsuit over my Hammernutrition singlet and De Soto shorts. It was a water start, I didn't hear a countdown... when the gun went off, I was behind the starting line.. I jumped into the chaos of a start which included 166 men and women of all ages swimming up a narrow river. Parts of the river were so shallow that many of us got up and ran in the water. I did a fair amount of this - which made my ankle strap holding the chip get loose. So, instead of taking the risk of losing the chip, I took it off and stuffed it in the top of my speedsuit. The swim seemed endless, but finally I reached the turn around buoy, the swim back to the transition area went quickly.. maybe there was a little current.. I'm not sure. In any case, my swim was 37 minutes... not a fast time for me, but I thought I could make up time on the bike. The bike ride was great -- very cool, rolling terrain, only one major hill - Chalk Hill - near the end. At about mile 42, a red - numbered woman from Chico Tri passed me.. I thought that she was in my age group.. but as it turned out, she wasn't. I chased her anyway for the last 14 miles. At the end of the race, there was a spot for us to rack our bikes, but there really wasn't much information about post race food or about how and where to pick up our swim bags (which had been transported from the river to the high school). I saw someone eating, asked her where she found the food - by the food, our bags were being unloaded from a truck by volunteers.. so everything was good.. for the moment.
The Half Aqua Bike awards were scheduled for 1:30 pm -- I finished the race before noon, the race results were expected to be available by about 12:30 or so. I really didn't know where I placed, it was so hard to tell who was racing who, with so many events going on all at once. I waited patiently by the timing tent, for what turned out to be 45 minutes to an hour. There was a problem with the wireless connection or something.. but the timing folks were not able to give anyone any results at all. As 1:30pm approached, I gave up on hanging around. I don't know when the awards actually happened, but I did find out later that I won my age-group. Yahoo!
#1/5 F (55-59) / #12/89 F / #45/166 Overall
Alarm set for 4:45am -- up and out of the house by 5:40am - I arrived to Johnson Beach, Russian River by 7:00am... this was a far cry from the LONG drive up on Friday to check into the race. I live only 50 miles away from Santa Rosa, but the traffic on Friday afternoons is almost always heavy. Once I arrived to the check in at Windsor High School, it didn't take long to go through the lines and pick up my race numbers and chip.
Okay, back at the river in the AM. The Half AquaBike racers had a designated spot in the transition area.. there were spots for the Full Ironman, the Full AquaBike the Vineman Relay and Barb's Race. I didn't really know who I was racing against for most of the race.. I finally figured out that (maybe) the Half Aqua Bike racers all had red race numbers... but that was late in the bike race.
The swim felt long, the water was somewhere in the low 70's, so I just wore my Xterra Speedsuit over my Hammernutrition singlet and De Soto shorts. It was a water start, I didn't hear a countdown... when the gun went off, I was behind the starting line.. I jumped into the chaos of a start which included 166 men and women of all ages swimming up a narrow river. Parts of the river were so shallow that many of us got up and ran in the water. I did a fair amount of this - which made my ankle strap holding the chip get loose. So, instead of taking the risk of losing the chip, I took it off and stuffed it in the top of my speedsuit. The swim seemed endless, but finally I reached the turn around buoy, the swim back to the transition area went quickly.. maybe there was a little current.. I'm not sure. In any case, my swim was 37 minutes... not a fast time for me, but I thought I could make up time on the bike. The bike ride was great -- very cool, rolling terrain, only one major hill - Chalk Hill - near the end. At about mile 42, a red - numbered woman from Chico Tri passed me.. I thought that she was in my age group.. but as it turned out, she wasn't. I chased her anyway for the last 14 miles. At the end of the race, there was a spot for us to rack our bikes, but there really wasn't much information about post race food or about how and where to pick up our swim bags (which had been transported from the river to the high school). I saw someone eating, asked her where she found the food - by the food, our bags were being unloaded from a truck by volunteers.. so everything was good.. for the moment.
The Half Aqua Bike awards were scheduled for 1:30 pm -- I finished the race before noon, the race results were expected to be available by about 12:30 or so. I really didn't know where I placed, it was so hard to tell who was racing who, with so many events going on all at once. I waited patiently by the timing tent, for what turned out to be 45 minutes to an hour. There was a problem with the wireless connection or something.. but the timing folks were not able to give anyone any results at all. As 1:30pm approached, I gave up on hanging around. I don't know when the awards actually happened, but I did find out later that I won my age-group. Yahoo!
Monday, July 12, 2010
June Lake Triathlon July 10, 2010
Sprint - .25 mi Swim | 8 mi Bike | 2.25 mi Run
Sunrise was 5:43am on July 10th, so - no excuses - I had to ride to the race start. The sprint race was scheduled to start at 8:30am, I was staying in a condo 4.5 miles from the transition area and there would be no parking near the race start... so.. up at 5:30 or so, after a leisurely coffee, breakfast, reading, etc, I took off for the race on my bicycle at about 6:45am. The ride to the race start was hilly, so I just took it slow and had a great warm up. I arrived in plenty of time to grab a spot near the bike and run out. The day before the race, I swam in the lake with no wetsuit -- stayed in the water for about 12 minutes and shivered for the next 30 minutes (in the hot sun, no less)... so... conclusion... wear a sleeveless wetsuit, even though the swim would be short. The Olympic Distance course went off at 8:00 am. I did the longer distance in 2008.. whew! A hard course for someone who lives at sea level.. I was glad to be signed up for the Sprint this year.
Our race went off at about 8:35am -- the lead swimmers of the Olympic course had already started to come into the finish.. lots of excitement and lots of crowd cheering and support.. Sprint men went off at 8:30.... then our count down began... to 10 to 1 then boom, the horn blast and the big splash. My swim line was a little crowded for the first minute, but then a path cleared and I was on my way. Steady swim, no hyperventilating, easy sighting .. three turns, and I was in. I should have taken off my wetsuit right at the water, because by the time I got to my bike, the legs had stuck like glue to my calves.. I had a longer transition than I wanted, but soon enough, I was off on the bike. A climb out of the campgrounds, a fast ride through town and then the climb over Northwoods Road, back to the transition area. My ride was fast, just under 30 minutes.. which I felt was a good time. And then... the run.. or hike as it turned out.. How could 2.25 miles feel so long??? Because of the altitude, the hills and the dirt. I finally gave in to hunger and had an Espresso Hammer Gel at about 1.5 miles in.. it helped get me to the finish as #8 woman overall.. and #1 in my age group! 1:03:19.
This race is one of the best there is -- very well supported, great spirit, great volunteers, great raffle prizes and age - group prizes - professionally announced by Whit Raymond -- one of the best - and run by an extraordinary Race Director -- Alana Levin.
Put this race on your calendar, and if you are feeling strong and brave, sign up for the Olympic Distance....
Sunrise was 5:43am on July 10th, so - no excuses - I had to ride to the race start. The sprint race was scheduled to start at 8:30am, I was staying in a condo 4.5 miles from the transition area and there would be no parking near the race start... so.. up at 5:30 or so, after a leisurely coffee, breakfast, reading, etc, I took off for the race on my bicycle at about 6:45am. The ride to the race start was hilly, so I just took it slow and had a great warm up. I arrived in plenty of time to grab a spot near the bike and run out. The day before the race, I swam in the lake with no wetsuit -- stayed in the water for about 12 minutes and shivered for the next 30 minutes (in the hot sun, no less)... so... conclusion... wear a sleeveless wetsuit, even though the swim would be short. The Olympic Distance course went off at 8:00 am. I did the longer distance in 2008.. whew! A hard course for someone who lives at sea level.. I was glad to be signed up for the Sprint this year.
Our race went off at about 8:35am -- the lead swimmers of the Olympic course had already started to come into the finish.. lots of excitement and lots of crowd cheering and support.. Sprint men went off at 8:30.... then our count down began... to 10 to 1 then boom, the horn blast and the big splash. My swim line was a little crowded for the first minute, but then a path cleared and I was on my way. Steady swim, no hyperventilating, easy sighting .. three turns, and I was in. I should have taken off my wetsuit right at the water, because by the time I got to my bike, the legs had stuck like glue to my calves.. I had a longer transition than I wanted, but soon enough, I was off on the bike. A climb out of the campgrounds, a fast ride through town and then the climb over Northwoods Road, back to the transition area. My ride was fast, just under 30 minutes.. which I felt was a good time. And then... the run.. or hike as it turned out.. How could 2.25 miles feel so long??? Because of the altitude, the hills and the dirt. I finally gave in to hunger and had an Espresso Hammer Gel at about 1.5 miles in.. it helped get me to the finish as #8 woman overall.. and #1 in my age group! 1:03:19.
This race is one of the best there is -- very well supported, great spirit, great volunteers, great raffle prizes and age - group prizes - professionally announced by Whit Raymond -- one of the best - and run by an extraordinary Race Director -- Alana Levin.
Put this race on your calendar, and if you are feeling strong and brave, sign up for the Olympic Distance....
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Alcatraz Crossing July 4, 2010
7:15am jump from the east side of the island. Pedro's Happy Fourth of July swim. I don't know how many people there were.. maybe 25? Maybe more. I missed all of the pre-swim briefings because I came too late to find a legal place to park. I ended up parking at the Ghiradelli Garage.. kind of pricey, but I didn't get a ticket.
So, we all piled into the Dauntless, headed out to Alcatraz.. jumped in and swam towards the Jeremiah O'Brien.. the Tide was ebbing pretty darned well by the time we got across. Less thatn 24 minutes to the Break water, then a nice ride into Aquatic Park. a little hang time at the entrance treading water, then we all swam towards the beach. 32 minutes all together... very fun, very fast Fourth of July swim!
So, we all piled into the Dauntless, headed out to Alcatraz.. jumped in and swam towards the Jeremiah O'Brien.. the Tide was ebbing pretty darned well by the time we got across. Less thatn 24 minutes to the Break water, then a nice ride into Aquatic Park. a little hang time at the entrance treading water, then we all swam towards the beach. 32 minutes all together... very fun, very fast Fourth of July swim!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Escape From The Rock - Alcatraz Triathlon June 20, 2010
I called this the "kind to delicate knees" course ---a swim, a run, a bike ride, then another short run - this morning.. jury is out right now, post race. The Escape from the Rock began with a longish walk to the ferry from Aquatic Park. The swim to run #1 transistion area was the grassy hillside just up from the beach at Aquatic Park. I arrived there a little before 6:00am, which left plenty of time to set up my things, visit the porta-loos and generally have stress free pre-race set up. We arrived at the ferry and waited to board. For some reason I decided to put on sun screen while we were standing around -- I hate sunscreen, but I do use it for triathlons. I promptly put a big blog of Kinesys SPF 30 in my left eye -- my contact lens didn't like sharing the space with the sunscreen.. battle was fought, contact lens won after I found a sink with running water on the ferry.
The trip out to Alcatraz was short, a beautiful morning, I knew that there would be an ebb at the end of our swim, so I thought that heading to Jeremiah O'brien would probably be the safest route...even if I overshot to the left, I could ride the ebb into Aquatic Park. That was a good thought, that was a good idea.. but I didn't actually follow my first thought. After a 7:40(ish) jump and a short wait for the starting horn, I followed the lead boat with the orange balloons, and had I been closer to the boat, everything would have been fine.. as it was... as I approached the opening to the Park, I found myself in a strong ebb tide, hopelessly caught in a swift move to the right of the opening... I couldn't believe it... after all of the crossings I've done with small groups through Water World Swim.. I should have known better!
In any case, I swam like hell to the east, of course, got nowhere and then decided to try a method I had used several years ago in another Alcatraz Triathon. I swam to the pier pilings and had planed to pull myself between pilings and eventually pull myself around into the park. The tide was too strong. I couldn't get to the adjacent piling.. so... I climbed over the middle cement structure and jumped in to the relative calm of Aquatic Park. The swim to the beach and finish chute was another few minutes.. but I was tired! Ready to get out of the wetsuit and on to run number one.
My transition was very slow, the wetsuit got stuck on both wrists.... I took off one are with my teeth.. I couldn't get my shoes on and I generally was clumsy and fumbling, but eventually got going on the first run. It was gorgeous, mostly flat (except for the hill to Fort Mason and the hill under the Golden Gate Bridge), felt great and I had no knee pain what so ever!
Bike ride was hilly.. did I say hilly? The first of four loops was the hardest.. My legs protested in a big way, but the second loop was easier, as was the third and fourth. Hammer Gel and Heed got me through the 13 mile ride. Okay.. on to the second run which included the Sand Ladder.. ouch! I was fine until about 10 minutes in to the run.. when my right calve started to cramp. I ran in the sand, drank a little water at the turn around, ran back through the sand and then walked up the ladder.. there was no other option. I walked after the ladder too - until the trail flattened out a little bit, then ran (limped) in to the finish. A great race, fun, weather great and a great field of triathletes and volunteers and Envirosports staff.
The trip out to Alcatraz was short, a beautiful morning, I knew that there would be an ebb at the end of our swim, so I thought that heading to Jeremiah O'brien would probably be the safest route...even if I overshot to the left, I could ride the ebb into Aquatic Park. That was a good thought, that was a good idea.. but I didn't actually follow my first thought. After a 7:40(ish) jump and a short wait for the starting horn, I followed the lead boat with the orange balloons, and had I been closer to the boat, everything would have been fine.. as it was... as I approached the opening to the Park, I found myself in a strong ebb tide, hopelessly caught in a swift move to the right of the opening... I couldn't believe it... after all of the crossings I've done with small groups through Water World Swim.. I should have known better!
In any case, I swam like hell to the east, of course, got nowhere and then decided to try a method I had used several years ago in another Alcatraz Triathon. I swam to the pier pilings and had planed to pull myself between pilings and eventually pull myself around into the park. The tide was too strong. I couldn't get to the adjacent piling.. so... I climbed over the middle cement structure and jumped in to the relative calm of Aquatic Park. The swim to the beach and finish chute was another few minutes.. but I was tired! Ready to get out of the wetsuit and on to run number one.
My transition was very slow, the wetsuit got stuck on both wrists.... I took off one are with my teeth.. I couldn't get my shoes on and I generally was clumsy and fumbling, but eventually got going on the first run. It was gorgeous, mostly flat (except for the hill to Fort Mason and the hill under the Golden Gate Bridge), felt great and I had no knee pain what so ever!
Bike ride was hilly.. did I say hilly? The first of four loops was the hardest.. My legs protested in a big way, but the second loop was easier, as was the third and fourth. Hammer Gel and Heed got me through the 13 mile ride. Okay.. on to the second run which included the Sand Ladder.. ouch! I was fine until about 10 minutes in to the run.. when my right calve started to cramp. I ran in the sand, drank a little water at the turn around, ran back through the sand and then walked up the ladder.. there was no other option. I walked after the ladder too - until the trail flattened out a little bit, then ran (limped) in to the finish. A great race, fun, weather great and a great field of triathletes and volunteers and Envirosports staff.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Showdown at Sundown April 17, 2010
First Triathlon of the season. Race began at 4:00pm. I was in the second wave with a 4:10pm start. The water was in the high 50 degrees F -- or maybe very low 60s.... sleeveless wetsuit and two caps were very comfortable for the very short 5 buoy swim. I came out of the water #3 in our wave of all women aged 35+. A short run up carpeted beach to a grassy area was the perfect place to take off the wetsuit. I used some Pam on my ankles and calves, but this particular wetsuit always seems to get stuck to my ankles... I always think of Michele Jones.. I watched her take of her wetsuit after an Alcatraz swim one year with one smooth action -- it came off with seconds. I don't know how she did it or does it. I drank about 8 - 12 ounces of Melon Heed in the 2 hours prior to the race. Took 3 endurolytes and 2 Race Caps at 3:15pm -- about an hour prior to the race start.
The 9 mile bike ride began with a steep 350+ yard run up out of the park -- definitely an aerobic event. I used my running shoes with Pyro Platforms.. I know there must be a newer technology -- but my old Pyros still work really well. Bike ride was a quick out and back through China Camp -- along the water. We had a little tail wind on the way back which made the bike ride pretty fast. I drank Heed through out the bike ride -- just 1/2 a bottle or so. I had a Huckleberry Hammer Gel with me, I took it out of my singlet back pocket at about mile 8 -- as I thought it might help me on the run, but I caught it on the edge of the pocket and dropped it on the road.. Pity.. I haven't tried the Huckleberry HG yet..... we had to dismount at the top of the hill after the bike ride, I stepped out of the platforms and ran down the steep hill to transition.
A ran right passed my spot, but was in the correct row, so didn't lose too much time racking my bike and grabbing my run number. The run went surprisingly well, a short aerobic or possibly an-aerobic climb out of the park to a flat out and back on North San Pedro Road. After the one water station, a man running back said to me, " You're number 9, go catch them..." After which, I was promptly passed by another woman.. then two more before the end. Considering that I haven't been running much at all for the past few months, and not at all for most of 2009, I felt great on this race!
The Vineman folks are pros and this race was no exception to a well organized, safe and fun event!
.25 mile S | 9 mile B | 3 mi R 1:09:31
#1 - (55-59) Not hard to pull off, as I was the only one in my age group...
#22/172 Woman
#123/445 Overall
Great prize -- Highway 12 Merlot in a custom wooden box!
The 9 mile bike ride began with a steep 350+ yard run up out of the park -- definitely an aerobic event. I used my running shoes with Pyro Platforms.. I know there must be a newer technology -- but my old Pyros still work really well. Bike ride was a quick out and back through China Camp -- along the water. We had a little tail wind on the way back which made the bike ride pretty fast. I drank Heed through out the bike ride -- just 1/2 a bottle or so. I had a Huckleberry Hammer Gel with me, I took it out of my singlet back pocket at about mile 8 -- as I thought it might help me on the run, but I caught it on the edge of the pocket and dropped it on the road.. Pity.. I haven't tried the Huckleberry HG yet..... we had to dismount at the top of the hill after the bike ride, I stepped out of the platforms and ran down the steep hill to transition.
A ran right passed my spot, but was in the correct row, so didn't lose too much time racking my bike and grabbing my run number. The run went surprisingly well, a short aerobic or possibly an-aerobic climb out of the park to a flat out and back on North San Pedro Road. After the one water station, a man running back said to me, " You're number 9, go catch them..." After which, I was promptly passed by another woman.. then two more before the end. Considering that I haven't been running much at all for the past few months, and not at all for most of 2009, I felt great on this race!
The Vineman folks are pros and this race was no exception to a well organized, safe and fun event!
.25 mile S | 9 mile B | 3 mi R 1:09:31
#1 - (55-59) Not hard to pull off, as I was the only one in my age group...
#22/172 Woman
#123/445 Overall
Great prize -- Highway 12 Merlot in a custom wooden box!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Alcatraz Crossing | San Francisco Bay February 20, 2010
We gathered at the foot of Hyde Street at about 7:00am today.
After fooling around with parking..... and finally finding a 4 hour spot, I went down the docks to the Dauntless with Pedro and company and 8 swimmers. The plan was to jump off the boat near Alcatraz and swim to St Francis Yacht Club. The same destination as the Escape From Alcatraz. The Tides were ebbing -- the start of a 3.5 knot ebb at the mouth of the bay was at about 5:00am, so we jumped into a pretty swift current. The water felt COLD.. I immediately knew that I should have worn three caps - two regular latex caps with my Barracuda Hot Head in between... at least I remembered ear plugs and I was wearing a new pair of goggles, so sighting would most likely be easy.
I jumped in second and started swimming after the person who jumped first.. I soon lost sight of him.. but the blue zodiac support boat was on my left.. I wanted to keep it that way. I headed towards the Fontana towers at Aquatic Park.
After about 20 minutes, the towers and Aquatic Park were to my left.. so I shot for Fort Mason. I stopped to look for my fellow swimmers several times, but really couldn't see anyone else -- just a few fleeting glimpses over the waves.. Did I mention, the water was choppy??? Very choppy and very cold. As I got closer to the shore, I was also closer to the St Francis -- but I was so cold that I wanted to just get out at the first little beach at the end of the breakwater by the Wave Organ .. (Coughlin Beach???) -- so I started to head there. I was almost to the shore when the Dauntless came by and motioned for me to head to St Francis.. I thought.. dang.. I'm really cold, but it's an ebb, so maybe I can just glide there... Not the case.. I was too close to the shore and rocks to catch the ebb, I was in an eddy not really moving much at all. But the good news, was... the water was shallow.. I stood up and thought I'd just walk over to the Yacht Club.. But the Dauntless came back - motioned for me to come out to the boat.. so that's what I did.
Right after getting on the boat.. I realized that I was actually very very cold. Luckily there were extra blankets and coats -- still I couldn't stop shivering.. I couldn't stop thinking about Lynn Cox swimming in below 40 degree water with just skin... and here I was in 55 degree water, 2 caps and a full wetsuit shaking and chattering....what a whimp! I finally went below, where there was some heat.. and felt.. much .. much better...
Lesson here -- bring warm clothes on the boat for after the swim... and wear 3 caps in the winter.
All in all, it was a great morning adventure and I think everyone had a blast! Thanks to Waterworld Swim and The Dauntless and Hammernutrition (4 Race Caps, 4 Premium insurance caps, 2 Mito caps, 1 Super AO, 1 Tissue Rejuvenator and 1 Zobaline with breakfast before the swim).
After fooling around with parking..... and finally finding a 4 hour spot, I went down the docks to the Dauntless with Pedro and company and 8 swimmers. The plan was to jump off the boat near Alcatraz and swim to St Francis Yacht Club. The same destination as the Escape From Alcatraz. The Tides were ebbing -- the start of a 3.5 knot ebb at the mouth of the bay was at about 5:00am, so we jumped into a pretty swift current. The water felt COLD.. I immediately knew that I should have worn three caps - two regular latex caps with my Barracuda Hot Head in between... at least I remembered ear plugs and I was wearing a new pair of goggles, so sighting would most likely be easy.
I jumped in second and started swimming after the person who jumped first.. I soon lost sight of him.. but the blue zodiac support boat was on my left.. I wanted to keep it that way. I headed towards the Fontana towers at Aquatic Park.
After about 20 minutes, the towers and Aquatic Park were to my left.. so I shot for Fort Mason. I stopped to look for my fellow swimmers several times, but really couldn't see anyone else -- just a few fleeting glimpses over the waves.. Did I mention, the water was choppy??? Very choppy and very cold. As I got closer to the shore, I was also closer to the St Francis -- but I was so cold that I wanted to just get out at the first little beach at the end of the breakwater by the Wave Organ .. (Coughlin Beach???) -- so I started to head there. I was almost to the shore when the Dauntless came by and motioned for me to head to St Francis.. I thought.. dang.. I'm really cold, but it's an ebb, so maybe I can just glide there... Not the case.. I was too close to the shore and rocks to catch the ebb, I was in an eddy not really moving much at all. But the good news, was... the water was shallow.. I stood up and thought I'd just walk over to the Yacht Club.. But the Dauntless came back - motioned for me to come out to the boat.. so that's what I did.
Right after getting on the boat.. I realized that I was actually very very cold. Luckily there were extra blankets and coats -- still I couldn't stop shivering.. I couldn't stop thinking about Lynn Cox swimming in below 40 degree water with just skin... and here I was in 55 degree water, 2 caps and a full wetsuit shaking and chattering....what a whimp! I finally went below, where there was some heat.. and felt.. much .. much better...
Lesson here -- bring warm clothes on the boat for after the swim... and wear 3 caps in the winter.
All in all, it was a great morning adventure and I think everyone had a blast! Thanks to Waterworld Swim and The Dauntless and Hammernutrition (4 Race Caps, 4 Premium insurance caps, 2 Mito caps, 1 Super AO, 1 Tissue Rejuvenator and 1 Zobaline with breakfast before the swim).
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