CATALINA TRIATHLON NOV 5, 2011

1/2 mile Swim | 15k Bike | 5k Run - 1:17:14
#1/7 55-59 | #15/98 F overall | #71/237 Overall

Fantastic Race! The Catalina Triathlon is a perfect end of season race. The feeling is more of a fun party than heavy competition. The water is warm, (to someone from San Francisco), and is so incredibly clear - it's always a pleasure to look down at the giant golden Garibaldi, and sandy bottom of Avalon Bay.

It was the usual routine.. up by 6:00am - coffee, Hammer products (premium insurance caps, race caps supreme, mito caps, super antioxidant, zobaline, endurolytes), other vitamins, oatmeal with banana and apple-cinnamon Hammer gel by about 7:00am.  Left to coast down to the race by 7:25am.  The thing that's great about Avalon is that everything is close.  The hotel was 3 blocks away from the race start.

I arrived to find most of the bike racks for my wave (#4), full already.  I found a spot and racked my bike, and set up my transition stuff on a towel in the sand.  I decided to use Pyro platforms instead of bike shoes this year, so that I could run to the bike mounting spot in my running shoes vs  bike shoes.. it turned out to be a good call.. except for one small snafu.....

The air was very cold, so I wore every article of clothing that I had in my bag while waiting for the race to start.  The water was much warmer than the air (63 degrees), but I was so cold that I decided to wear my full Xterra wetsuit instead of the sleeveless Xterra.  It wasn't really necessary, but it made standing around waiting for the start a lot more pleasant than it could have been.  Full suit, one cap = very toasty for the 10 minute swim... yes, I think the swim course was a little short..... it's such nice, clear water -- no problems sighting, only one big head bonk from another swimmer's stroke and boom.. I was at the beach running up to transition.

I sat down on one of the concrete benches, took off my wetsuit and ran to my bike.  Grabbed my helmet, sunglasses, running shoes, socks, towel and my bike, and went over to a concrete bench to sit down and put on my shoes.... someone had left a bucket of water out.. I used it and said "THANK YOU" to who ever it was to have to foresight to do that.. this is generally a very sandy race.

I ran to the bike mount and hopped on and tried to velcro my shoes into the platforms.... the left foot worked, but the right one had been twisted on the run out.... I did the best I could to keep my foot in on the first of three loops up to the Botanical Gardens.  On the way down, the heel end of my right platform caught my derailleur cable... it didn't seem too bad.. I was going down hill, in the big ring in the front and the little ring in the back.  I went to shift to a bigger back ring for the second loop up the hill and ...... uh.. oh...... my shifter didn't work... I was stuck in the small ring........  : (

After getting into the steeper part of the climb.. I thought... hmmmm.. should I get off the bike and try to fix it, or tough it out?  I pulled on my now slack derailleur cable to try to shift it.. but it didn't budge.  I toughed it out and went flying down the hill after the turn around.  I wasn't looking forward to a second climb in my small gear.. but that's what I did.. and I was REALLY ready to get off the bike.  Luckily the run started out on the flat, the hills didn't kick in until 1/2 way through the course.  Last year's run was made up of two loops, this year was just one.. one loop is LOTS better!

I managed to win my age group, which really surprised me.... a pleasant surprise, I might add!

Santa Cruz Triathlon September 25, 2011

Olympic Distance
S - 1.5k | B - 40k | R - 10k 2:50:47 - #2 (55-59)

Up at 5:15am. Coffee, vitamins (hammer products - race caps, endurolytes, premium insurance caps, mito caps, super antioxidant, zobaline), oatmeal, banana, hammergel and protein powder by 6:00am. Left for race on my bike in the dark at 6:15am. It was a 10 minute ride down to Depot Park from my friends' house.
Checked into race in the dark - no line, thankfully an easy process.. I racked next to the Bike IN/Run OUT. The logistics had changed for this race since the transition area is now at Depot Park versus The Dream Inn parking lot. It seemed to be a reasonable place to rack, fairly close to Swim IN, and not too far from the Bike/OUT. I hung around the transition area until about 7:45, then headed down to the beach. I put on my full Xterra wetsuit at the last possible minute, walked down the beach in the water and went into the crowd of people waiting for our wave starts.

The good thing about starting in later waves is that one can watch the current and swells.. there didn't seem to be much of a problem with either. It was a cool, calm morning sea, minimal waves - unlike other years at this race!

Finally, after waiting in the shute, the starting blast went off and we took off running from the beach into the surf.. did I say minimal surf? I guess it wasn't *that* small, my goggles were knocked off by a wave... but it wasn't a disaster. I put them back on and kept making my way out to the pier.. next time, put the goggles under the cap!

There were no buoys at the end of the pier where the course takes a turn into the beach.. so everyone got really, really close to the pier and all of the sea lions.. it was eerie to be so close to the giant barking beasts... I didn't like it much but I had to stay in line with the majority of the swimmers if I wanted to get out of the water in good time.

The tide was coming in, so the finish seemed to get further and further away with more water coming up onto the beach.. it was amusing. I got to the dangling carrot of the beach, ran up to the strand and sat on my usual spot (the cement wall) and took off my wetsuit and ran like heck to the transition.

I had put my bike shoes on my bike so that I didn't have to run the long way out of transition and up the hill to the mounting spot on my bike cleats... I thought that I might break a cleat if I did. I ended up carrying my bike part of the way, but it seemed to work out okay.

My bike ride was fine, I passed lots of people and was passed by a woman with 55 written on her leg at about 18 minutes into the ride. I passed her a few minutes later, then she poured it on, passed me and I never saw her again. And thank goodness, no mechanical issues or car issues on the bike, just a good fast ride.

The run.... I really should have run 6 or 7 miles at least once or twice prior to this race. I simply cannot run the distances that I did in the past.. my knee and hip won't allow it.. SO.. the run was tough. I managed to keep a 9:10 per mile pace.. gone are the days of sub 8 minute miles.. I'm sad to say. At the second water stop, the volunteers had run out of water... uh oh.. I really needed some water. I managed to get to the end of the race and ended up taking 2nd in my age group. So happy to say. Prizes were great, I went home with a nice bottle of wine!

MALIBU NAUTICA TRIATHLON SEPT 18, 2011

1/2 mile Swim | 18 mile Bike | 4 Mile Run 1:53:08 #1 (55-59)

Another FUN Malibu Race at Zuma Beach! I stayed at a GREAT airbnb.com rental close to Zuma Beach. It was another ride in the dark to the race start at 5:45am... I used my headlamp and a big red flasher on my backpack to get there. The only hairy part was crossing Pacific Coast Hwy.. but most of the cars on the road were going to the triathlon. The first thousand people who got to the pay parking lots were met with a nice surprise.. one of the sponsors had picked up the $5.00 per car tab! Wow.. way to go LONGO, Toyota, Scion and Lexus!

I got myself and my bike into the transition area and racked my bike, all rows were marked with numbers, my row was only 5 back from Bike Out -- great placement - as it meant that I could put on my bike shoes and run out on the carpet after the swim. It did make for a long run from the Bike In to my transition spot.. but that isn't such a problem because I normally leave my shoes on the pedals and run in to transition in socks.

Our wave was last.. we started at about 8:25 or so. The race started late because there had been an accident on PCH at the other end of Malibu near the Getty Villa. Two young men in a Ferrari.. it was fatal for one of them, the road was closed for hours. People driving up PCH were re-routed to the 405 Fwy. Horrible!

Back to the race - the swim was an easy out, right turn, three bouys, another right turn in to show.. shore break was small, so there were no issues getting out from or into shore. I think that I was the second light pink cap.. all women over 45 years old. I wore my sleeveless Xterra with two caps.. I was very comfortable in the 65 degree water. After running up the beach and through the showers, I sat down on a conveniently located chair and took off my wetsuit and ran up the 40 or so rows to row #5. All the other bikes were still there.. I made quick transition and headed out on the bike course.

There was what looked like a nasty accident by one of the speed bumps heading in/out from the Zuma Beach parking lots.. the speed bumps are slippery and treacherous.. the person on the ground didn't look good, I felt badly for him.

My ride was great, one lane of the highway was blocked off for riders.. it's a rolling course, up and down PCH. I'm always relieved to get to the end of the bike part of any race --- no mechanical issues... no accidents.. just a great fast ride. Another quick change to running shoes, grabbed my run number and headed out on the flat out and back run along the Strand. The run felt pretty good, I managed to pass a couple of people and came in strong.. I was ready for the finish! By that time the sun had come out, so I went out and stood in the ocean for quite a while.. it felt great.

The awards were going on as I finished.. Jay Leno announcing the celebrity results.. kind of fun. The age group awards started early.. I don't think our results had even been posted yet. I was announced as winning second in my age group.. but there had been a mistake. Virginia Tinley was announced as winner, but she didn't do the whole race.. just the ride and run.. She came over after we got off of the podiums and apologized profusely.. we both went over to the timing tent to fix the problem.. but it was unfortunate because the person who was fifth didn't get to come up to the stage to be recognized for her achievement and there was no one standing on the #1 spot on the podium. Oh well!

All of the Age Group winners were invited to a Beach House barbeque hosted by Paul Mitchell and K-Swiss.. it was fun and delicious! A great prize!

NCOCA - Tony Gora Memorial Races - Santa Cruz August 20, 2011

#2 Women's Masters 9 mile race 1:29:24

Less than a minute behind the winning team.. I SO thought we could catch them.... we were close!

NCOCA - Round The Rock Alcatraz Challenge August 6, 2011

Tamalpais Canoe Club Novice Women -- GOLD! #1/4 Teams 29:45 - 4 miles (3 turns).

A very fun and fast 4 mile course for the Novice paddlers. Up and down Crissy Field. I got up early to ride my bike over the Golden Gate Bridge to Crissy Field. The usual pre-race food and supplements served me well. Oatmeal, banana, Hammergel. Protein powder and all of the vitamins and supplements (Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Super Antioxidant, Mito Caps, Zobaline, Tissue Rejuvenator). The race was short and sweet.

Nice to hang out at the beach for another Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association event. And, I was glad to have my trusty mountain bike there to ride home after the event!

Tiburon Triathlon July 31, 2011

1:02:26
.5 mile swim - 12:00
9 mile bike - 29:43
2 mile run - 16:01

#3 woman overall
1/10 (50-59)

Fun in the fog and cold water!

Alcatraz Crossing with Waterworld Swim July 22, 2011

A swim for fun - 49 minutes


It was an early morning.. up at 4:45am to be sure that I had time to park and get to the foot of Hyde pier by 6:30am. Not a problem at all as it turned out. I woke up with a calf cramp, so I had a Hammer electrolyte fizz at about 5:00am. Then, I had a cup of coffee, an English Muffin and part of a banana + protein drink.. all the vitamins and Hammer supplements and was pretty much out the door and on my way to Aquatic Park by 5:45am. It was a speedy trip over the bridge and down Lombard with no traffic.. I hit a few red lights, but still arrived at Aquatic Park in plenty of time. Our jump was scheduled for 7:00am.. the tide book said that it was still a 1.7 knot flood at that point.. but it sure didn't feel like it. I think we jumped at about 7:05am.

There were three of us swimming together, as much as possible. We headed towards the Jeremiah O'Brien for most of the swim, and as it turned out, we should have headed to the ship for all of the swim. The 1.5 knot Ebb Tide kicked in early... once again, the Tides didn't get the memo from the Tide Book..... As we approached the 500 ft opening of Aquatic Park.. I felt that sinking feeling of missing the opening. There's no fighting the tide in the SF Bay. The choices are.. fight it, swim like crazy an try to get around the pier.. been there.. done that.. didn't feel like doing it again at that moment. Or, swim to the pier and climb over the slimy structure and jump into the relatively calm water on Aquatic Park... been there, done that.. didn't want to cut my foot or hand on the barnacles on the pier posts. OR drift around to the beach on the other side of the pier... never done that, but my hands were getting cold. OR.. catch a ride into the opening on the raft and skidoo that was just heading by me.. I put of my hand.. the driver came over and said.. "The opening's right there!!!" I said, " I can't get there".. and he came over, I hopped on for a fun and quick ride through the opening.. I got off and swam in to the beach where some folks who were visiting from Michigan stood talking about the swim they had just finished. It was their first time across, they are all strong swimmers.. the conditions were pretty choppy and kind of rough - they did a fantastic job getting across!

Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon July 10 2011

S - .5k - 9:15 | B - 20k - 35:54 | R - 5k - 27:03 Total 1:15:54 #2(55-59)

BASS LAKE TRIATHLON JUNE 4, 2011

Sprint Course #3/35 F overall | #20/97 overall
S - 12.31 | B - 45:43 | R - 26:29 (T1 - 1:36 | T2 - 0:54) - 1:27:16

Forecast: rain.. uh oh..... I found a great house rental on the lake, about 1.5 miles from the race start, so I had planned to ride my bike to and from the start. I got up at about 5am.. had my usual pre-race coffee, oatmeal - banana - hammergel, vitamins, etc. and was ready to head to the start by about 6:10am. It wasn't raining yet.. so I just set out on my bike as planned. It was a zippy ride.. I got to the transition area by 6:20 and racked my bike near the bike In/Out. I brought along a couple of extra large plastic bags.. which came in handy to cover up my bike and run shoes, helmet, and bag of dry clothes .. because it did end up raining.

The Race started on time with the Sprint Men first, then Women and relays 2 minutes later. Because the Lake was so unusually cold ( about 62 degrees), the Olympic distance swim was cut short by about 500 yards or so. The water WAS COLD! I wore 2 regular swim caps with my Long sleeve Xterra wet suit and was warm and toasty for the 12 minute swim.

The run up from the lake to the transition area included a little beach, some stairs, a ramp, more stairs and then a driveway. I took off my wetsuit at the top of the first stairs where a conveniently located plastic white chair sat empty.. ready for me to sit down and strip off the wetsuit.

I ran up to my bike, grabbed my helmet, glasses, shoes and headed out on the course. It was cold, but I thought I would be okay without a jacket or extra jersey. As it turned out, I was okay.. just a little chilled. I passed a 29 year old man right away... as I passed.. I did the math.. I could be his mother! I felt kind of badly for him.. but he bucked up and passed the old lady a little later..

The rain drops were definitely getting larger during the ride.. I really wanted to get off the road before the real rain began and I was glad not to be doing the Olympic Distance race. The Sprint ride was a simple out and back course with the turn around about 6 miles, the Olympic racers continued on around Bass Lake.

It was a quick trip back to transition - off with the helmet and bike shoes.. on with the running shoes and number belt and on to the 5k loop course. I left transition with another 29 year old man, we ran together for a mile and a half or so and then he dropped me. I think we were both glad. The run course has a few hills, but it was over quickly as well. I was glad to see the familiar buildings as I got closer to town and very glad to see the finish line!

I managed to pull off a third place overall in the women's field! Yahoo!

The awards ceremony was held in the evening with a BBQue and band.. kind of retro and kind of fun. Some of the legends of the 1980's triathlon world were there at the race and awards... the 75-59 male winner was very inspiring. I wish Tucson Racing the best of luck in resurrecting this fun and challenging event!

Auburn SPRINT Triathlon May 22, 2011

S - 1000m | B - 30k | R - 7k 2:17:52
#1/5 (55-59) | #14/67 F overall | #53/153 overall

Whew! That was a very hard "sprint" race.. but I'm glad that I didn't sign up for the 1/2 Iron. I did that once, several years ago... it is a very tough race at any distance. So.. the Comfort Inn in Auburn was great, there were other racers staying there, it was clean, comfortable, had a fridge and coffee maker and was fine for a late check out.

The Auburn Race has two transitions, one from swim to bike near Rattlesnake Bar and bike to run and finish about six miles away.. up the hill. So.. what I have done for the four times that I've done this race is to park at the finish, drop off my run gear at the T2 in the morning, then coast down the hill to the swim start, T1 in the morning. That way, my car is there at the end, there's plenty of parking, and my run shoes haven't been subjected to dew or rain or whatever might come through the transition over night.

I left the hotel at about 5:20 am, parked, dropped off T2 stuff and got on my bike to ride to Rattlesnake by 5:45 or so. I was all set up at T1 by about 6:30 or so. The race started a little late, the 1/2 iron folks started first, then the duathlon, then the Sprint, then the Mini. The sprint actually started by about 7:15 am or so. It was a water start with a mandatory warm up before the race.. the water wasn't too cold, in fact it felt great. It was measured at about 62 degrees on Saturday afternoon. I wore my long sleeve Xterra wetsuit and wore just one regular swim cap.. it was perfect.

The swim did feel long, it was a one loop, we had to navigate through the 1/2 swimmers - they did two loops of the course. After passing the last buoy, it was a direct shot across the lake to the finish. I took off my wetsuit just past the timing mat and made my way down to my bike.

The bike course starts with a long climb, so even though the air was cool, I was quite comfortable with just my wet clothes. I drank Heed and had a few slugs of Hammer Gel and ate a little bit of a Cliff Bar at the beginning of the very hilly ride. It took me over an hour to go the 30k.

I was glad to come back to T2 - to start the run.. well... the run.... I did manage to run most of it, but ending up walking enough to make my average 9:14 minute miles.. not so fast! But I was fast enough to win my age group by over 50 minutes!

During the race, a 54 year old woman passed me on the bike and a few 45 year olds passed me at the end of the run. But I did will enough to be the first woman over 50 to finish!

I used my usual pre race and during race food and vitamins and supplements:

Coffee, Oatmeal w/ banana and apple-cinnamon hammer gel, protein powder w/milk.
Premium Insurance Caps
Race caps supreme
Endurolytes
Tissue Rejuvenator
Super Anti-oxidant
Mito Caps
Xobyline
Cal/Mag
Vit C
Chromium
Heed and Hammer Gel
Black Cohosh
EFA cap

Berkeley Pier V6 Iron Race

May 7 2011
Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association Race hosted by Hui Wa'a


Tamalpais Outrigger Canoe Club - Novice Women #1 of 3 49:42

A fun, wet and windy race to a traveling buoy near the end of the Berkeley Pier and back. Our Team of six lead by Pat Koren paddled together to victory on Saturday AM. Tamalpais Master Men's, Master Women's and Senior Master Women also placed first in their divisions. This has definitely been a very fun way to cross train and get out on the San Francisco Bay. The camaraderie and focus are unsurpassed and it's been incredibly fun! I hope to race more with this group! Pat was out racing again when this photo was taken -- from the left, Shari, me, Claudia, Stacey and Jody. Nice work!

Black Butte Triathlon April 10 2011

.5 mi Swim | 15 mi Bike | 5k Run
1:43:13 #1/3 (55-59) #3/18 Woman overall #18/97 overall

S - 15:37 | B - 54:02 | R - 30:51 T1 - 2:01 | T2 - 0:43

First Tri of the season -- and wow.. was the water COLD! This was definitely an ice - breaker. For much of the morning.. the water was warmer than than the air. So glad that I brought the extra jacket and hat for the hang around time waiting for the race start. We stayed in Orland at the Orland Inn, which was fine, clean and inexpensive. A large room, big firm bed, lots of hot water and great water pressure. The hotel is about 25 minutes away from the race venue, camping would have been okay, but it was pretty darned cold over the weekend! I left the hotel at 6:00am, got to the campgrounds, parked and was in transition by 6:40 or so. I set up my things near the bike out and then went back to the car to keep warm. It was an 8:45 am start, all sprint women started together.

The water was VERY cold, I wore 2 regular swim caps and my Hot Head thermal cap. I ran into a few of the men who had started 3 minutes before us, I was swimming fast to finish the darn thing and get out of the cold! It felt really good to get out of the water!

I ran up the ramp with my wetsuit on, so it took a little longer to get it off in transition. I should have thrown on a bike jersey over my singlet because I was freezing on the bike ride.. oh well.. just go fast and get it over with! There were some head winds on the way back in , but basically the bike ride was fun, fast and fine.

The run was a struggle, I drank H20 twice and came in strong. I passed a man with 50 on his leg near the end - making me the first man or woman over 50 to finish. Sweet!

Award ceremonies were great! I won a bottle of Lucero Olive Oil!

Pre race and during I used:
The usual arsenal of vitamins
Premium Insurance Caps
Mito Caps
Super Antioxidant
Tissue Rejuvenator
Race Caps Supreme
Xobyline

Extra Race Caps Supreme
Endurolytes
Hammer Gel
Heed