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!
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