Tuesday, November 4, 2014

CATALINA TRIATHLON - November 1, 2014

S - 1/2 mile | Bike - 15K | Run - 5K   1:33:06
1/8 (60-64)


Race Morning Rainbow
The rain was heaviest at about 1:00am, I think that the Halloween Party in town was over by then, but suffice it to say, between the parties in Avalon and the storm.... I didn't get very much sleep.  But the Catalina Triathlon usually starts at 9:00am, so it really wasn't too much of a problem.  I got up at 6:00ish, had all of the usual morning, then re-race things.. hot lemon water, coffee, oatmeal w/banana and apple-cinnamon hammergel, Hammer whey protein and all of the vitamins and supplements. I
took my bike down to rack in the Wave 3 Zone, second from the end, in the sand..  Always remember to bring a plastic bag to put on the sand, especially today, since the sand was wet from the rain.

I went back to the apartment to hang out for almost an hour before the race started.  The race started on time.. 9:08am, all men and women over 50 started together.  It was chaotic.....  I started out to the left of the pier, in line of sight to the turn buoys.  At the first turn buoy, a woman knocked my goggles right off my face - should have put them on under my cap.  It wasn't a disaster though, I managed to grab them and get them back on, no contact lense troubles, I kept going.  I hugged the pier on the return and came out First Greem ca woman (1st woman over 50).  I sat down on the steps, took off my wetsuit and went over the timing mat..  I had trouble getting the wetsuit off of my feet, so I lost a little time there.


The run over to my bike was quick, I grabbed my towel, shoes and socks and sat on the concrete bench to put them on.  Grabbed the helmet, bike, glasses and a Hammerbar and ran out to the bike mounting zone.  The road was still wet, so I took it easy on the downhills and went as fast as I could on the ascents.  Using the toe clips and running shoes made the climbing harder, but I think I saved time in the long run.

Helen Briglio passed me on the last (third) loop of the bike section.  We weren't far from the top of the hill, but I couldn't catch her and just began to settle into my own pace, my own race.


As it turned out, I wasn't far behind Helen, and came into transition right after her.. Because I didn't have to change shoes, I was able to get out on the run before her.  Helen is a much faster runner than I, so I fully expected to be passed, sooner than later.  But.. I kept running as fast as I could, walked a little bit on one of the hills, but kept running and running.. when I turned down Crescent Ave and saw the finish line, I thought.. she's got to be right behind me... keep running, keep running... then boom!  I finished victoriously!  Helen was just 30 seconds behind, and #3 (60-64) came in 5 minutes later.. Narrow margins!










Swim exit - water was about 69 degrees, so comfortable!