The chaos of what has been my 2010 triathlon season finally drew to a close this past Saturday up in Santa Barbara. It is exactly one year ago that I finished Ironman Canada, and I still can’t believe that I ever competed at that distance. This year has been a year marked with chaos, injury, inconsistent training, and an overloaded work schedule. I guess that’s life sometimes.
Santa Barbara is a special place for me. It is the home of college spring break vacations and one of the first places I ever visited in California. I proposed to my wife there on a starry night in 1999 overlooking the city from the pier. The beauty in the city is unmatched as the mountains nestle up to the ocean in a postcard panoramic shot. I love it there.
This is the second time I have raced the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. The 1 mile swim, 34 mile bike, 10 mile run course tests your top end limits through numerous hills, sweeping bends and coastal bliss. I didn’t really have major expectations of performance, but for the first time this year, I actually felt prepared to race.
Standing at the start line, I felt my heart pound as I counted down the seconds. The ocean temperature was unseasonably cold at 58 degrees, and the ocean was a bit choppy and blown out. Not ideal for swimming, but it was what it was. The horn sounded and I ran towards the water with 150 other athletes to take the plunge. I knew the water would be cold, but this was a shock to the body that I was not prepared for. I instantly froze up and started hyperventilating. I started to swing my arms forward in an attempt to swim, but it was so cold I actually got scared for a second that I would not be able to make it.
Hitting the first buoy, I got up the nerve to put my face in the water and start slowing my breath down. Everything had gone numb and my swim started to come into form. I started to feel pretty good, and was in a great rhythm and still with the main pack. I was feeling great until we hit the turn around and started to head back directly into the choppy current. I still maintained my rhythm, but sighting was a chore, and it seemed that the finish banner never got any closer. Regardless, I still felt great and I never let up. Exiting the water and hitting the timing mat I was shocked that the swim had taken me almost 39 minutes. It felt like I had swam much better than that. [Looking at the pro finish times this weekend, I am pretty sure the swim was long. Top pros were doing it in 25 minutes where typical swim times for the pros should have been 18-20.]
My transition went well, and I was happy to be on my bike. My legs felt pretty good, and I was off in a great rhythm powering down the first straight. The bike course is a hilly 34 miles with some good climbs and technical descents. You are never bored, and you always have to be on your game. There was a lot of bike traffic to weave through at the start of my ride which slowed me down quite a bit. I summited the first big climb and was descending at 35 mph when a rider about 400 feet in front of me lost it on a turn and crashed face first into the pavement. He slid into a dirt embankment totally limp and came to a rest face down in the sand with blood everywhere. Several of us slowed and yelled at the medics that were at the top of the hill to assist. One rider turned around and told us to keep going as he would get help. Seeing stuff like this always makes you realize how important it is to maintain focus and control. I said a prayer for the guy and kept riding.
Not more than 5 minutes after seeing the accident, I felt my back tire start to bounce around. Flat. Dang. It was my first ever flat in a race, but I was thankful I had packed my stuff to change it. My fingers were still practically frozen from the swim, and I had a hard time getting the tire levers into the tire to remove the tube. Finally about 6 minutes later I was back on the road. The change should have taken me less than two minutes, but sometimes that is how it goes.
On the ride back to the finish line, just when I thought the ride couldn’t get any more dramatic, I passed a house that was opening up their private driveway and a large brown dog came charging out at me ready to tear me off my bike. I sprinted as hard as I could as this dog viciously growled and bit at my shoes. I was screaming as loud as I could and sprinting my ass off to get away---up hill. It totally took everything out of me before the toughest climb of the ride. I was really lucky I didn’t actually get mauled, but I was totally spent.
Getting back to transition, I had given up on my goal of 3:30:00 due to the long swim and bizarre bike issues.
I was ready to run. My transition was crazy quick and I felt really good on the first mile or so of the run. I decided not to wear a heart rate monitor and just go on feel. The gamble worked, and I did the hilly run in record time. The training the past couple of weeks really helped me push it at this race. My average mile pace for the 10 miles was 7:39 which was really good for me. I met a few new friends along the route, and was so stoked the run went great. It felt good to finish on a high note.
When I add up my tri season if I take legs from each race, it would add up to one good tri! SD International: great swim, Boulder 70.3: decent bike, Santa Barbara: great run. I guess that I’ll take all of the experiences of 2010, and put them together. That’s the beauty of racing.
Until next time….
Santa Barbara is a special place for me. It is the home of college spring break vacations and one of the first places I ever visited in California. I proposed to my wife there on a starry night in 1999 overlooking the city from the pier. The beauty in the city is unmatched as the mountains nestle up to the ocean in a postcard panoramic shot. I love it there.
This is the second time I have raced the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. The 1 mile swim, 34 mile bike, 10 mile run course tests your top end limits through numerous hills, sweeping bends and coastal bliss. I didn’t really have major expectations of performance, but for the first time this year, I actually felt prepared to race.
Standing at the start line, I felt my heart pound as I counted down the seconds. The ocean temperature was unseasonably cold at 58 degrees, and the ocean was a bit choppy and blown out. Not ideal for swimming, but it was what it was. The horn sounded and I ran towards the water with 150 other athletes to take the plunge. I knew the water would be cold, but this was a shock to the body that I was not prepared for. I instantly froze up and started hyperventilating. I started to swing my arms forward in an attempt to swim, but it was so cold I actually got scared for a second that I would not be able to make it.
Hitting the first buoy, I got up the nerve to put my face in the water and start slowing my breath down. Everything had gone numb and my swim started to come into form. I started to feel pretty good, and was in a great rhythm and still with the main pack. I was feeling great until we hit the turn around and started to head back directly into the choppy current. I still maintained my rhythm, but sighting was a chore, and it seemed that the finish banner never got any closer. Regardless, I still felt great and I never let up. Exiting the water and hitting the timing mat I was shocked that the swim had taken me almost 39 minutes. It felt like I had swam much better than that. [Looking at the pro finish times this weekend, I am pretty sure the swim was long. Top pros were doing it in 25 minutes where typical swim times for the pros should have been 18-20.]
My transition went well, and I was happy to be on my bike. My legs felt pretty good, and I was off in a great rhythm powering down the first straight. The bike course is a hilly 34 miles with some good climbs and technical descents. You are never bored, and you always have to be on your game. There was a lot of bike traffic to weave through at the start of my ride which slowed me down quite a bit. I summited the first big climb and was descending at 35 mph when a rider about 400 feet in front of me lost it on a turn and crashed face first into the pavement. He slid into a dirt embankment totally limp and came to a rest face down in the sand with blood everywhere. Several of us slowed and yelled at the medics that were at the top of the hill to assist. One rider turned around and told us to keep going as he would get help. Seeing stuff like this always makes you realize how important it is to maintain focus and control. I said a prayer for the guy and kept riding.
Not more than 5 minutes after seeing the accident, I felt my back tire start to bounce around. Flat. Dang. It was my first ever flat in a race, but I was thankful I had packed my stuff to change it. My fingers were still practically frozen from the swim, and I had a hard time getting the tire levers into the tire to remove the tube. Finally about 6 minutes later I was back on the road. The change should have taken me less than two minutes, but sometimes that is how it goes.
On the ride back to the finish line, just when I thought the ride couldn’t get any more dramatic, I passed a house that was opening up their private driveway and a large brown dog came charging out at me ready to tear me off my bike. I sprinted as hard as I could as this dog viciously growled and bit at my shoes. I was screaming as loud as I could and sprinting my ass off to get away---up hill. It totally took everything out of me before the toughest climb of the ride. I was really lucky I didn’t actually get mauled, but I was totally spent.
Getting back to transition, I had given up on my goal of 3:30:00 due to the long swim and bizarre bike issues.
I was ready to run. My transition was crazy quick and I felt really good on the first mile or so of the run. I decided not to wear a heart rate monitor and just go on feel. The gamble worked, and I did the hilly run in record time. The training the past couple of weeks really helped me push it at this race. My average mile pace for the 10 miles was 7:39 which was really good for me. I met a few new friends along the route, and was so stoked the run went great. It felt good to finish on a high note.
When I add up my tri season if I take legs from each race, it would add up to one good tri! SD International: great swim, Boulder 70.3: decent bike, Santa Barbara: great run. I guess that I’ll take all of the experiences of 2010, and put them together. That’s the beauty of racing.
Until next time….
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