Yesterday in San Francisco was one of those picture perfect post card days. There was no fog in the morning and it was going to be 72 degrees. These days happen in SF a handful of times per year. Score one for Alcatraz! It was so beautiful that I thought
for a split second why'd we move away?!! Jess and I drove up on Saturday afternoon to hit packet pickup, then I was off to get my hair did before picking up pre race mexican food from my faveorite buritto shop in the city. Then we headed over to a friends house to stay the night, thanks Blancos!!
Between Jess and I, we had 4 alarms set ranging from 4AM, to 4:15...We were not going to oversleep, no siree. Can you say type A girls? We were up and at 'em at 4AM, eating, applying temporary tattoos and working our way across the city to the Marina start. Super Jess had scored us parking in the "elite athlete" secion, so we were literally next to transition. That was SO money as if you have ever been to SF that area is notorious for terrible parking and add to that a Sunday pre dawn morning? You were likely to park no where near the race.
We grabbed our stuff, headed over to transition and got set up. I handed off a second pair of racing flats so that after the swim exit, I had shoes to run the 1/2+ mile trainsition to the actual T1. I then got everything else prepped. Food, drink, air in tires, 5 hour energy? All a big CHECK. Now let's get the wetsuit and head over to the shuttle. The shuttle takes you over to pier 3, maybe a mile and a half away from transition to where the boat is waiting for us. it is a big game of HURRY up and wait...some athletes got to the boat site at 4:15, even though the boat doesn't depart until 6:30. We arrived just before the 6:30 departure, with enough time to say hi to David from Muscle Milk. Onto the boat we went, all 2000 of us...on a warm sunny morning, wearing neoprene. Mmmmmmm, tasty.
I was swimming OK, but kept wanting to sight and make sure I was on track and not going to overshoot my arrival and then have to try to swim AGAINST the current. Mission accomplished here, although the ride in was quite bumpy and slower than when I did it in 2008. The pros were also slow yesterday so knowing I wasn't alone was good. I kept getting picked up by a currrent and kind of surfed for a stroke until I could resume swimming again. Breathing to both sides is key to this race. I hit transition in 35:59 for the 1.5 mile swim, and was 13th amateur out of the water..onto the short
Entering T1, there were very few womens bikes on the racks and I saw Brandy, a solid competitor that I love racing with! We were out onto the bikes and played leap frog for a good chunk of the 18 miles. I opted to ride my road bike with my Gray aero wheels due to the technical nature of this course. It is either up or down and has lots of rough roads. I had to get rid of the "bay beard" after the swim and was so thankful for a wrist band that quickly turned slimy green. Even with this attempt, I still wound up with some pics of me and my bay beard. LOVELY! The bike course is very challenging and hopping onto the bike after a hard half mile run to transition makes for a bit of a slooshy tummy. I was able to get down my energy chews and a bottle of Cytomax before hitting T2. I had passed a few gals on the bike, but knew that there were a few more just up ahead. Total bike time was 59:30 and I had the 6th fastes amateur bike. I'd say good call by coach Manning on the road bike front. Now let's see what we have left for the run.
Overall I ended up with a podium finsih of 3rd place in the Age Group and was 7th female amatuer and 4th American. Fun day out with lots of friends equals an amazing race. This really should be on your bucket list for triathlon. Jumping off of a boat and then swimming with the Golden Gate Bridge to your right and the entire city of SF in front of you is pretty hard to beat. Then biking next to the ocean and through Golden Gate Park and running along the beach? Amazing.
Thanks to all of my super supporters out there, I wouldn't be able to do it without you! TYR Sports keeps me fast in the water, Gray Wheels and Argon18 keep me moving onthe bike, the team makes me look good while racing and Cytomax keeps me fueled, pre, during and post race.
Now it's time to rest up and get ready to race another Olympic in two weeks time and then start the prep for Vegas and Kona.
3 comments:
almost got body checked by leanda? awesome. :)
congrats on a stellar race! your pics make it look like it should go on the list!
Yes, it was a good moment! Thanks Katie!!
Sounds like an awesome race! I would be so scared of that water - you are a rockstar!