I did the Santa Cruz Sentinel Olympic distance triathlon today… it was a freakin gorgeous day and a great race. The surf and swells were up a bit but other than that stellar weather. Oh yeah, and it was my first triathlon! Woo!
Well, there were a couple problems with the race organization, namely that the run distance was about a half mile longer (more on that later) than in should have been and the timing mat leaving T1 didn’t work for a lot of competitors (including me). Both of which, if you were racing for a course PR or a stickler for the numbers, would have been pretty annoying. Still a good race though!. So here’s my race report, for what its worth.
Prerace: I racked my bike in the transition area right near the swim entrance, transition area was a giant hotel parking lot with plenty of elbow room. I managed to have both lost my helmet number and have picked up the wrong color swim cap during registration the day before, so most of my pre-race time was spent standing around at the “troubleshooting� table watching the sun rise over the Pacific.
Swim: It’s a hike down a steep one-block-long hill, over the municipal wharf, and across the beach to the start of the swim, which goes around the wharf and ends up back at the base of the hill. My age group was in the last wave of swimmers so there was plenty of time to watch everyone dealing with 3-5 foot breakers. I ducked the breakers with no problem and the first half of the swim was no big deal. The sea lions under the wharf were super talkative, I think they were laughing at our rotten human swimming techniques. After the second buoy cornering around the end of the wharf the water conditions changed somewhat. There was some current pulling you into the wharf, and a definite increase in the height of the swells. You could also smell the wharf’s seafood joints frying calimari and garlic in prep for the lunch rush which is a nasty smell at 9 am while you’re swimming. Gross I managed a good bodysurf in for the last ten feet and swim was over.
T1: No problems, though the run up to the transition area was tiring. Took my wetsuit off just past the timing mat at the bottom of the hill, which I think made the run up way easier.
Bike: The city streets were ok, but with rough spots and a really awful railroad track crossing. Early on I heard a spectator say, “hey, that girl’s bleeding!� and looked down to see a giant gash on my leg apparently from hitting my pedal during transition. It didn’t hurt but bled pretty much the entire rest of the race into both my bike shoe and my running shoe. Looked gnarly! The ride opened up into a lovely gently rolling course up the Pacific Coast Highway to a little village north of town. I passed loads of people on the bike, which is my strong suit by far. Practically every uphill section I passed at least one or two people which was a nice feeling after my sorta slow swim. On the way back there was an extra little detour on some UCSC university land, and the road there was like one giant pothole. Seriously. Felt like I was back in MTB. Plus there was a lost jeep on a narrow part of the course which was clogging things up driving slowly behind several slower bikers—I made sure to follow USAT regs on drafting when I passed the jeep!
T2: No problems. Coming out of T2 I drank some Gatorade and then almost threw up right in front of a nice family of spectators but held it together.
Somewhat longer than expected Run: Gorgeous seaside run mostly along West Cliff Drive. The turnaround for the run had somehow been sited at least a third of a mile farther than it should have been, adding 2/3 mile to the run distance. The word after the race was that the first few guys had run too far, mistaking cones marking part of the bike course for the run turnaround, and then the race director just decided to keep the longer turnaround so that the people in later waves would run the same race course. I always thought if you made a wrong turn in a run you just had to bite the bullet and accept the extra time, I didn’t know the race director could just change the course to suit your mistake. How does that figure? Anyone?
Most of the race volunteers along the route were high school kids (the race benefited SC kids sports) most of whom were extremely enthusiastic cheering you on, but some were kindof negligent about pointing you in the right direction. They added a fantastic energy to the whole event but also made it a little confusing at a couple spots. You know, like teenagers usually do ;)
After the race I knew I could have turned on the heat lots more in the run and probably in the swim too. I’m getting a tri coach pretty soon so I have high hopes for improvement in the next race. My times, FWIW: swim 37:13, t1 plus bike (timing mat problems) 1:24:27, t2 01:50, run (it was long remember??) 01:10:41, overall 3:13:30
Such a kickass experience for my first of hopefully many triathlons. A great race in a beautiful location, with a wonderful vibe and a great mix of serious and not so serious athletes. Already signed up for my next triathlon—see you at the 70.3 IM California in March…
Emily