A weekend at the Races

This weekend was the illustrious Solana Beach Triathlon. Since my legs needed a reminder that it IS possible to move faster than an ironman shuffle, and because it was within 5 miles of my house, I decided to jump in. Nothing better than having a few (1,500 or so) good training partners for a speed workout. All in all, it was a good day, err 53 minutes, that is. . .my cool down run was actually longer, but it was fun nonetheless. Kate Major smoked it, and I held on for 2nd overall female.


There was a little extra excitement for the swim race morning, as the biggest swell of the summer had arrived just in time. Not long ago, the sight of these waves would have terrified me, but a few weeks of ocean swims with the surf livesavers over in Oz last year recentered my classification system for waves. Other than a face full of whitewash after one poorly timed dolphin dive on the way out, the swim seemed to go not half bad. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I was down just 30 seconds as I ran up the ramp.

I wouldn't say I was exactly fresh and tapered for this, but the bike and the run actually felt great. I managed to hold position on the bike--all 9 miles of it, and hopped off hoping I still had legs to run. It was my first taste of speed in quite awhile, so I really had no idea how it was going to feel. As it turned out, the run felt so great that I decided to treat myself to an extra 400m or so. Oops. Lesson learned. Know the course--or, if you are going to follow that guy in front of you, at least make sure he is in the same race and not the duathlon that started 5' before you!

Ah, well. A good confidence booster workout, nonetheless.

Races are always a lot of fun, but local races are even better. Loved seeing so many of my friends and training partners out there. It was especially exciting to see some friends tackle their first triathlon. Special shout out to my friend Jeff, who had an awesome race and is gonna be a poppa in just a few short weeks.
Way to go, Jefe.

Here's a pic from the other race of the weekend, the horse races at the Del Mar racetrack. As previously mentioned, this type of race is nice because it's far less strenuous. A nice way to relax on a sunny summer afternoon.



A full day of training ahead before leaving for Michigan tomorrow. Have a happy Tuesday!