My First "Tri"

Osprey Sprint Triathlon
Snow Hill, MD
Oct 4

Santa Monica Ocean Swim

Workout 7/8: Santa Monica
2x 500yard swim
30 min run

These pictures don't seem to do the Ocean Swim speed circuit I attended this morning any justice...

I somehow managed to make it out to Santa Monica this morning for my first open water swim; thanks Mom for the ride. Me and about 75 other crazies met on the Ocean Park beach in Santa Monica at 6:15AM for their weekly ocean swim speed circuit consisting of a 500 yard out and back swim. Course found here. Upon arrival and assessing the sheer magnitude of the event, I got really nervous. I was ill prepared being a novice to this whole triathlon realm- I did not have a wetsuit OR a cap. Oh well, that meant I could just sit back and observe instead of taking part...

The group slowly makes their way over to the lifegaurd stand where an LA Tri Club group leader of sorts made some announcements about the circuit and encourages all to "have fun". At this point, I was pretty sure I was going to bail. I mustered up the courage to ask the speaker if...he had an extra cap? I knew for safety reasons, the club asked that all swimmers swim with a cap to ensure others are able to see you in the water. He didn't have one but was gracious enough to announce to the whole group that I didn't have one and asked if anyone had an extra. Sure enough, Sue, an experienced older woman was glad to loan me one. Great. That means I'm going to have to do this now...

Sans wetsuit, I made my way into the water. The tide was low so it was a smooth transition getting into the water. Surprisingly, the water was warm- A LOT warmer than the day prior up north in Ventura. Thank goodness. I started spazzing out pretty much right away and completely forgot how to breathe while swimming. I would bring my head out of the water to look ahead of me and would breathe out and then breathe in once my head was back in the water...umm obviously that's wrong. It took me sometime to find a rhythm and after I talked myself out of turning around, I was finished with my first loop! I was so excited! What a feeling of accomplishment. I decided to try another one just for good measure and this was a bit smoother but still encountered some rather large swigs of salt water; it was well worth it. Overall a phenomenal experience.

The group couldn't have been more inviting and the environment was exactly what I needed. After the swim, I joined a small group of runners for a 30 min out and back run down to the pier, across the bridge and down a nice dirt path. My feet felt ok but I was extra sore from the barefoot beach running I had attempted the day prior in Ventura. My calfs have yet to loosen up. youch.

I just can't get over the community of athletically inclined participants in the LA area. It is a beautiful thing to look around and see other people interested in the same things you are. Everyone I talked to was so supportive and super encouraging. I only hope to find a network of swimmers and cyclists like that in Baltimore.

Philly Tri Weekend

College roommate, fellow teammate and one of my closest friends, Michele competed this past Sunday in the 5th Annual Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon. Her performance in all three disciplines were stellar and a significant PR overall in the Olympic distance. Swim was approx 18:40, 67th out of the water. After a bit of trouble with her wetsuit during T1 from swim to bike, she squeezed out of that sucker and fiercely made her way onto the 25 mile bike course. (T1-2:37)
Watching the cycling portion was intense! Anxiety mounted as we waited for a brief glimpse of Michele from our static vantage point. There were two loops, so we had...2 opportunities. From what I remember, she negative split the second 12 miles or so putting her at 1:10:07 for the bike. T2 was seamless at 1:13 and she was off for the run portion.

10K (6.2 miles) is pretty challenging by itself so I can only imagine the pain after coming off a 1 mile swim and 25 mile bike, neither of which I could comfortably do independently. It was approximately 8:49AM when Shell started the 10K so I knew she was on pace to finish by 9:30AM which was her goal. The run was a turn-around course which everybody always loathes as the anticipation of the turn-around cone is a dreadful feeling but Shel pulled through in 42:13 for the 10K. Her finish time was a tremendous 2:14.53! This put her ahead of several of the Pro female competitors which bodes very well for her as she hopes to go Pro by the end of this season. Her 7th place amateur female finish counts as 1 of 3 needed to qualify within USAT standards for a "Pro card". Keep it up girl, it's going to happen before you know it! Complete results can be found here.

I couldn't be more proud. This crazy lady has shown me that with lots and lots and lots of training and complete dedication, she seriously can do anything. I totally thought that anecdote was a joke but honestly with some natural talent and unbridled intensity with training, it can be done! I only hope I can find something I am that passionate about...soon enough :)

I definitely have respect for this "sport". I only put quotations because its sort of a fusion of sports creating another sport? Strange...but compelling nonetheless. There are so many unique nuances to the sport that I knew nothing about before; like the complexities of transitions, people take their bike shoes off while still ON the bike before their dismount...the drafting rules, etc...the apparel, there is SO much that goes into the apparel for these sports. With running, all I really need is a sports bra and sneakers; to train for a Tri you need like thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The amount of accessories and perceived necessities make becoming a "tri geek" almost inevitable. Ha.

6/21: ITU Championship Series in DC

The Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series will be making a stop in our Nationals Capital this Fathers Day, June 21st. I know close to nothing about competitive triathlons but am always interested in seeing elite level competition. Looks as though the 2008 Olympic champion, Aussie Emma Snowsil will be there as well as Olympic bronze medalist, Emma Moffatt.

Americans to look out for include 2008 Olympic 4th place finisher, Laura Bennett and World Silver medalist Sarah Haskins to name a few.

More detailed competitor information can be found on the ITU official site.

The schedule is as follows:

9:00AM Elite Mens Group Swim waves begin
11:00AM Elite Mens Group finishes
11:45AM Elite Womens Group Swim waves begin
2:00PM Elite Womens Group finishes

Course map can be found here.

I think I might stop by to watch since I plan on being in DC anyway for Father's Day. It'll be good to familiarize myself with race flow as I will be attending the Philly Triathlon next Sunday, June 28th to watch a close friend compete in.

pic courtesy of triathlon.org