Challenged Athletes Foundation San Diego Triathlon 2011
I unexpectedly found myself volunteering to be the swimmer for one of the TriSports.com Relay Teams at the CAF San Diego Triathlon. I have never been a big fan of the ocean and always swore never to do an ocean swim. I was a little worried, especially when I found out the swim was longer than I thought. I am not afraid of the fish and kelp that everyone talks about, but more afraid of the unknown and the big swells when you are way out at the turn around. Until the CAF San Diego Triathlon I did not know much about the CAF Foundation and all that it does to help physically handicap people achieve athletic goals.
It was race day and I was pretty scared as to what I had got myself into. The opening ceremonies were very inspirational. They lined up many of Challenged Athletes on a stage and shared some of their amazing stories. The ceremonies concluded and it was time for me to put on my wetsuit. I knew the only way to get past the fear I had of ocean swims was to just do it. Unlike other triathlons, relay members can start their own leg of the triathlon without having to wait, so my swim time was not important. As we were getting ready to get in the water I looked around at all the athletes and the different challenges they were facing. I thought to myself that if they can do this, then so can I!
I can honestly say that I have ever been so nervous to start a swim! People warned me about the kelp and other things in the water and said to open my eyes and watch the fish. I never saw any fish just murky water and lots of kelp. Adam, the swimmer for the other TriSports.com relay team was fortunate enough to have a seal swim under him. Once I got settled down it was a very enjoyable swim, but I was never so happy to see land ahead of me rather than behind me.
I came out of the swim, dried myself off and got ready to run with Tyler. Our cyclist was already out on the course. My first thought was wow is this course hilly! Again it was so amazing to watch all the athletes and their different challenges doing awesome on this run! I learned a lot from these athletes and how blessed we are every day to be able to do what we do!
This year we had to leave early to get back home but next year I am going to make sure I stay to the entire day to watch all the athletes finish and enjoy every moment of their accomplishments. It was more satisfying watching the challenged athletes achieve their goals, then anything I have ever accomplished.
If you are looking for a fun, low key, inspirational race next October please check out the Challenged Athletes Foundation San Diego Triathlon. It is a fundraiser and the funds go to supply hardware such as prosthetics and hand cycles for athletes through grants. A definite MUST DO event!
San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz 2011
By Adam McCreight
This was not the escape from Alcatraz tri that is held in early Summer, this was the other one held in August. Unlike the escape, this one does not have a lottery, but the course is very similar….challenging.
Like most races, this race didn’t start at setting up the transition area, but instead started months earlier. A year prior to race start my wife decided she was going to this race and she let me tag along. She has yet to do a half distance race, and while the swim of an Olympic and half are close, jumping off of a boat, battling the currents, battling the temperatures, all while swimming 1.2 miles gave her the idea that if she trained for a half on every leg of this event, the bike and run would be cake.
Our training started off well until the TSTC poker ride came around. We were having a blast, enjoying the morning when several things came together. One minute we are laughing on the bikes and the next my wife was in the ER with a separated clavicle; a very common bicycle injury. She had 4 torn ligaments, she could push through the pain and keep on training, but to insure the best functioning shoulder as she ages we took the doctor’s advice, no use of the shoulder for 6 weeks our race was in 8! In the mean time I pulled my hamstring (that I am still trying to recover from) and was also benched from most of the basic training.
Race day: The bus took us to the ferry dock, still pitch dark and now a bit colder. Seeing the ferry I realized how much money it took to put on this event, no wonder the entry is high. Since I was cold I quickly put on my wet suit and waited to board. The ride is short, but the wait was long. I was nervous with anticipation, that is until the boat turned and I saw the Alcatraz. We were close enough to see details, like the bars. We were about to swim what people 60 years ago considered un-swim-able.
And then we were off! The water was cool but not too bad. I had directions on how to site in the swim exit. As it turns out for this day and my speed I was directly parallel to the Golden Gate bridge, sighting in would be easy and beautiful. I watched the fog rise up and over the bridge as the sun came up. Somewhere during the swim the river channel is crossed, and the water temperature felt like it dropped another 6 degrees. It was now cold and I am kicking myself for not buying the neoprene swim cap at TriSports.com. At the swim exit I get out of the water, find the shoes I had stuffed in a bag, rip off my wet suit and for a 7/10ths of a mile jog to transition…seamless.
The bike course follows the shore line. As I was checking out the maps before hand I had thought to myself that they were nice to us and made the bike easy. I was very wrong. We had two really good up hills and over all the roads were rough so down hills were taken a bit cautiously by me. I am a big boy and only get out of the saddle at stop lights here in Tucson. Those two hills had me in my lowest gear and out of the saddle. As I passed relay teams on the bike I thought to myself ha, you got stuck with the hardest leg of the race.
T2 came and went, now for the run. After the bike this would be cake, only one obstacle called the sand ladder and seven miles of shore line to look at. My hamstring wasn’t fixed so I stayed slow letting it warm up. Around mile two we get to the Golden Gate Bridge and go up our first set of stairs. As I conquer this obstacle I think back and there was sand on those stairs…. Sand Ladder conquered. Lets open it up a little and start racing.
The run kept on going up for 3 miles and what goes up must come down. Just in time for a 1/8-1/4 mile beach run and then back up a 45 degree hill with landscape timbers held together with cables. What the hell! Ahh, the sand ladder. After this it was really down hill on the same single track that we ran up. Finally we hit the shore line and with less than 1.5 miles to the finish I open it up a bit more. As I was passing people with a “R” on their calf, I thought to myself, that they got stuck with the hardest leg of the race.
AZ TTT Report
By Kim Beisner
When my friend Kat asked if I was interested in doing a team time trial, my first thought was…..SWEET! That would be so much fun. Back in college, team time trials were part of our race weekend schedules and I never had a bad time.
The tips I could remember were:
When meeting the other girls from the team, I knew that we would have a great time and it would be interesting to see how we could push each other since we were pretty well matched in ability. As far as I know this was the first team time trial for all of the women.
So down to business! The race is always here before you know it and we are off first of the women’s team. We all do the hold start and do a pretty good job staggering the start from the left. We had our order planned out before the race and fell into position. The pace starts fast and we maintain it pretty well knowing that we have to go fast to avoid getting caught. There is a hill leading up to an overpass which is where we start to waiver a bit in our coherence. One member drops back after pulling us strongly up the hill, but this is usually expected in a TTT you never know who is going to be feeling good that day. The way out is a slight uphill, more of a false flat, which is much more noticeable after the turn around when we pick up the pace with the same amount of effort. Shortly after the turnaround we get caught by the pro Trisports.com team and I get a little fired up and start pushing the pace to try to keep them in sight. Somehow I feel strong and increase the length of my pulls and take breaks as necessary. At the 1k to go cone Kat brings the pain and starts pushing almost sprinting which is fun and we all come across the finish line together spread out across the lane. Success! And the other team is not at the line two minutes after we finish so we should have beat them.
I was on cloud nine after the race, our team was amazing and I felt so lucky to race with them. If you get the chance to do a TTT do it! The sport of triathlon is sometimes very individual so it is nice to get some team experiences. I hope you enjoy it and I think you will learn something about yourself and have a great time!
Vineman 70.3
By Barry Baker
I was given great advice by a number of people that said the Vineman was a great venue for your first 70.3 Half Ironman Distance Race. The setting is beautiful, the options for things to do as a family were numerable, and the race is organized very well. I raced with one of my best friends and we signed up right after Halloween night when registration opened. It would have been a challenge for me regardless as I have never been an endurance athlete nor do I have any of the three skills required for tris (swimming, cycling, or running), but December 22nd I underwent four surgeries, one of which nearly took off a toe. Not good for training. The truth is, having signed up for this race with a friend motivated me to push to get active again faster than I would have otherwise and may have been a great contributor to my healing.
I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of the TriSports Triathlon Club and the Champions program. I received amazing encouragement and advice the months leading up to the actual race that were invaluable, but the team support that I received while on course as I saw Team TriSports.com professionals, the TriSports.com staff, other TriSports Champions, and the TSTC members was invaluable in making the experience that much more special. Matt G. gave me a pick me up right when my run was starting to fall apart. I saw Jaclyn on the stretch run and had no idea what she had been through as she was moving strong and was smiling. I am sure that I heard at least 30 or 40 people yell "GO TRISPORTS" at some point during the race and every time, it helped raise my spirits and increase my energy.
One of the few times in my life were I felt lucky to be 40 years old was when the swim start was announced for the different age groups and us 40 something men got an early slot, which pays huge dividends in terms of avoiding the Sonoma heat during the later stages of the run. The swim was an out and back in the perfect 70 degree waters of the Russian River. I have never been a good open water swimmer and have always managed to go way off course when given an opportunity. My best prior 1.2 mile open water swim had been in excess of 50 minutes. The course was so narrow, shallow, and clear that I could not get off course in spite of my failings as a swimmer. This race is perfect for the nervous swimmer as the narrow course, lack of waves, and shallowness really take away a lot of the anxieties associated with open water swims. I came out of the water 35 minutes after our start, a good 10 minutes faster than I could have hoped for.
The transition went well enough, but I did have troubles with having the bike in the wrong gear as the exit was up a steep road and ran barefoot a bit longer than I had hoped. I have never biked over 50 miles and only put in three rides over 40 miles during my time-crunched training. My handling skills on a bike are poor on descents and tight turns. This course had plenty of both. I took it easy and enjoyed the rural settings, the vast vineyards, the cool misty conditions, and thought about all of the people who helped me along the way to get that point. I could see why so many people left the rat race to become winemakers - idyllic setting! Time flew by and there was one hill left close to the finish that required some honest work before transitioning to my biggest challenge, the run. I had only been on three runs over 9 miles and never one more then 10. Gail and Brian both advised me to walk the aid stations. My pride said "no" and my faith in Brian and Gail said "yes". I ended up running the first half of the run straight and then walked for one minute at each aid station until mile 11. Great advice and I am sure the wheels would have blown off if I did not get that great tip.
When the finish chute approached, my legs felt fresh and I was excited to see my wife and daughters...and the big TriSports.com tent with Gail. It all went by so fast. My time was 5:46:47 and it was well better than I was expecting. Time was not a part of my goals for my first 70.3. In big letters I had the words "Enjoy" and "Pace" written on my forearms. My daughters wrote on each of my hands. My main goal was to "race happy" and "finish happy." Goals accomplished.
Leadman – The Untold Story
by Seton Claggett
Many of you have probably read my article on Leadman that appeared in TriSports University. Like all great stories, there are always two sides to the story. This is the part that I didn’t tell the general public:
Little do people realize, but my first triathlon (actually the first few) was held at Lake Mead. In fact, there is a chance that if I never ventured out onto Boulder Beach as a kid to attempt my first triathlon that TriSports.com wouldn’t even exist, nor would the TriSports Triathlon Club. So, in a Back To The Future sort of way, me racing at Boulder Beach at Lake Mead is always special.
My first race there was a Boy Scout triathlon back in 1988. My dad took me to the race and watched me swim, hop aboard my mom’s 1974 Schwinn World Voyager and would be there at the finish up at the park in Boulder City. At 13 years old I would never, ever, ever imagine that 22 years later my dad would be taking me to a triathlon, on the same beach, watch me hop aboard my bike and be there (with my mom) to watch me finish at the park in Boulder City.
The Morning:
My dad woke up at 3:30AM with me to drive the one hour over to Lake Mead. When we arrived, we ran into Dan Empfield and I introduced him to my dad. As Dan walked away I whispered over to my dad, “that guy is an icon in the sport – he invented the triathlon wetsuit and the triathlon bike” - my dad was a bit shocked. As I was setting up my bike, my dad got to meet the guy on the Spinervals videos that continually tortures him – Troy Jacobsen. This was a good interaction because we were about 45 minutes out from the start and Troy and my dad are in deep discussion on why Troy should make an “old geezer” series of videos. For such a long day ahead, the transition area was completely laid back. In fact, the actual swim start was the most relaxing mass start I have ever done; the energy in the air was completely different than anything I have experienced. There was no real excitement, it was almost a blissful feeling as we wadded into the start line.
It's go time!
After the first lap of the swim, my dad was there giving me advice to hydrate before I started my second lap. After the swim, my dad joined me out on the bike course for a minute or two in the car and got a couple great pictures. It was going to be a long day and I actually wish he was able to keep me company but he had to turn back and go home (and take a well-deserved nap).
The Bike
This race was really about survival and the bike course. Luckily, Chucky V was out there supporting Angela Naeth (both Tucson residents), and for the first 4 hours or so I was close enough to Angela that Chucky was able to cheer for me as well. I will not bore you with the sufferings I encountered out on the bike but I will tell you that the day’s lesson was: do not give up. My advice to anyone reading this is that when you are out there suffering during training, or during a race, to really embrace the pain and try to learn from it because you never know when you will be doing another race that will rely on the knowledge you gained from these other “bad” experiences.
The wind on the back half of the bike was brutal; it was the worst sustained wind I have ever ridden in for that much time (4+ hours). My stomach was shot from my experimental last minute drink mix so I couldn’t get into my aerobars for any sustained period of time. I couldn’t eat (including fluid I took down a whopping 2000 Calories on my 8:40 bike), quite frankly it is a miracle I even made it off the bike.
Dad took this one while driving. Impressive, right?
The Run
As I was changing into my TriSports Triathlon Club kit in T2, I asked one of the volunteers to call my mom to let her know I was alive and was going out on the run. Most of the time I race, even in an Iron distance, the throttle is still pinned. This run was more like a nice jog with a strong mission of staying cool and hydrated. During the entire run I saw two other competitors – one was about 15 minutes in front of me and the other was 15 minutes behind me. It was a very lonely day. Luckily for me, my parents have spectated at enough races that they know how to get around a race course and showed up at the mile 7 aid station. As you know, it is always nice to see loved ones out on a course, especially one where there is a good chance you could end up in an ambulance. My parents stopped several more times during my climb up to Boulder City. My dad even ran with me for about 200 feet and was my escort into the last aid station.
On the run - did I mention it was lonely out there?
The Finish
The finish line was setup like any other big race – except the fact only 14 of us made it across. Triathletes from Tucson should be extremely proud to know that 4 of the 14 finishers hail from our great city (Angela Naeth, Troy Jacobsen and Hillary Biscay). For me, it was just nice to be there with my parents sitting feet away from the exact location I finished my first triathlon 22 years ago.
This pretty much sums it up - "I made it here, and I'm excited, but please don't ask me to raise my hands above my head".
TriSports.com Phoenix Triathlon
Race Report
By Pam Kallio
The inaugural TriSports.com Phoenix Triathlon produced by local Tucson race promoter and well known endurance athlete Dave Benjes, (DCB Adventures), got off to a “blustery” start. Lake Pleasant is known for its breezes and we all knew the water would be cold, but one look at that lake in the morning had me thinking that the swim just might be cancelled. It was so windy that folks putting up their Pop-Up tents looked like they might just be picked up by the wind and carried away!
DCB Adventures always does a great job putting on a race and this was no exception. The event was well organized and if you haven’t yet heard Dave on the mic, you are missing a real treat! The race started on time and the course was well marked and well laid out with challenging distances. The International Distance race consisted of a 2000 meter swim (1.2 mile) 20 mile bike and an 8k run. The sprint distance consisted of a 1000 meter swim 15 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.
Needless to say, Tucson presents a great training ground for this race with all of the hill climbs we have for bike and run training. It certainly came in handy for this race as I seemingly don’t remember one bit of flat during the entire course. That being said, this was certainly one of the most challenging courses that I have raced - in addition to being one of the most fun!
TriSports Triathlon Club was well represented as I saw several club jerseys out on the race course. Congratulations to everyone on this race. It’s a tough course even on a perfect day and the swim was especially tough due to the wind, chop and cold. Congratulations to you first time open water swimmers that raced in both the International and Sprint races. Great work!!
This is a must-do race for anyone that wants a fun race that is challenging with some great competition. You can race easy and flat anywhere. Challenging and fun courses are not easy to come by, and this one is definitely worth the drive to get there. Having raced many races where the course is not well marked or water support is not what it should be, it was a pleasure to race here with things so well marked and volunteers so supportive. It was great to see team faces on the course encouraging everyone along the way.
See you at the next race!!!