Race 4: 2008 Triathlon at Pacific Grove

Date: September 14, 2008
Distance: .25 Mile Swim, 12.4 Mile Bike, 2 Mile Run

Located in nearby Monterey, the Triathlon at Pacific Grove was another sprint distance race that made me nervous. Coming off my horrific ocean swim in Santa Cruz a month earlier, I wasn't exactly excited to jump back into tiding salt water again any time soon. Nevertheless, I accepted the challenge this race venue provided, at least so I had thought.

All the green is the kelp

What I didn't ask from this race was what else the ocean might want to throw into the mix to make things a little bit more difficult and uncomfortable. The answer to this was kelp. Lots and lots of kelp. If you haven't swam through kelp before, I'll help you paint a picture. It's like one hundred St. Bernards all trying to lick your face at the same time. Although it was probably the most uncomfortable I've ever felt while swimming, I was able to keep it together for the entire quarter mile swim, mentally at least. Physically, I was the 2nd last out of the water in my age group.

The biking portion of the race could have been better for me. I was still wet from the swim, and it was cold and windy out. I never really was able to settle into any kind of rhythm and was definitely used to being in warmer climates. (Weird, considering I am from Canada).  However, every time I saw a camera man, I cheated a little, turned on the gas, and made sure to get a picture that really looked like I was trying. Amazingly, I was able to catch 1 racer in my age group by the end of the 12.4 miles, ending up only 3rd last off the bike. Improvement is always a good thing!

Around the time of the run, the weather started to warm up a little bit, which made the run a little easier for me. I was able to run the entire 2 miles in just under 16 minutes, posting my fastest pace that year. Although the swim and bike were not overly impressive, the run surely made up for the race as a whole. I crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 30 seconds, for 11th out of 14 people in my age group. Although I was pretty low on the standings, I still felt like I had accomplished something with the run, and I knew I would be able to better myself in the coming years.

Links:

Facebook Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.27402464229.36711.502259229&type=3
Website: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/PG2012-main.htm
Results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20080913_Triathlon_at_Pacific_Grove.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Class=Sprint+Individual~M20-24
St. Bernard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bernard_%28dog%29