Race 6: 2008 San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island

Date: November 8th 2008
Distance: 1.5k Swim, 40k Bike, 10k Run

The Treasure Island was an especially important race in 2008. For one, it was the last race of the season, and if I was going to accomplish something big this year, this was going to have be it. Second, it was going to be my first Olympic distance triathlon, which was a huge step up.

The Olympic distance triathlon is an internationally recognized distance (hence the measurements in kilometers) and is the distance Olympic athletes compete at every 4 years (hence the name). It consists of a 1.5 kilometer swim (0.93 miles) 40 kilometer bike (24.8 miles) and 10 kilometer run (6.2 miles). This was going to be more than twice the distance I have ever race in any of the 3 disciplines, and to say I was nervous, would be putting it lightly.

 The swim took place just off of treasure island on a cool Saturday morning. It was a deep water start, so I was forced to jump into the San Francisco bay and just wade in the very cold water for about 5 minutes before the air horn sounded to signal the start of the race, and what was going to be a long one at that. Knowing that I wasn't going to be any threat to any of the fast racers, I allowed all the ambitious swimmers go on ahead, and started up slowly behind them.

The entire swim course consisted of 2 triangular loops, finishing on a makeshift stage connecting the water to the parking lot of an old army building. It took nearly 40 minutes, but I was able to exit the water dizzy and delirious, but alive and ready to continue on... if only I could remember what to continue on to.

You see, when you swim 1.5 kilometers in 60 degree water, you start to get really dizzy and confused. As I came out of the water, I had to remind myself what exactly I was doing. First, I had to remember that I was doing a triathlon, next I had to remember that the bike comes after the swim, and lastly, I had to remember where I put my bike. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember where I put my bike, and was afraid that I was going to have to scour the entire transition area looking for my bike. Fortunately, all amateur athletes rack their bikes together with others in the same age group, and seeing as I was the last out of the water in my age group, my bike would be easy to find sitting all alone on an empty rack.

The bike ride is a 6 loop course around treasure island. Something that I learned from a course preview that I took a few weeks earlier was to tape 5 numbered tabs on my bike and remove one every time I completed a lap. When there were no more tabs to remove, my 40k was finished and I could start my run. This information was invaluable considering I was having a hard time counting to 6 after the swim, let alone keeping track of 6 laps over an hour and a half.

I've ran 6.2 miles before. In fact earlier that year I finished a half marathon, so I felt like I was pretty well prepared for this race. What I forgot about was planning for my legs to be as sore and wobbly after 40k of biking as they were. If you have ever had that weird sensation of walking after taking a long bike ride, imagine trying to run. I can imagine I must have looked quite comical for the first 1/2 mile while I tried to adjust to the new motion I was asking my legs to perform, but hopefully I was not the only one. While I was running, I was holding a good steady pace, but I was unable to hold it for longer than about 1 mile when I began to walk. I pushed myself to run as much as I was able to, and finished the course in 3 hours, 12 minutes and 19 seconds. Crossing the finish line was so incredibly rewarding. I was exhausted, water logged, sweaty, and accomplished. In just 1 season, I was able to finish both my first sprint distance, and Olympic distance triathlons. They were not particularly fast, but I finished everyone, and I couldn't wait until next year to do it all over again, pushing myself to go faster and farther.

Links:

Website:
Official results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20081108_San_Francisco_Triathlon_at_Treasure_Island.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Class=Olympic+Individual~M20-24