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09/24/2006: "gotta tri…"
I just finished my first Olympic distance triathlon! I started training about 2 months ago with this event as my goal. The Santa Cruz Triathlon is a 1 mile swim around the pier, a 24 mile bike ride north along Hwy 1 to the town of Davenport and a 6 mile run along the bike trail that looks over the lighthouse and the most famous surf area.
It was a perfect day as we got there about 6:30 in the morning to set up our gear. After Tim and I felt comfortable with our transition area setup, we went for a warm-up jog along the beach as the sun rose. We talked about how great it felt to be able to be fit enough to compete and lucky enough to be there on that beautiful morning.
The first picture here is of Tim and I before the race, discussing how to tackle the waves, avoid the seal, and make it around the pier.
At the end of the race, I felt I had left it all on the course with little to spare. I finished the race in 2 hours and 39 minutes. There were about 856 finishers and I placed 294th overall. In my age group, 45-49 year “old” men, I was 29th out of 64. Of those finishers, I am not sure how many of them are battling advanced stage cancer. I was thinking that next year, they should give those of us a little head start.
Here I am with Nick at the finish line.
