Date: August 29, 2015 | Location: Oakland, CA
Weather: Cool, fog to drizzle to fog to sun, 60-70 degrees
Race: Sprint | Age Group: 20-24
Results: Division – 1/11; Overall – 67; Women – 15
| Location | Distance | Pace | Chip Time | Place (W/Div) |
| Swim | 965 m (0:15:55)** | 1:39/100 m** | 15:55 | 2/1 |
| T1 | (5:49 min) | 21:54 | ||
| Bike | 20 km (0:39:59 min) | 18.6 mph | 1:01:33 | 14/1 |
| T2 | (1:29 min) | 1:02:02 | ||
| Run | 5 km (0:31:33) | 10:11 min/mile | 1:34:47 | 67/7 |
| Finish | (1:32:05 min) | 1:32:05 | 70/2 |
I have been really distracted since the Sandman. I was working on a run foundation all last week, hitting a solid two-mile loop for five days, but this week has been negligible at best. I swam hard on Sunday, and haven’t done much of anything else (active, at least) since. I have been diving deep into other exciting things, but unfortunately that precluded my race preparation.
What does this mean? This weekend: all Oakland, all the time.
Continue reading “Oakland Triathlon Festival – Preview to the Preview”
Date: August 2, 2015 | Location: Aptos, CA
Weather: Cool, overcast, 64 degrees
Race: Modified Sprint | Age Group: 20-24
Results: Division – 1/4; Overall – 5/40
| Location | Distance | Pace | Estimated Time | Place (O’all/Div) |
| Swim | 0.75 mile (15:00) | not sure! | 15:00 | 1/1 |
| T1 | – | 16:00 | 1/1 | |
| Bike | 13 mile (0:46.00) | 17 mph | 1:02.00 | 2/1 |
| T2 | – | 1:03.00 | 2/1 | |
| Run | 4 mile (0:40.00) | 10:00 min / mile | 1:43.02 | 5/not sure |
| Finish | (1:43.02 min) | – | 1:43.02 | 5/1 |
My training buddy and I were standing at water’s edge in San Francisco’s Aquatic Park today, when not 5 yards away, a harbor seal was scouting the beach.
I know what you’re thinking – you’re in San Francisco, wouldn’t that be a sea lion? Nope, nope, nope. I promise. It was absolutely a little harbor seal’s face staring back at us from the cold water.
Did you get a good workout in today? I got to swim in Aquatic Park in San Francisco with an old teammate. He’s training for a Channel Crossing (as in, English Channel) – whoa. That’s a little long for me! And he’s training to follow real open water rules. As in no wet suit.
Fortunately, that means he’s training at a pace that I can keep up with.
*Frisson – A moment of intense excitement; a shudder (don’t worry, I had to look it up)
How do you feel about open water swimming? It seems like it’s a really divisive topic – people hate it, people love it, people hate-love it… Regardless of your feelings, “frisson” definitely captures the feeling of the open water.
My first open water experiences were brief, poorly planned excursions with my swim team in Santa Cruz. Hanging out on the beach, a coach would suggest we swim out to the buoy and back. I hated it. So cold! So scary! So not-what-I-wanted-to-be-doing-on-my-day-off!
Date: June 7, 2015 | Location: San Francisco, CA
Weather: Cool, overcast, 50-60 degrees
Volunteer Location – Swim Exit / Beach Steps
Continue reading “Escape from Alcatraz – here, let me help you”
