Race Report: Uvas South Bay Triathlon May 18, 2008

Uvas South Bay Triathlon: 3/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike, 5 mile run

What an awesome race! I am so glad I did not chicken out. Picture: Uvas schwag. Note the lack of medal. Irritating, but still an awesome race. The race was held in Morgan Hill at the Uvas Reservoir. It is not open for public swimming except for this one event. I went to high school in Morgan Hill and it wasn't my most stellar time, so it was a little cool to go back as the person I am now and do some demon stomping! RBR 1 Demons 0


Because I am such a baby about doing new things alone my run buddy came with me. I am not sure what I ever did to deserve such an amazing friend, but I am very grateful for her. Picture: Me and Run Buddy, pre-race ham shot.

The transition area was organized by age group, but the race numbers were not, so this created much confusion in the transition area. There were many unhappy triathletes, but I lucked out and we found my rack spot pretty easily (yes, 'we'. I snuck my run buddy into the transition area, shhhh!) I set up, suited up and headed down to the water.

The Swim (35:52, Woo hoo!)

Let me just say that fresh water open water swimming is WORLD'S better than ocean swimming! Warmer, not salty, no waves, no sharks. What more could you ask for? The swimming practice and pre-masters classes have definitely helped me feel MUCH more comfortable in the water. I had a great swim. I can not sight for beans, but even with the extra 1/4 mile that I am sure I swam I had my best swim time EVER! I don't have my official chip time since it isn't posted yet, but when I looked at my watch after (yes, AFTER!) I ran to my transition area I swear it said 37 minutes! HO-LY SHIT! We'll see when they post results, since that seems impossible for me. Regardless, best open water swim I have had. Update: Chip time 35:52. that is 2:43/100 yd. pace which is really good for me. Awesome!

T1: 5:09 (as compared to the 10 min transition for Pac Grove 2007 where I was deciding whether to continue or not. I will take it)

The Bike (1:00:52, 15.7 mph ave)

My transition from the swim is much better when I am not seasick, so I was out on the course pretty quickly. Hubby told me to push the bike hard to see what I had gained by the hill training and extra riding I have been doing. I did just that! the course felt pretty flat, but the elevation chart shows that it more challenging than it felt. There was one tough climb and several people had to get off and walk, but I went right up. Pictures: Elevation chart of bike course. Me heading out on the bike. Overall, great ride.











T2: 2:14

The Run (51:23, 10:16/mi. pace)

My legs were pretty heavy, but marathon training has taught me that I can handle discomfort for long periods of time and that it almost always gets better. The run course was an out and back. It was hot, but the run course was pretty flat. Slight uphill on the way out, and slight downhill on the way in. Just the way I like it! I have no idea what my pace was (Update: 10:16/mi. pace). I didn't wear my Garmin. Lame. Should have took two seconds to put it on. But I think it was pretty good. Especially on the return trip. Pictures: Me heading out on the run, feeling pretty good. Me coming in from the run, feeling pretty great!


The Finish

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, 2:35:38! I had hoped to finish under 3 hours, I was ecstatic!
Update: Chip time 2:35:30!

Ok, this next part is mean, but remember Bag of Hair Boy? He did this triathlon too. It was his first.

I BEAT HIM!

Not by much, and I am certain he struggled on the swim and went out too hard on the bike. He is young and strong and there was NO reason for me to beat him, .... but it still felt good!