Surf & Turf Recap

Well, the Surf & Turf Tri is now over, and what a great weekend! Here is my very long personal recap of the event.

The Swim: Saturday started off very chilly, with clouds in the air, and a mist over the crashing waves. The water actually felt warmer on our feet than the cold sand did. Jeff, Dave, and I watched the first four groups take off, before joining the other neon green swim caps in the knee deep water (waste deep for Jeff - only kidding). The air horn went off and we barreled into the waves.

After getting knocked back a time or two, we were all on way. In a matter of minutes Jeff and Dave had reach the first buoy, and were swimming parallel to the shore. . . me on the the hand was having panic set in. After eight weeks of pool swims, I felt pretty prepared. The pool however does not push you backwards. I had not yet made it to the buoy, and was starting to panic. I check to see if I could still touch bottom [GULP!] I could not.

I could see other green caps around me calling for help, and getting taken back in. I stopped and calmed myself. I looked at the surfboards and was ready to quit. I then spun around and looked at where I still needed to go. "Oh my God. I can't make that! What am I doing?" I look back at the surf board pulling people in, and for some crazy reason, I decided to keep going. I think it has something to do with another eight people sitting on surfboards waiting to rescue me further down the course. They looked pretty fast, so I did not think I would drown.

So I get to the first buoy, and grab on for a few seconds (literally). This is when I found out how much the ocean is moving. In the blink of an eye the enormous pyramid shaped buoy shoots out of my tired hands and it is now ten feet away from me. Oh well, no turning back now. So off I go, following the other green caps. For some stupid reason, I assume the other novices must know what they are doing, so I barely pay attention to the next buoy. After another five minutes of paddling (not swimming) I notice I am probably about 40 yards further out then I need to be.

At this point me and the other green caps are making friends. "So, how are you doing?" "Not so good, what about you?" "I hate this!" "Me too." "My name is Mark." "Nice to meet you, I am Michael." Seriously, it was like having lunch with old friends by this point. If I had a dollar for every time someone shouted "This isn't anything like a pool swim!" I could have paid for my race entry.

Eventually we turn at the second buoy, and I am swimming. . . err floating back to shore. I finally felt the best feeling in the world. Sand on my feet! I look back at my new best friend Mark, and tell him excitedly. "Hey Mark! We can touch!" Mark then disappears under water, and pops back up. "No I can't!" Hmmm. . . by this time I am in almost waist deep water. Mark must be very short I think to myself.

I see our cheering squad and they are all pointing at me. Caroline is jumping and clapping, and Ursula is snapping pictures. I am honestly laughing out loud at this point. As I ran across the sand towards the transition area, I had already won. I was 80% ready to quit after five minutes in the ocean, but mustered up the courage to survive another 12 minutes in the water. The rest of the morning was going to be fun!

Bike #1: I run to the transition area and quickly look for my bike. At this point I learned a new lesson. Count the number of rows so you know where your bike is. I ran down the wrong row at first. As I was struggling to take of my wet suit, I saw another participant putting on his running shoes. I almost jokingly told him he needed to bike first, but I knew he has already completed the first bike leg.

So off I go out the transition area, running with my bike. I get to the road, and try to jump on. 90 seconds later, I finally snap my shoes into the pedals. It was never that hard to do at home! About mile one into my four mile bike ride, Jeff goes flying by me (the other way). He was about to finish. I later find out Jeff locks up breaks and skids 15 feet so he could dismount his bike in time. I continue to pedal down the street, and next pass Dave, again, going the other way.

Now that I am on dry land, I started to pass people with good frequency. Of course when 95% of the race participants are in front of you (seriously), you can only go up. I start passing bikers and feel pretty good. After all, I trained the least for the bike portion. The more I pedaled, the more I passed. Then I started to notice, I was passing the locals on their mountain bikes, and beach cruisers. . . didn't matter! Eat my dust you slow pokes!!!

Run #1: I make it back quickly to the next transitions and quickly slip into my running shoes (hello old friends!). Now I am back to where I belong. I fly out of the transition area, and head down the street, I am counting every person I pass. Rubber soles pounding the asphalt. . . you are in my world now! And then, everything changed. . . We climb a steep set of wooden stairs and head to be beach. Not my normal running surface, but I figure I can run on the packed wet sand. I was wrong. The tide was coming in, so if you ran on the wet sand, you would have to be very agile, or you would be running in wet shoes too. The alternative was running in soft sand where you would sink 2-3 inches with every step.

Only a few minutes into the beach run, I see Jeff again. He smiles, and streaks by in a blur. After passing 20+ runners, I stopped counting. There were not many PRs set on this leg of the race. Once we returned to the stairs we were back on the roads, and heading back to our bikes.

Bike #2: I once again change shoes, and go running out of the transition area. I can hear them announcing the winners coming into finish the race by this point. I turn down the road, and begin the process of trying to snap into my pedals again. This time it took a solid two minutes to complete the task. I nearly fell off the bike twice thinking I was already locked in, only to have with foot shoot off the pedals.

So I am off on the same roads again. The race is spread out by this time, so I am not able to pass many bikers on this leg. No one was able to pass me either, so I was still feel pretty good. Despite my pedal blunder, I was able to make better time during this leg. I guess it helped that I was not still tasting salt water. I again see Jeff and Dave, but even sooner then I did before on Bike leg #1. Both look great, and serious. . . they could not possibly be having as much fun as I am I thought. HA!

Run #2: My transition went well this time, as I quickly threw on my trusty running shoes. I once again flew out of the transition on the roads. I apparently went too fast, because when I came back to get my bike, it had fallen off the rack on to the ground. This time, we only had to run a mile. It was an out and back route, and all on asphalt thankfully.

I pushed on the run, but for some crazy reason, I felt chatty, and was wishing everyone well that I passed, and passing out motivation snip-its like "Come on, lets go. . . they are about to announce your name!" I see my cheering section by now, including a well rested Jeff and Dave. I smile for the cameras (ha ha), slap fives with Caroline, and turn into the finishing chute. DONE!

Post Race: WOW! What a great experience. I had always wanted to do a triathlon in my younger days when I was fit. I never did, and thought I would probably never get another chance. I am so glad I did this, and so glad I never waved for help during the swim. A marathon is about overcoming physical exhaustion. This was about overcoming new obstacles, and true fear. I can't wait for another one. I honestly encourage each of you guys to give this a shot. If a "land-loving-chubby-runner" can do an ocean swim tri, then anyone can.





Results: Now that I have taken up this entire blog entry with stuff all about me, I would be remiss if I did not share the results of Dave and Jeff. Both did outstanding once again! These two guys are unstoppable right now, and are poised to get better and better. Jeff won the Novice Division, and Dave won the Master Novice. Truly amazing! These guys are becoming triathlon machines!

Mens Overall:

• Jeff: 1:01:04 - 58th overall
• Dave: 1:03:18 - 73rd overall
• Michael: 1:11:10 - 128th overall

In the swim:

• Jeff: 12:42 - 89th
• Dave: 13:43 - 112th
• Michael: 18:07 - 154th

Total Bike Time (8 miles + 2 transitions):

• Jeff: 26:38 - 91st
• Dave: 27:29 - 107th
• Michael: 29:44 - 139th

Total Run Time (3 miles + 2 transitions)

• Jeff: 21:36 - 28th
• Dave: 22:08 - 37th
• Michael: 23:30 - 54th

Golf (9 holes)

• Michael: 45
• Dave: 46
• Jeff: 48

Sorry guys, I had to show I beat you in something this weekend!