Carpinteria SurpriseSept 2006
I guess there's always a first for everything.. and I'm still a little in shock and seem to go around pretending it didn't happen... just not used to it!
Last weekend my mum & I drove up to Santa Barbara County for the Carpinteria Triathlon USA Triathlon event. USAT events are, believe it or not, hard to find in So Cal... yet any triathlon with the slogan "100% California Grown" is probably a triathlon I need to be racing. They even included a nice avocado in our packets. Those nice Carpinteria folk! That's perhaps the first time real grown, non-nutritionally enhanced, processed food has ever been included in a race packet. Now... if only it would ripen....
Enough about fruits...
I had raced LA 2 weeks previous and had what I considered a "break-through" race. That race felt great and I could feel all benefits of training with coach Peter Clode all summer. All those great hours of having Dave motivate me to ride, run.. and yes, learn how to swim (already!). Now at Carpinteria 2 weeks later.. I knew in the back of my little noggin that my large effort in LA would not go unnoticed here... My original goal race was LA. After I found the Carpinteria race, I extended my season out to accommodate. My legs noticed and really were not too thrilled about the entire affair. Just before the race my legs were feeling ok... but I didn't exactly test them either.
The raging Day Fire burning out of control just over the hills was a big concern. The race director referred to the previous weekend as "Ash Sunday". Santa Ana winds were forecast and the Saturday before the race brought a huge smoke cloud which was beginning to block the sun. If it was raining ash in 12 hrs, the race would be cancelled. If it was smoky, the race director was going to leave it up to the competitior. Personally, I wanted to race. My body was beginning to fatigue.. or was that my mind..... from a pretty full year of training. I'm still new to this stuff. That night my mum & I visited our place in Ojai. The firemen had been there and prepared the property for the possibility of a fire storm. We turned on the sprinklers on the roof and visited some friends for dinner. It was raining ash in Ojai. We spend the night in Ventura to keep out of the smoke.
The morning of the race the weather was great. An onshore breeze was keeping the smoke at bay and it looked to be prime racing conditions. I warmed up, ran for a bit, did my cords and prepped for the race. The swim went well for me. I got slugged in the head pretty hard a couple of times by an aggro guy in our wave. They had combined men & women in waves... and the guys were sure to let you know they were there. As there was no place for me to go, people on top of people, I finally popped my head out of the water and screamed at the guy to "KNOCK IT OFF!" Hope I made him feel bad for hitting a girl. :-) I finished in under 30 min, which for most people is ungodly slow.. but for me.. it's wicked fast. I was movin' and groovin'. My mom called out I was 6th chick out of the water.
The bike kicked my a$$. This was a first for me. This is where LA did not go unnoticed. My legs were pooped. The second half of the course had 3 steep climbs. Guys with disks & tight cassettes were standing up and leaning into every pedal stroke. The first hill was ok. The second hill I derailed, twice, trying to change gears. Once I got going I floored it to make up lost time and probably pushed myself a bit to hard. The 3rd hill hurt like hell. The bike was slow for me... but I knew for sure nobody else in my age group had passed me. There were 4 other bikes on the racks when I got back.. ok I'm in 5th.
The run hurt even more than the bike. Again, legs noticed. The course was a nice rolling course through neighborhoods and nature parks. Every girl I passed was in a different age group. Where are these 4 chicks ahead of me?? I was passed up by a 40 year old woman like I was walking... she looked great. I was then passed by a 26 year old with a mile or so left to go... she looked great. My legs were fried. I lengthened my stride as much as I could.. and raced to be done with my season for the year.
I crossed the finish about 4 mins slower than what I really wanted. Well, since no other chicks passed me, perhaps I was 4th? Speedy officials put up the prelim results, I was shocked. I stared at the score board silent with my hand over my gaping mouth. Those were guy's bikes racked on our rack not anyone in my division... I had won my division. My first purely athletic win. I still don't believe it! There are always chicks faster than you and there are always chicks slower than you. My race hurt and perhaps didn't feel like it was a race worthy of a win.. but it was. Turns out my bike split wasn't awful, 5th fastest overall women time...(but still could have been better... )
I do recommend this race to everyone. It was well run, the volunteers were amazing... no chance of going off course, the scenery was great.. and NO SURF!
Thanks for Dave... for encouraging the madness. Thanks to Pete for kicking my rear in gear. Thanks to all my friends and training buddies. TCSD Rocks. This sport takes so much out of you.. it's great to see you're all as crazy as I am... or perhaps crazier. Nick. Thanks to Denise, my boss, for playing the "What's Crazy Raja Doing After Work Today?" Game. I have to say.. what a very, very cool bunch of people. I'm not going to name everyone.. you know who you are. Thanks for all the cheer.. I heard you in Carpinteria!
Hi Ho, hi ho.. it's off to Nationals I Go!
Cheers,Raja
Last weekend my mum & I drove up to Santa Barbara County for the Carpinteria Triathlon USA Triathlon event. USAT events are, believe it or not, hard to find in So Cal... yet any triathlon with the slogan "100% California Grown" is probably a triathlon I need to be racing. They even included a nice avocado in our packets. Those nice Carpinteria folk! That's perhaps the first time real grown, non-nutritionally enhanced, processed food has ever been included in a race packet. Now... if only it would ripen....
Enough about fruits...
I had raced LA 2 weeks previous and had what I considered a "break-through" race. That race felt great and I could feel all benefits of training with coach Peter Clode all summer. All those great hours of having Dave motivate me to ride, run.. and yes, learn how to swim (already!). Now at Carpinteria 2 weeks later.. I knew in the back of my little noggin that my large effort in LA would not go unnoticed here... My original goal race was LA. After I found the Carpinteria race, I extended my season out to accommodate. My legs noticed and really were not too thrilled about the entire affair. Just before the race my legs were feeling ok... but I didn't exactly test them either.
The raging Day Fire burning out of control just over the hills was a big concern. The race director referred to the previous weekend as "Ash Sunday". Santa Ana winds were forecast and the Saturday before the race brought a huge smoke cloud which was beginning to block the sun. If it was raining ash in 12 hrs, the race would be cancelled. If it was smoky, the race director was going to leave it up to the competitior. Personally, I wanted to race. My body was beginning to fatigue.. or was that my mind..... from a pretty full year of training. I'm still new to this stuff. That night my mum & I visited our place in Ojai. The firemen had been there and prepared the property for the possibility of a fire storm. We turned on the sprinklers on the roof and visited some friends for dinner. It was raining ash in Ojai. We spend the night in Ventura to keep out of the smoke.
The morning of the race the weather was great. An onshore breeze was keeping the smoke at bay and it looked to be prime racing conditions. I warmed up, ran for a bit, did my cords and prepped for the race. The swim went well for me. I got slugged in the head pretty hard a couple of times by an aggro guy in our wave. They had combined men & women in waves... and the guys were sure to let you know they were there. As there was no place for me to go, people on top of people, I finally popped my head out of the water and screamed at the guy to "KNOCK IT OFF!" Hope I made him feel bad for hitting a girl. :-) I finished in under 30 min, which for most people is ungodly slow.. but for me.. it's wicked fast. I was movin' and groovin'. My mom called out I was 6th chick out of the water.
The bike kicked my a$$. This was a first for me. This is where LA did not go unnoticed. My legs were pooped. The second half of the course had 3 steep climbs. Guys with disks & tight cassettes were standing up and leaning into every pedal stroke. The first hill was ok. The second hill I derailed, twice, trying to change gears. Once I got going I floored it to make up lost time and probably pushed myself a bit to hard. The 3rd hill hurt like hell. The bike was slow for me... but I knew for sure nobody else in my age group had passed me. There were 4 other bikes on the racks when I got back.. ok I'm in 5th.
The run hurt even more than the bike. Again, legs noticed. The course was a nice rolling course through neighborhoods and nature parks. Every girl I passed was in a different age group. Where are these 4 chicks ahead of me?? I was passed up by a 40 year old woman like I was walking... she looked great. I was then passed by a 26 year old with a mile or so left to go... she looked great. My legs were fried. I lengthened my stride as much as I could.. and raced to be done with my season for the year.
I crossed the finish about 4 mins slower than what I really wanted. Well, since no other chicks passed me, perhaps I was 4th? Speedy officials put up the prelim results, I was shocked. I stared at the score board silent with my hand over my gaping mouth. Those were guy's bikes racked on our rack not anyone in my division... I had won my division. My first purely athletic win. I still don't believe it! There are always chicks faster than you and there are always chicks slower than you. My race hurt and perhaps didn't feel like it was a race worthy of a win.. but it was. Turns out my bike split wasn't awful, 5th fastest overall women time...(but still could have been better... )
I do recommend this race to everyone. It was well run, the volunteers were amazing... no chance of going off course, the scenery was great.. and NO SURF!
Thanks for Dave... for encouraging the madness. Thanks to Pete for kicking my rear in gear. Thanks to all my friends and training buddies. TCSD Rocks. This sport takes so much out of you.. it's great to see you're all as crazy as I am... or perhaps crazier. Nick. Thanks to Denise, my boss, for playing the "What's Crazy Raja Doing After Work Today?" Game. I have to say.. what a very, very cool bunch of people. I'm not going to name everyone.. you know who you are. Thanks for all the cheer.. I heard you in Carpinteria!
Hi Ho, hi ho.. it's off to Nationals I Go!
Cheers,Raja
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