Highlights from the Shawnigan Sprint Tri

This isn't really a race report since it's taken me a week to get to it - basically just some highlights and random thoughts from the race.

The water was really warm - 20.5 degrees C.  Pretty unusual for May around here.  We didn't get as much rain as normal over the winter, and no snow in the mountains so I guess that's why.  I imagine a lot of the local races won't be wetsuit legal this summer if this keeps up!

Seems like the field gets smaller here every year.  Too bad as it's a great little race; hopefully now that WTC owns it, they'll find a way to build up the numbers.

This year felt easier than last year.  Good sign.

The new Betty Designs team kit is super comfortable.  And gets lots of attention and compliments!

I decided I'd ride hard, but not crazy uncomfortably hard (if that makes sense).  I ended up with the fastest bike split in my AG by 2 minutes.  Yes!

My friend Candace came out to watch, and she's a super race cheerleader so it's always great when she comes.  If it looks to her like I'm not working hard enough, she yells at me and makes me dig deep.

I wore these really cute runners that matched my kit perfectly (Brooks pure cadence 3), even though I knew they had a rub spot.  Yep - got a pretty nasty blister.  I'm torn with what to do with them... everything else is great except that one spot.

Nice way to start the tri season - 1st place M45-49 for Jason in the olympic event, 2nd place W45-49 for me in the sprint.  My first ever race in the 45-49 category!

Next up... Victoria sprint on June 14.  Before that though, Jason's off to Escape from Alcatraz this week!

Sprint Race Gear List

I'm getting ready for my first triathlon of the season tomorrow, the Shawnigan Lake sprint tri.  One of the nice things about a sprint (besides being done before breakfast), is that - relative to longer triathlons - you don't need a lot of gear.  Here's everything I'm using tomorrow.

My snazzy new Betty Designs team kit!

Swim:
- wetsuit (still too early for the lakes here to be warm enough to not be wetsuit legal)
- swim cap
- tinted goggles
- race kit
- timing chip

Good sign that my swim cap matches my kit!

Bike:
- bike with race wheels (6" deep front and 9" deep rear)
- tri shoes (different than my road shoes as they have one big velcro strap for quick on-and-off)
- helmet (I've switched to "aero road" this year to have a single helmet that does it all)
- sunglasses
- Garmin Edge 500
- one bottle with Vega Pre-Workout Energizer

Paired down bike... only one bottle cage (between the aero bars)
and no bento box, etc - completely unnecessary for such a short race!

Run:
- running shoes
- socks
- visor
- number belt
- one Gu Roctane

That's it!  While that may still seem like a lot of gear, it's so little compared to a race like Ironman.

Team EMJ CAF ride in LA

Jason and I were in North County (San Diego) for the May long weekend, and decided to take an impromptu trip up to LA for the Saturday.  Jason's on the Every Man Jack triathlon team, and some of their local athletes were hosting a charity ride to benefit Challenged Athletes Foundation.  We thought it was a great cause, a nice chance to ride some new roads, and an opportunity for Jason to hang out with some of his teammates.

It meant an early wake-up call from Oceanside where we were staying, as check-in for the ride was 7am in Santa Monica.  Luckily early morning freeway traffic is light, so we arrived with lots of time. Turned out the group was a pretty small one, but eager nonetheless (most doing the 100-mile option, Jason & I chose the 70-mile route).  A few of us rolled out together, with CJ & Brad from Team EMJ leading the way.

Ready to roll!

We headed out via Brentwood to the coast, along the PCH through Malibu, and then up into the Santa Monica mountains.  Of course, like every ride I seem to agree to do, it has a gnarly climb in there somewhere!  Shockingly though, I wasn't the last up of our group! Small victories.

600m climb in about 15km - yay.

 

Climbing Encinal Canyon.

At the top of Mulholland, the 100-milers peeled off from the 70-milers, and we headed back down to the PCH.  Riding through Malibu, I looked over to the water and noticed a group of about 5 dolphins swimming along the shore!  Nice to be accompanied by beautiful animals through a beautiful part of the world!

The traffic had definitely picked up, especially as we got closer to the city.  We arrived back at Bike Improve (and I'd spied a Whole Foods in Brentwood to head back to for lunch...), and not long after, most of the 100-mile group arrived back by SAG - they ran into some vicious headwinds and called it a day.  We mingled, ate pizza, watched the Tour of California on the shop TV, and waited for the two brave souls that stuck out the full 100 miles to return.  Then it was time to head back to our condo in Oceanside to plan the next day's adventures!  Once again, SoCal did not disappoint!