My triathlon club has a long history in this race and we've supported it long before I got here, all of two years ago. Although a relative triathlon newbie, I've been in nearly 20 events including Wildflower, Alcatraz, the Big Kahuna 1/2 Iron-distance, and for me the grand daddy of them all, the Ford Ironman in St. George, Utah.
Yesterday was a great day to have a race, June 13, 2010. This is one of two events that USA Productions has "in the neighborhood." The other one is at Uvas Reservoir in Morgan Hill and it's another super fun race. And they are getting better and better at organizing these events. There'll be glitches but hey, go out with a good attitude, have fun, and you can overlook some of the minor things that will always be present.
So I rode my bicycle the short 3 miles to the venue and arrived around 5:30am. The sun was just coming up and it was warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It was around 60 degrees, which was a good thing because it was in the 90's the day before and people were already slathering up on the sun screen. There was little to no wind and it would be a beautiful day, if not just a wee bit on the warm side. I missed seeing the pros this year. I didn't quite understand last year's pro race in that it was a swim, run, time-trial thing. But it had a big purse and it was still cool to see those athletes perform up close. Their power in the bike and the run never ceases to amaze me. It's just super cool. Anyhow, they weren't here this year.
The swim course is in Lake Almaden. It's a deep water start so there's no pushing and shoving to get into the water. But make no mistake, it is a triathlon. And as such it's full contact swimming! The water temp was around 68 and I was comfortable in a shorty wetsuit. The water in San Jose is notoriously "toxic" but I've been swimming in nearby Calero, Uvas, and Lake Almaden since I was a kid and I've never gotten sick or anything. I've heard stories of athletes having issues though. Whatever. Here I am the next day and I feel fine. The swim is the swim: it's 1,500 meters of three left turns and a right. Next thing you know you're running up a small beach toward your bike.
The bike course is really fun. It's 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) of rollers and some climbs but mostly it's fairly flat and fast. You leave T1 and start riding flat roads mixed in with some rollers and a little head wind on the Southbound leg for about 12 miles. The wind tends to blow from the south in the mornings and the north in the afternoons around here. At the turn-around I immediately noticed the tailwind and my speed increased about 25-30% from 19 mph to about 26 mph. After a slight climb on Bailey Ave it's pretty much all down hill from there.
The run course was also super fun. It's 10k or 6.2 miles. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the run course but it starts out of T2 and goes out of the park and continues on a paved path which is flat and fast. The whole run course is pretty flat with really nice scenery. None of it is on city streets and there are no cars, how cool is that?! This year it was EXACTLY 6.2 miles, much to the joy of many an athlete. There were several aid stations (4?) with great volunteers along the way, providing water and gel. By the end of the run the temperatures had climbed into the 80's and it was really quite nice. At the finish line we were greeted with an ice cold bottle full of water and a medal. Honestly, the medal was kinda cheap looking compared to others but hey, the event was really fun and well attended. They should look at the medals given out at the Big Kahuna in Santa Cruz and Wildflower.
The post race festivities included live music, food and drinks. I found the venue really nice and USA Productions effort much more focused this year. I look forward to next year's race!
