TrI'ing to Find Treasure in the Island

What happened to the month of July? It snuck by me in a flurry of work --end of our sales quarter--family and a bit of training. Somewhere in the month, however, I snuck in a weekend of festivities at one of my favorite San Francisco Bay area locations-- Treasure Island. This is the fourth time I've competed in the Treasure Island triathlon and the third time for the Sprint distance event. The Tri California Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon is on the Sunday morning, July 10th and the Olympic Distance is on the Saturday morning, the 9th. I decided that this year, I would drive over on Saturday morning and tune my legs up by doing the 5k fun run which runs before the Olympic distance triathlon starts and then get inspired by watching the Olympic Distance athletes, pick up my race packet and then rest up for Sunday's Sprint.

Saturday morning dawned overcast and chilly. We've had a lingering low pressure state in Northern California which is leaving us with weather that aligns with the famous phrase "the coldest winter you'll ever spend is a summer in San Francisco." Air temps were in the low 50's with fog and a stiff breeze -- actually perfect running weather! And comparing to the rest of the US which has been sizziling in three digit heat waves, I'll take some cool running.

The fun run was nice... not too crowded with about 100 runners combined doing the 5 and 10k. The 10k was three loops an the 5k two shorter loops so you could see fellow runners a couple of times and encourage them on. While not a competitive race (no awards), I have to admit I got a bit of the competitive spirit in me when I found myself in the position of being the lead female 5k runner. There were definitely a couple of faster ladies out there but they were doing the 10k. The volunteers were cheerful and the great weather pushed me to a decent pace. Actually, it was my first sub 23:00 5k since Mother's day. Felt good to push the legs a bit and here's proof I can still sneak under 23...barely.

Later on, I stayed and watched the early waves of the Olympic triathlon which were the college men and women and younger men. Wow, those young racers are fast and they all seem to have mastered the skill of the shoes on the bike pedal mount. I still clomp along and then clip in as I have a fear of doing a face plant at the mount line.. I know.. old dog.. new trick ..

I also took full advantage of the free massage and the fantastic sale on Treasure Island triathlon clothing and scored a $10.00 sweatshirt and training shirt.. nice!

Sunday morning dawned even earlier, just as foggy and cool as Saturday, and I had no traffic making my way to the race. It's pretty amazing that with no commuter traffic, I can make to to Treasure Island from San Jose in less than an hour and that's not speeding (well at least not much more than 70 mph on highway 280)...It's really not that far even though once you are on the Island with the amazing views of the San Francisco skyline and the East Bay as well as the Bay Bridge, you do feel you've escaped to somewhere special.

I saw lots of my fellow age group competitor friends.. it's really nice when you see the same faces year after year and can catch up and enjoy commraderie. Once again, I saw the amazing youth athletes and the timeless Barbara Robbin, all 75 years young and braving the bay waters without a wetsuit. I decided to try the sprint race in my sleeveless wetsuit to not feel as constricted but I'm afraid I did get a bit too cold and the arms didn't work as well feeling numb..definitely not my best swim... note to self.. no matter how short the swim, if it's in San Francisco Bay, wear the full suit.

I really like the bike course on the TI Sprint race. It's my moment of feeling like I'm a true bike racer. (true bike racers may beg to differ however :-) ) It is technical but not hilly with lots of turns and some tricky road surfaces like a small section of cobblestone. Because you have to focus on how you are riding and be fast yet safe, you don't really think about how hard you're working and the bike course just blows by. I had one of my better rides, 3rd fastest in the ladies field.

Reality set in on the run. I realized I ran a little too energetically in Saturday's 5k and had a bit of dead leg syndrome... it was time to dig deep and remind myself that people do Ironman distance with full marathons after 100+ mile bike rides so a tired leg 5k is really quite manageable. I definitely wasn't as fast as the day before but felt steady, holding about an 8 min/mile pace. The finish line was a fine sight to see however!

I stayed around for awards as the Tri California folks with the energetic Julie Moss do such a nice job on recognizing everyone and keeping it moving along briskly but with ample acknowledgement. I didn't defend last year's win but came in 2nd and was happy with my effort.

Once again, I went searching for treasure on the island and found it in the form of a Sprint Triathlon.. what a great event!

Brazen racing around the Bay Area

I've been busy, busy, busy and as a result, a slacker on blogging about my running races and triathlons... well, time to "cowboy up" and share a bit about these events because the Northern California bay area is full of racing gems.

Part of me wants to keep these as secrets as they are so much fun with small crowds and without the fear of selling out weeks before the event but they are just too much fun to keep all to myself. I'll start my 2011 experiences with a little bit of brazen fun. This is, what I believe, the second year for race organizers Brazen Racing. I'll start with the fact that I love the name. These races are not for the faint of heart. While some are a bit more mild on creek trails and bike paths, most have more than a bit of hills (how about 1000 feet of climbing in a 5k!), a lot of mud if the rains come (which 2011 has already had more than it's fair share), some obstacles and whatever the weather has in it's bag. But, did I say, gorgeous views, spectacular courses, great T-shirts and medals, and all you can eat goodies (like ice cream sandwiches and pumpkin pie) at the end.

These are races where I can gain weight after competing :-)

The Brazen team increased their calendar this year so my hopes of doing all the races in the series quickly went away when I saw the sheer volume. That said, I've done six this year and am signed up for this Saturday's Bad Bass 5k at Lake Chabot -- with the best logo I've seen in a long time.

The first race this year was Jan 2nd at the Brazen New Years. I did the 10k at lake Chabot with the big, steep hill at mile 3. It had been raining for three weeks straight and let's just say I slipped and slid my way through the race. My husband's comment afterwards "did you run through a horse barn"? Not my best race, couldn't place in my age group due to my poor mud form.

In February, I did the Bay Breeze, a.k.a the "Bay Freeze" which was a mild course on a bike path along the bay in San Leandro. The views were beautiful but it was hard to concentrate on the view when being pelted by driving rain and hail in 40 degree weather. I ran it sick (never a good idea) and muddled my way through a 25 minute 5k but I can say the hot coffee never felt better and the T-shirt designs were awesome.

March brought the Western Pacific 5k out at Quarry Lakes in Fremont. Another mild course from Brazen -- relatively flat dirt trails around the quarry lakes. Great food afterwards. Didn't have my best day of running (not sure why) but enjoyed the full race and still snuck an age group win given that the field was spread over a 5k, 10k, 1/2 and full marathon.. .lot's of choices... Next year, I'll take on the 10k as I like this course

The last two Brazen races I've done have been fantastic. I've felt stronger as a runner and they have been great courses. The first was the Wildcat Canyon and this was an amazing, gorgous, brutal course. 1000 feet of climbing in a 5k. You went up, up, up, then steep down, then more up, down, u-turn and do it all again. But the reward was amazing sweeping views across the East Bay to San Fransisco, and then, ice cream! Almost got the overall women's win but a much younger and speedy runner who I almost caught on the last up hill had some very fast downhill speed and my knees were not up to task...

Lastly was the Hellyer 5k. Again, another atypical flat course for Brazen but a very pretty venue down the Coyote Creek trail in South San Jose. Saw a lot of run club friends at this one and really enjoyed the race. Won the age group but did get beat by some fit 50+ runners.. always something to respect ! Once again, finish was greated by ice cream, fruit and lots of great snacks.

Missed the June races -- Sanborn Park and Nitro trail -- due to triathlons but I'm really looking forward to Bad Bass.

Go Brazen! http://www.brazenracing.com/