Race Report: Santa Fe Triathlon 2010!

For the pre-race repot, click here
We had to put these happy faces on our legs!

And....we were off.... Cece gave Monique the 3:30 am wake up call and it was answered by a Good Fairy- like voice saying sarcastically, "I am so glad to be awake!" Cece forgot her food and Monique forgot her swim cap and goggles but somehow it all worked out with emergency supplies that Cece and Barry both carried!

Ayoub ran like a gazelle and Cece thinks it is so beautiful to watch him run with such grace and seemingly little effort.But, she knows how hard he trains to get this result! Cece and Monique kept seeing a flash of red jersey as he weaved in and out of the course.....and we knew he would be first. And yes, he came in first to lots of cheers and disbelief at his very fast time.

Monique took the timing chip off Ayoub and put it onto Cece. She did her run in cleats and uphill with her bike and felt relaxed and confident. She was able to mount her bike and clip in without problem.

BUT.....in a matter of seconds, problems started to arise! Being the first cyclist out on the course has its advantages and disadvantages....this time it was disadvantage as the volunteers waved her the wrong direction and in a matter of moments, she was trapped behind a coned in, taped up barricade that she could not get though! She was yelling and she kept pedaling so as not to fall off her bike and was directed though a little 4 inch space that let rain through in the midst of a 6 inch high cement median. In order to get through she had to turn sharply through this narrow space at a 90 degree right angle then 90 degrees left angle and then another sharp right just to get back onto the ride course! She had the sense "I'm going down" but somehow she did not!

WHEW! Finally she was on the actual course! She had lost a lot of speed by this point though and it was not long before a racer guy with flashy specialized triathlon wheels , aero helmet and Asso skin suit passed her.... flying by her like a jet! Those wheels even sound like a jet engine passing when they whoosh by! "OH well." This is Cece's mantra that she has been practicing. She was prepared for this.

The rest of her ride was a blurr. At some point, she went into the zone and felt like a bird flying through the air with no thought at all...there was just movement and space. Soon, she was over the final hill and wondered how she got to this point already? Back into the transition zone , she saw Ayoub waving her in....he took the timing chip off her and put it on Monique.

Monique had a long run too. And she decided to do it barefoot and without her glasses. She had to run down and then back... along what Cece had to run one way...and then down a ramp and into the pool.

By the time Cece got her cleats off and got into the pool area, Monique was already on her final lap! How did she do that? She looked so graceful in the pool cutting though the water with ease...out she jumped and down she ran over the timing mat, and we were finished with our triathlon! We were all happy and pleased by our own individual legs of the race. We all met our goals for the race.

Ayoub went out for another run after he was finished... and we knew that this distance for him was just like a warm up exercise...but perhaps he got "the itch" for triathlon ...perhaps for later on in his running career.


Cece

Race Day at the Cochiti Triathlon

When Cece left Albuquerque on Sunday morning, it was pouring rain. She remembered the last triathlon she was in with a bad shoulder when there was down pouring rain...hard to control the bike, hard to get warm and hard to see through the rain drops and fog on her glasses. Wet, wet wet! She hoped things would clear up for the race today and she kept reminding herself that going north might change things weather wise. As she travelled, the sun started to rise and Cece kept pulling over to take pictures, which resulted in her being late to the triathlon! But it all worked out fine! The lake was over cast and there was a great deal of cloud cover which made the 75 degrees with a slight breeze very pleasant for all the athletes.

Cochiti Lake is VERY rocky and we had to climb over many barriers made of rocks....hard on the feet!

Here is Cece's friend Ellie and her son Jacob. She told Cece the last pic she took of her made her look like she was eating a bug! Cece told her to get rid of the bug face then!
Remember our mothers told us not to make that face because it will freeze that way! She looks fantastic and Jacob won some raffles at the tri this am!

Stephanie, Cyan and Misty pre-race....working on their game faces!

The triathlon had a separate feature this year! In addition to the tri they held an adventure race. Here are the adventure racers taking off. They rode and then had to use GPS signals to find clues which led them to kayaks and they had to paddle 8 miles....then use the GPS continually to find their other destinations which involved swimming, rock climbing and much more. This was an 8 hour race! WHEW!

Cece had a bird's eye view of the transition area for the triathlon. She was at the Leukemia Society booth which she set up so that she could observe the transition technique! Cece will be doing this next Saturday! Running in cleats and then hopping on the bike and clipping in is not a graceful maneuver! She saw falls and near crashes, a person who lost their shoe, and many had to stop and fiddle around with adjustments just to get going. Many had their bikes in the wrong gear and were pushing too large gears and could not get their bikes to move once they hopped on! Then from that cold start, they had to climb the boat launch wall that was a 12 percent grade and then climb the dam wall. URGH! Lots of climbing with cold legs.

Misty did a fantastic job swimming in open water with a personal record that she set for herself today. Then Stephanie took off from the transitional area...with one of the more graceful exits Cece saw all day. Cece is looking forward to her own...graceful exit next Saturday!

This is Cyan getting her mojo on before she takes over the run from Stephanie on the bike. Focus. Cyan. Focus! She told Cece she has never run a 10K before...but Cece knows she is a capable runner and this should be no problem for her at all! But it was getting real hot by the time she started running.....

But still, she had no problems at all!

Besides a few open water rescues, it was a great day and fun was had by all. After the race, they had a big BBQ and handed out prizes and it was fun to hear all the stories of the day as people lay down and got massages to unwind their tired bodies!