The Club Dilemma

Recently, my local running club held a meeting to discuss the future direction of the club. The meeting was hosted by the founder of the club who was acutely aware the club had naturally evolved over the past four years. It was time to re-evaluate the purpose of the club.

I didn't attend, but sent an email expressing my view. I joined the local running club to find like-minded people who I could train with, race with, and keep me motivated. Over the last few years, I have made great friends, learned a ton about training, and enjoyed the comraderie that only runners share. Over the course of time, the club also developed a logo, a web site, newsletter, club gear, and kept a record of Grand Prix points so club members could compete on a level playing field.

Then the club decided to take on the organizing of a local race, then another, and this year was considering launching another local race. We have raised money for charitable causes, given scholarships to local high school students, and generally given back to the community. The trouble is, that's not why I joined the club. I really just want to train and race. Philanthropy is important to me, but I prefer not to mix it with my training and racing.

So we find ourselves at a crossroads, and I re-evaluate why I seek the fraternity of fellow athletes. I know I never would have considered the triathlon, attempted the marathon or ultra marathons if I had not joined the running club in the first place. I have found some great training partners for the tri and running, and we have had a really fun time. The friendships have been very special.

In the end, I think we all have very similar priorities. Family first, then work, then working out. By the time we get to working out, there isn't much time. Maybe once the kids go off to college, I'll have more time...to run.

Sentinel Triathlon Results

I wasn't exactly ready for a race today, but I had missed the Triathlon at Pacific Grove a couple weeks earlier and wasn't ready for tri season to end, so I decided just a couple days ago to do the Sentinel for a second year in a row. It helped a lot to have my friend Doug who raced with me last year encouraging me to do it again with him. This was my 5th race of the season.

Part of me didn't want to do the race unless I had a chance of beating my not so impressive time of 2:49 last year. I thought my swim had improved considerably this year, but I wasn't spending as much time as I would have liked on the bike and I've been going to physical therapy for three weeks now to help loosen up a really tight external rotation of my hip flexors. Geez, that sounds like an old guy thing.

Conditions were about perfect. 60 degrees at race time and about the same water temp. I felt comfortable throughout the swim but my wave (45 - 49) seemed to thin out rather early and I felt like I was swimming almost entirely on my own as we turned around the end of the Santa Cruz pier. Stepping onto the beach I glanced at my watch to see I was nearly five minutes ahead of my split last year. I was stoked.

I have never perfected the art of getting out of a wetsuit. Even with the wetsuit peeled down to my waist, it's like trying to get out of a straight jacket in a bad magic show hanging from a burning rope. T1 just sucks.

I kept my bike computer on my average speed. I knew the course well, so all I had to do was equal or beat my 18.6 mph last year. On Hwy. 1 we were met with a brisk headwind. All I could do was hammer the downhills at 30+ mph and look forward to a tailwind on the return. The loop through the parking lot toward the end is a bone jarring ride. It felt like either my back or my bike would snap as I rattled through that section.

I finished the bike in 18.5 mph, so I knew I had a better overall time going than last year. Now if I could just run 8-min. miles like I did last year, I'd finish with a decent time. But less than two miles into the run, my left glute and right hamstring started cramping. I was ready to quit but I have never quit. I stopped for 10 - 15 secs. to stretch my legs, and that seemed to help. Still, I struggled the entire run. Both feet were numb and I wasn't going at the pace I wanted just to avoid injury.

I crossed the finish line but was so delirious I couldn't read the time on my watch. I finally figured out I finished in 2:45, exactly my goal time. That meant I improved dramatically on the swim this year. I'll have to tell my swim coach all the work is paying off.

All in all, I'm really pleased with my tri season. Two full Olympics, two shorter ones, one half ironman, and Aluminum Man in Maui. I feel like I have put some experience under my belt to tackle a bigger prize next year.

Splash 2 Dash Winner!

Today, at age seven, my son Cayman won the 7 - 8 yr.-old age group at the first annual Splash 2 Dash Youth Triathlon in our home town. He didn't train for it at all and it was his first triathlon. It was a 50-yard swim, a 3-mile bike, and a 3/4-mile run.

We didn't even know about the event until a few days ago. Yesterday, I took Cayman on our bikes to see the course. I explained each leg, showed him the transition area, and we rode the bike course. I think it helped him a lot. He knew where to go and knew how many laps of the looped course he needed to complete.

He was in the fourth wave, so he was able to watch other kids start in the pool, see them exit and head to the transition area. We jockeyed for position to get the first lane, closest to the transition area. I was trying not to take the whole thing too seriously, but any triathlete understands how to shave a few seconds here or there. I knew Cayman would go out as fast as possible on the swim, but he remembered to take a few breaths at the end of the pool before doing the second lap. My wife helped him out of the pool as I waited for him at his bike. I knew I could help him through a fast transition, but when he left on his bike, I couldn't tell where he was in the pack.

I ran out to the looped bike course to see how he was doing. He passed me halfway through the ride, where I told him it looked like he was in the lead! With an emphatic fist pump, he charged ahead. He passed me one more time and then I ran back to the transition area to meet him.

He was clearly in the lead coming into T2. I grabbed his bike and helmet right at the dismount area and he took off running. That was about a 4-second transition. Wouldn't it be nice if I could do that in one of my races. Just three laps around the parking lot, but he had now caught kids from the previous wave that started 15 minutes before him. He didn't realize he was only racing against his age group at that point, but the shuffle of kids everywhere urged him on.

He crossed the finish line in 23:46. Official results showed one other boy in his wave finishing in exactly the same time tied for first, but that's not possible because there was nobody near him at the finish. It was only after seeing the official times that I realized how far ahead of everyone Cayman finished. The average finishing time was around 33 minutes.

It was also great to have my wife and daughter on the course taking videos and pictures and cheering him on. We were all very proud of Cayman's win, and I would have been just as proud if he had not won, but for him to win in a field of 52 kids and beat all the 8-yr. olds. Wow, I was impressed.

Cayman was very proud of his accomplishment, but I think he expected to win. His win and his confidence inspired me. But already there are two giant differences between my son and me. He is starting the sport 35 years younger than when I started it. And he is really good.