May 11

Another nicely organized triathlon from kozenterprises. It seems that there are more and more participants every year, the swim seems particularly crowded to me. I was also surprised by what seems to me like a unnecessary splurge on high tech equipment by many amateur racers. Are we in a recession? Apparently not. I was surrounded by new $3000+ tri bikes (Cervelo, Kuota etc…) with sharp Zipp wheels, profiled athlete feeding systems (hey guys this is a 1 hour effort, how much gel and sport drinks are you going to carry along?). I can only say it makes me laugh when I rack my $700 bike at the same time they do… yet I have to be honest, there were many bikes already racked by the time I got to T2.

Coming off a painful marathon recovery and a overall lack of motivation, it was good to be back in a race. I always sign up for the 2 sprint distances held in mission bay, easy swims, easy in and out (provided you park along the river not in the parking lot).

Michellie Jones was competing with the elite athletes, giving the local guys some challenge. I was impressed with how fast she gets in and out or T1, she was 7th overall.

And finally, I just had to smile at the Duathlon start line pinned to the trash cans…so local.