Lake Sammamish Triathlon

This was the Saturday race of my Saturday-Sunday double.  Last year I was knocking right on the door for the win.  Francis Stanberry, a super-fast buddy of mine, out surged my other friend, Jonmark, and me at the end for the win.  I was hoping to move up one spot this year.  I want to win this race.

 

*5:45am and Team Hammer is all smiles. I had such a good time with David and Richard, they are great guys.

 

I enjoy this race because it has a ton of people, and it is superbly run by Budu Racing.  This year over 600 were signed up to race which makes me happy as a racer and as a friend of Deanna and Rory.  The race is run in waves, my wave is usually second, so I have a lot of people to chase down thanks to the three-minute cushion, which I enjoy. 

The swim went great, I navigated most of the course in a straight line.  The end of the swim got a little dicey as we caught the previous wave, but I made it to shore with minimal collisions.  I exited the swim 3rd in my heat and right in the thick of the previous wave.  The chase was on!

*Swim exit

 

I love the bike here because it's constantly chasing and passing people.  I love to fly by the previous wave and just "let the big dog eat."  :)  The course is coned off and narrow so you have to keep your head up.  It added a bit of a challenge this year because it was raining cats and dogs on the bike.

After a mile or two I saw my Hammer Teammate, Martin Ayling, riding strong.  I told him good job as our paths crossed.  My other Hammer Teammate, Richard Ling, started in the previous wave and I passed him on the bike right out of transition.  At mile 2 Richard re-passed me.  I was so happy to see him doing well, I really enjoyed having him to race with on the bike. 

I should not have been because he is an awesome rider, but I was a little surprised when he passed me.  When I recognized the hunkered-down Asian Shinkansen (Asian Bullet Train), I said, "What the heck has gotten into you, you're looking great, Richard!"  His reply made me laugh, "Be nice to me today, it's my birthday." ha ha ha ha ha

We exchanged a few back-and-forths as we ticked off the miles and consumed the previous wave on our way to the front of the race.  At the turn-around there were only a few people in front of us, all of which started with the 3 minute cushion.  I took time checks to a few of them, Drew Magill (my triathlon idol) in particular, and I was sitting pretty.  I rode steady the rest of the way back to the lake without losing any spots.  It was time to run.

*I love coming into an empty transition area.

*Matching head to toe, time to run.

 

The run here is an ankle buster.  It has knobby paths, tight and twisting corners, and it is fun.  There were two things going through my mind on the run; finishing within 3 minutes of anyone in the previous heat (which would mean I beat them), and being aware of any one in my heat posing a threat. 

 

I did my best on the run and felt like I was running fast.  Turns out it was a little slower than the two previous times I raced here, which leads me to think I am probably over-raced and over-trained.  None-the-less, I held strong and had fun.  On the run I lost one spot.  Michael Millic, a 15 year old on the Canadian National Team went flying by on the run doing easily a mid five-minute pace.  I give him a lot of credit because his run was amazing, easily besting the entire field. 

 

When we finished we all waited for the numbers to tell us how we did overall. I saw that I finished 2nd overall, narrowly beating Drew, my idol, for the first time ever. I don't want to make too grand of a deal out of this, but I have dreamed of beating Drew for 3 years.  I may never beat him again, but today I finally did.  I would like to mention that Aaron Scheides, an inspirational, blind triathlete, had the fastest time on the course.  He easily won the para-division [using a tethered guide] in dominating fashion.  He was amazing.  

*Really proud of my outfit :)

*Michael Millic and me on the podium.

*Martin "The Torso" Ayling and his family.  It was great to spend time chatting with them after the race, nice folks.

*The Budu crew, Jenna and Shila, my two favorite girls.  A big thank you to them for their cheers and pictures.

*I found it comical that David seatbelts his bike in the car.

It was great to stay with Kevin.  He is the funniest son of a bean-sprout I have ever met.  I am in stitches from the time I arrive until the time I leave.  I had so much fun at his house relaxing, watching movies, and making delicious food.

*Seriously, he is so funny! (seriously-funny = oxymoron)

*We made delicious tuna melts with avocado and eggs.

*We watched the movie Oblivion after the race.  I told Kevin to act natural, as you can see he is cracking me up by doing the opposite of "natural."

Saturday was a great day and I enjoyed it.