by Liezl Maree
Liezl:
Racing at Stanford was quite an experience. This was the first race this season that offered a draft legal option for us newbees. So, wanting to give everything a try at least once, I decided it was a wonderful idea to sign up for the draft legal Treeathlon. Little did I know that draft legal also stood for “do not attempt if you can’t swim fast”. I found out that if I ever called myself a swimmer, I was poorly mistaken. Surely, being MIA for a week of practices due to poor time-management during midterms round 2, didn’t help my case at all during the Treeathlon.
To start things off, we woke up pretty late (at 5:10am WOW) after 3 snoozes of the alarm. But, Barry, Andie and I managed to pack the car pretty quick (mostly Barry and Andie, I was definitely the last person in the car – spoiler alert for how my race went). When we rolled up to transition to set our things up, I was greatly intimidated by the other girls, mainly the fact that they were taping gels to their bikes – WOW tape and gels, this was a whole other league. Emily and B were still setting up as Andie and I left to walk 15 min to the swim start to warm up. However, upon arrival, Andie and I found that we could not warm up due to the lack of lifeguards in the water. 10 minutes before the race was scheduled to start, there were about 5 girls near the start. But luckily, the lifeguards would help us delay the race for another 50 minutes. This also gave Henry and Sofia time to roll up to hang with Emily, B, Andie, and I as we all shivered in our wetsuits and listened to B complaining that her energy gel was already de-energized like an hour ago.
Finally, we were allowed to get into the 52 degree water to warm up. AWESOME. I really got the feeling that everyone was totally cool with not warming up… until a few brave souls started to slowly edge their way to the water, FANTASTIC! Then, everyone felt like they had to, so we all tiptoed our way to the majestically murky brown water. The water was so cold, I thought I had a metal necklace on that was freezing my chest. Everyone was ready to start the race just for the sole reason of generating body heat. Fast forward, the race starts and I really didn’t want to get kicked in the face so I managed to stay on the outskirts of the pack, feet within reaching distance until about the first turn. Then I realized I had lost the pack. So on top of freaking out about not having gels or tape, I was freaking out about not having a pack to draft with and I was going to get lapped and I was going to be DQ-ed and yadayadayada. I sadly report that I resorted to backstroking and Henry got a picture of it. I vowed from that moment on that I would swim everyday the next week (but broke that promise promptly the next day on Monday when I sporadically decided to go snowboarding instead).
After flopping on top of the deck with numb arms, I was 3rd to last. However, on the run to transition (yes, there was a run TO transition) I managed to become 2nd to last. Then, during the struggle to get my numb feet in my bike shoes, I was finally in my rightful place of dead last. But, no matter, I mean I could still catch up right? Wrong. So wrong. The other girls had already formed their packs, two main ones with a few girls spaced in between. My main motivation at this point was to not get lapped out (which ended up happening on my 3rd of 4 laps by former UCLA athlete Hanna Grubbs who was WAAAYYYY ahead of everyone else, but gratefully I was allowed to keep going).
The run was basically just a way to thaw my body and start to feel my feet again. With no one near me, I felt I was going slow, which was confirmed with a barely sub 8 min pace. I would like to give all the spectators (Henry, Sofia, Michael, Henry’s family, the Standford people, etc.) a genuine shout out for trying to convince me I was doing great despite my place in the race.
Well, I mean, I finished. If you ever feel like you had a bad race, honestly, just read this. But, despite being pretty much last, I would definitely do it again, but better hopefully. I also really liked that half our team raced early and half raced late so we could watch and cheer for each other which is always nice.
by Sara Lucero and Michael Chen
Sara:
I don’t know why I signed myself up for the Irvine race, the first triathlon of the season. I didn’t have a race kit. Or clip in pedals. Or any sort of real training for the last couple of months.
Perhaps I was compelled by the amount of money I spent already in becoming a triathlete and needed to make it worthwhile, or felt ashamed for making rare (very rare almost non-existent) appearances at practices and needed to forcefully reinsert myself into the team, or maybe I am subconsciously a masochist and enjoy sabotaging myself. Whatever the reason, I soon found myself in a car, with B and Emily, heading up to Irvine–the Land of Zots.
By Sofia Schugar and Rory Runser
Sofia:
That One Time at Bike Camp by Sofia Schugar
Bike camp is much more than just bikes, it is bikes, burritos, bonking, and much much more, in fact we prefer to call it Barry’s Bike Burrito Brew Bonk in Borrego, and I’ll just leave that to interpretation. Upon arriving in the 80 degree weather at 8:00 in Borrego, I witnessed a group of athletes consume Mexican food at record breaking paces, and I myself indulged in the experience as to “carb-load” for some huge ride the next day. After this we found ourselves around a campfire getting to know the teammates we would suffer and succeed with the next day. There we also played a few ice breaking games that some of us were not as good at as others (think two truths and a lie turned into ten truths and a lie). After that, the sound of manic coyotes lulled us to sleep as we rested for our ride the next day. We wake the next day to a beautiful sunrise and Beril counting down the minutes until we needed to be dressed and ready at Christmas Circle, the most dazzling attraction in all of Borrego Springs, from there the real fun began.
By Beril Polat
When I qualified for NCAA Nationals after racing at Bearathlon (UC-Berkeley), I felt very honored. I never really thought I would make it to NCAA Nationals when I used to swim varsity in undergrad, but here I was, going for triathlon. I was ready to take on the challenge and go race at Nationals although I knew that the competition was going to be fast. I packed my good old Hyundai Tucson again and drove from San Diego to Tempe, Arizona with Zack. I’m glad he was with me because the roads were pretty boring along the way. We arrived to our hotel on Friday night and went to sleep right away. Read more »
by Zack Goodman
I’ve come full circle – this time last year, I was writing my race report for my first ever race as a Triton. And what a great year it’s been! *Happy tears*
Coveskipper is the first of two races that our team hosts, the second being Tritonman. Coveskipper is an Aquathlon – a swim-run – which means no bike racks in transition. Which means setup and breakdown is a breeze. Happy volunteer here. Read more »
by Alireza Sarebanha and Maggie Goodson
Ali:
Although some of my non-triathletes’ friends found it irrational (not the exact word they used!) to do this race on my birthday weekend, I was really pumped and ready for it. I couldn’t find a better way to enjoy my birthday weekend doing three things that I love (swimming, biking, and running) with people that I love, my super awesome teammates!
4:00AM alarm went off and 4:20AM I am driving on empty streets of LA on my way to UCLA. Read more »
by Jasmine Stansil and Billy Wegeng
Jasmine:
I was up at 7 am, getting myself together so that I’d be ready to leave at 8 am with Ella and Tyler. I’d packed the night before, so no last minute packing this time! I was heading downstairs when Ella texted me that she’d be a little late, so I was like, ‘Cool. I’ve got time to pump up my tires.’ I went and did that, and then waited for Tyler and Ella to show up. Tyler beat Ella by a couple of minutes, and at 8:30 we were off! Read more »
by Nathan Platt and Jasmine Stansil
Nathan:
I was super excited to race Zot Trot up in Irvine this past weekend. Not only would it be my first triathlon on the triathlon team (albeit a reverse one), but what a great excuse to not study for midterms! After getting lost (slightly) on the way up, Jake and I met the rest of the team at UCI Saturday afternoon to preview the course. I had been told by numerous people so far that this course was very challenging so I was anxious to see what it was like. And indeed with obstacles such as sharp turns, mud, strewn shrubbery, and even worse hills, I wasn’t feeling too hopeful about my performance the next day. To make matters worse, it was supposed to be foggy the next morning! Eager to boost my confidence, I loaded up on some delicious fake chicken and even deliciouser Trader Joe’s bread (carbo loading yo) that evening and settled in at Jason’s house for the night. Read more »
by Joana Coker and Barry Weickert
Joana:
A race report about Tritonman is always bigger than just the race. Because this is my account of the race, I can only talk about the work I did and people I interacted with. And I don’t have space to mention even all of those. Although I’m going to miss many people’s contributions to this awesome event, thank you everyone for your hard work.
On Friday, the day before the race, I spent the afternoon with the registration crew at Moment Bicycles in Point Loma, helping to check racers in and distribute timing chips. I was also attempting to put new tires on my TT bike. With the rain pouring down Friday and a wind advisory in effect, aero wheels were sounding worse and worse for Saturday. I needed some new tires on my bike’s regular wheels if they were going to be ride-able for the race. Putting brand-new tires on a bike wheel is a test of patience and mental stability, and I was fast heading towards instability at Moment. I had given up on the back wheel – after getting the tire on but producing a pinch flat in the process – and was struggling with the front when a Good Samaritan offered to help. He got the front tire on successfully, and then introduced himself as the coach of WeTri, a triathlon team for teenagers. They had come all the way from Sacramento for this race, a testament to how much Tritonman has grown and become respected in the tri community. Read more »
by Barry Weickert and Nailea Regin
Barry:
I check the packing list once again making sure I have everything I need for the trip, all I know is that I am going to the desert and I’m about to have the best time of my life (according to anyone and everyone who has ever gone to UCSD triathlon bike camp before). Everything is good to go, my driver is on his way and I’m about to find out what it means to be cyclist… whatever that is. Read more »