UCI Zot Trot 2015 (Race Report 2)
by Jorge Palacios Jr.
A week before the day of the race, it finally hit me… I was going to participate in what would be my first race as a UCSD Triathlete. Throughout
Jorge pushing through the final stretch!
that entire week, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen that upcoming Sunday, on race day. Whenever I thought about it, whether it be during class, at home or when I was out for a workout, I always got a little freaked out. I’m usually able to calm down my nerves, since I was a Cross Country/Track & Field runner back in high school for three years, but this time it was different.
Saturday came and we all had to leave San Diego to go to our teammate’s house where we would stay for the night. Our teammate informed us that she would be having little kids over playing throughout most of the afternoon. At first I thought they would probably keep us up late at night, but it didn’t happen that way. Those adorable little kids helped to clear my mind a little and forget about what was happening the upcoming day. I couldn’t thank those kids enough for allowing me to somewhat relax and have an enjoyable moment before the race. That same night, we had to prepare all our things and clean our bikes for the event. It was all new to me, but thanks to Dan, who’s the president of the team, I was able to get everything done without having any trouble.
On Sunday morning, we all woke up at 4:00 am sharp to have a small breakfast, pack up our things and be on our way to UC Irvine. We arrived on campus at around 5:00 am and 15 minutes later, we were already at the transition area. Apparently we were 15 minutes early before the transition area opened, but once we saw someone already in, we didn’t hesitate and just ran in there to place our things in our designated spots. Once the entire team arrived we all decided we had to warm up and do any last-minute adjustments for the race.
Jason putting in a good effort on the unsuspectingly hilly Irvine bike course.
We headed towards the pool to have our race talk and surprisingly, I wasn’t feeling as nervous as I thought I would be. The entire team huddled up for the cheer and we made it clear to everyone that the UCSD Tritons were present! The race was a staggered start, meaning we were all separated about 10 seconds because we couldn’t have everyone enter the pool at the same time. It was my turn to jump in the pool and all of a sudden my nerves turned into excitement. During the course of the swim, people were passing me here and there and that was due to the fact that I was an amateur in the swim. The other competitors would bump into me and I did my best not to panic. I was very glad once I was out of the pool because all that was left to do was the bike ride and the run. The bike portion of the race was probably my favorite because I wasn’t really tired and I enjoyed the feeling of going really fast down the empty streets. The run was probably the most painful of them all, but I kept a strong mentality and fought the pain. I couldn’t be more proud of myself for crossing the finish line, but I knew that with more preparation I’d be able to overcome the fears I had and improve. Thanks to my teammates, I also gained the confidence I needed to go through race. I’m really looking forward to being part of another amazing experience and to a successful season for everyone.
Photo credits – Jason P.’s dad
