Disclosure: I race for free with Esprit de She as part of their ambassador program, but the opinions are all mine.
This is my third Esprit de She triathlon (read about 2015 and 2014), and my fourth event with the group (read about my first year as an ambassador). The weather this year was by far the best of all the years I've attended. A new addition to my racing kit was the Zipp 808 wheels we bought a few months ago. I had never ridden on them but no time like the present, right? And throwing all race advice to the wind, I also decided to wear new daily contacts to this race instead of my regular lenses on the advice of my eye doctor. I'm positively living on the edge.
I timed it pretty well and had just enough time to hit the port o pottie, walk down to the beach to warm up, then get into my wave. There were 11 people in my wave, and I realized listening to the National Anthem that I forgot my Garmin. Better to leave that at home than my goggles, but it was annoying to not have a gauge of how I was doing all day long. The swim was uneventful - I kept up for the first lap and was falling behind by the second turn buoy. No big deal, just keep swimming. I was the last elite out of the water and got a healthy round of applause from the waiting triathletes. My transition felt long because the people in the relay wave were waiting for their swimmers and I had to jostle to get my bike. It also took me forever to click into my pedal.
The bike was interesting in that on my first loop, I was completely alone. I saw no one, and felt like I was flying on the new wheels. I learned why you don't use 808s in wind - every gust felt like it might be my last. On the second loop, the relay and survivor waves hit the course and I had a slightly more difficult time navigating around other athletes. This race is roughly 25-35 percent first-time racers, and there aren't course marshals, so I would say there is a lot of rule-breaking cycling going on out there. I nearly hit a spectator on my way out of transition because they weren't paying attention crossing over the course.
When I hit T2, I knew I had pushed it on the bike as hard as I could. My legs were tingly, but I easily settled into a pace. I decided when I hit the 2-mile marker I'd try to push as hard as I could to the finish. This resulted in nearly bowling over more spectators, but also ensuring that I was spent when I crossed the finish line. I kept reminding myself to push harder because training wise, I should've been out riding a century or running like 15 miles, so I had to make this race count.
Time: 1:23:03 for a sprint triathlon
Price: $80 if you registered early
Pros: Lots of swag (Moxie top, shorts and skirt), unique medal, really posh post-race party, beginner-friendly course, no need for a wetsuit
Cons: The bike course gets super clogged up because athletes don't follow the "bike right, pass left" rule, the swim requires several turns, transition doesn't appear to have enough room, the jerseys aren't as cute this year as previous year's
Would I do this race again? I'm reluctant to stop, since I'm a Founding Finisher, but also, it tends to conflict with my longer-distance training plans. We'll see what date it falls next year, and if they'll have me as an ambassador!
2 comments:
I was a little less than 2 minutes slower than last year, too! Strange since the weather the year was not a monsoon :-)
On the final approach to the bike finish a woman swerved out in front of me and I yelled "WHOA! ON YOUR LEFT." Another participant told me in transition that she was proud I didn't let fly a bunch of curse words and complemented me on my bike handling.
It does have a lot of beginners who don't know what they're doing but I do like that it's so welcoming.
Congrats on a great race! The swim for us mortals (age groupers) is really crowded too. I just couldn't get around anyone. And I agree on the bike etiquette. I wish more people knew the etiquette and rules of the bike or they were enforced a bit. And I actually really like the top!
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