Riding to the Hollywood Sign. Photo taken by Sarah Douglass
I’m now an official finisher of eleven triathlons. My favorite leg is the bike, but my best leg is usually the run. I’m not a very fast swimmer, but I’ve come to enjoy it enough to look forward to future triathlons.
1. Strawberry Fields Sprint in Oxnard on July 18, 2010.
Distances: 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run. I finished in 1:35:00 (one hour, thirty-five minutes).
2. Nautica Malibu Classic in Malibu on September 12, 2010.
Distances: 4 miles on a relay team. My goal was 4 miles in under 00:35:00 minutes. I got myself a nice side cramp a couple minutes into the run and ran it in 00:36:52.
3. Inaugural Carson Triathlon on October 23, 2010. A reverse triathlon where it rained the whole time!
Distances: 5K run, 12 mile bike, 200m swim. My official time was 1:29.
4. Inaugural Santa Catalina Tri on November 6, 2010.
Distances: 0.5 mi swim, 9 mi bike ride (15K), and 3.1 mi (5K) run. I finished at 1:46. Blew the run at over 33 minutes for the 5K, but I do have an official 1/2 mi swim record now, clocked at just over 22 minutes.
5. Strawberry Fields Sprint in July 2011. Blew the swim portion and spent the rest of the race recovering from the inhaled water.
6. Nautica Malibu Classic in Sept 2011. just under 2:15:00. Perfect swimming conditions. Great race.
7. Nautica Malibu Classic on Sept 16, 2012.
Distance: 18 mile bike ride on PCH with rolling hills as part of a co-ed relay team. My official time was 1:00:36. My best bike time to date.
8. Nautica Malibu Classic on Sept 16, 2016.
Distance: 19 mile bike ride on PCH with rolling hills as part of a co-ed relay team. My official time was just over 1:05.
9. TRIck or TRI Olympic Relay on Oct 27, 2016.
Distance: 10K run around the lake at the Santa Fe Recreation Dam as part of a relay team. My official time was under an hour. Either 59 or 58 minutes. I’ll have to double check.
10. Nautica Malibu Classic on Sept 17, 2017.
Distance: 4 mile run to Pt. Dume from Zuma Beach as part of a relay team. My official time was 37:10.
11. TRIck or TRI Olympic Relay on Oct 28, 2017.
Distance: 300 yard swim in the lake at the Santa Fe Recreation Dam as part of a relay team. My official time for the swim leg was 6:51 as we were directed to do a shorter (sprint distance) swim due to the presence of heavy fog. After training all summer was that a blessing or a curse? I’m still not sure which, but I’m not complaining!
In 2017 I was honored with the Disney Tri Team’s “Triathlete of the Year” award. With all these triathlons under my belt now I am not a newbie anymore. I’m past the days of believing that swimming a half-mile in the ocean meant I needed to be able to out-swim a shark (who can?) but I know many more pain-to-gain moments are before me I attempt even more physical challenges next year, like doing a full Olympic distance tri and beyond.
12. TRIck or TRI Olympic Relay Oct 27, 2018.
Distance: 10K running leg on an Olympic relay team. Time was just over an hour.
I’ve also branched out from triathlons by completing several foot races:
Chinatown Firecracker 10K on February 13, 2011
Anaheim Disneyland Half Marathon on September 4, 2011
Anaheim Tinker Bell Half Marathon on January 29, 2012
Pasadena 5K on May 20, 2012
Pasadena Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on February 17, 2013
Chinatown Firecracker 30 mi bike ride /10K on February 13-14, 2016. I opted out of the ride on Saturday due to rain-slicked streets.
Conquer the Bridge 5.3 miles on September 3, 2018
A Mad Notepad 