Auburn International Triathlon 2006

 

Hillier than Wildflower, rougher than St. Croix, the Auburn International Triathlon has been known among long-time triathletes as the “World’s Toughest” half-ironman. Team JaS used the race as a major training day and came away with a pair of 6th place finishes. Interestingly, both finishes were also good enough for 10th overall. Here are Jami’s and Sherwick’s results!

 

The weather in northern California had been picture-perfect for weeks after relentless winter rains drenched the Bay area. But just when we were about to embark on our first triathlon of the year, the clouds darkened. The forecast for the weekend was for showers and thunderstorms! Friday afternoon, just after we picked up our registration packets, it started to sprinkle and then rain. We actually sat in our car with the windows cracked open to hear the pre-race meeting announcements – sort of like a drive-in movie!

 

However, come race day, the clouds parted and the weather cleared up. Temps began in the low 60s and warmed up to the low 70s with zero precipitation – perfect conditions! Sherwick started the half-ironman 5 minutes before me and we both had strong swims. Putting anti-fog in our goggles the night before ensured clear vision, which is always a concern during open water swims. The course was a simple 3-buoy clockwise affair and we were keen in picking out navigation landmarks in the hills above the water during our warm-up. With surprisingly no major bodily contact to contend with given the size of the wave starts (ALL men 40 and over started in their own heat and ALL women started together), we got onto our bikes for a LONG ride. This was by far the toughest half-ironman route we have ever raced! Relentless hills sapped one’s rhythm. Tricky descents at 45mph were made even more difficult with our NIMBLE carbon race wheels which, although light and aero, did not provide for good braking. Even our special Zipp brake pads (designed specifically for carbon rims) were melted by the end of the race. We completed the ride with times almost an hour slower than our usual bike splits but we knew everyone was in the same situation. Here is the bike profile:

 

 

Not to be outdone by the difficulty of the bike, the run course promised lots of gnarly single track, short but steep rocky ascents with twisty, rutted descents and a few mile-long hills at 8% gradient thrown in. Here is the run profile:

 

 

 

Note that “The Pit” is similar to the turnaround at mile 10 of Wildflower but instead of cruising the last mile downhill to the finish, the Auburn course takes a sharp left to go up the steep half-mile “Cardiac Bypass” trail! The figure-eight run even included a pass by the finish halfway through the run, just to tempt us into retiring. We had done lots of trail runs in preparation for this type of terrain but having to do one of triathlon’s toughest 56-mile bikes before the run made for an even greater test of determination.

 

This race reminded us of the grass roots triathlons years ago when events were raw, less-produced and pure. Nowadays, triathlon (and even ironman) is fairly mainstream and we often hear the following comments from people who have never done a triathlon or ironman but believe that they can for these reasons:

 

- they have swum the distance in a lake or pool and have done many century bike tours … but can’t run due to <insert chronic injury here>

- they consider themselves strong cyclists and fast runners … but have trouble swimming because they’re “too muscular” to float

- they can swim and run … but haven’t gotten around to purchasing a bike!

 

Maybe the following story will help clear up the definition of triathlon. Last year, the swim was cancelled due to a debris flood turning Lake Clementine into a frigid ice bath. The event became a duathlon kicked off with a 3k run. Sherwick was in a good position on the bike when his race unfortunately ended after collecting two flat tires at mile 10. He was transported back to the transition area and rather than call it a day, decided to do the run anyway. He waited for a good friend of his, Troy Soares, to complete the bike (who logged one of the fastest age-group bike splits of the day) and started the run together. Troy was nursing a chronic Achilles injury and wasn’t able to run at his usual pace so after about 4 miles, Sherwick set off on his own to see what he could do. He ended up running a 1:38, a fabulous time on this difficult course and within the top 20 (Simon Whitfield, Sidney Olympic gold-medalist known for his running prowess, only managed the 5th fastest run at 1:30!). Today, after completing the entire swim and bike, Sherwick was a full minute-per-mile slower! In fact, his time was over two minutes-per-mile slower than his half-marathon pace! THAT is the difference between a triathlon and an individual swim, bike or run!

 

At the end of the day, Team JaS finished the race strong and with newfound fitness. Our next race is only two weeks away and brings special meaning to us because it is the race we missed due to the car accident of 2005 (we were hit by a careless driver the day before we were to fly out for the race). We’re taking the necessary precautions and crossing our fingers this time!

 

 

Enjoy the ride –- Team JaS

 

Special thanks to:

Health Logic Chiropractic

Find the Time Massage Therapy

 

Team Soares