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Presidio 10: San Francisco, CA March
29 |
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We like to
warm-up to the triathlon season with some low-key shorter races before
tackling the longer multi-sport events. The Presidio 10 seemed to be the
perfect start to the season: little preparation required, high intensity to
clear out the pipes and the pain wouldn’t last very long! Little did we know
that this would be a national championship and Frank Shorter would be there to fire the
starter’s pistol! Unfortunately, Jami would not be racing as she was invited
to be a guest instructor for Rich Oliver’s Fun
Camp for the weekend!
The course
proved to be difficult with an ascent up to and across the windy Golden Gate
Bridge combined with sections of the technical single-track and stairways
from the famous Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon run course. A PR was not in
the cards but Sherwick was able to place 15th out of 1200+
runners, good enough for an age-group win and the RRCA Male Master’s champion
title!
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Sherwick: 40:51, 1st M40-44 and masters, 15th overall
men |
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Granite Bay Duathlon: Folsom, CA
April 18 |
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The Granite Bay Duathlon was next up and consisted of a short
but technical two-lap bike on the twisty, narrow roads of Granite Bay State
Park sandwiched between two hilly, trail runs. This was our second year at
this event and also our second year of aerobic training under Mark Allen. We
have been seeing higher efficiencies and faster paces at lower heart rates in
training compared to 2008 and we were excited to put to the test our first
nine weeks of preparation for Ironman Austria.
We showcased these new speed laces by Xtenex – a
unique design with a unique name. Unlike other types of speed laces we’ve
tried, these are very simple and easy to install. The knots disappear when
stretched but re-appear to hold the tension across each eyelet. In addition,
they are elastic and accommodate the natural flex of the foot while running along
with swelling under hot conditions. We were truly impressed with how they
felt – like no laces at all!
We lined up on the front row ready to rub elbows as we
funneled into the first single-track section of the off-road run course
hopefully ahead of the bottleneck of slower runners. We both focused on an
up-tempo effort and high cadence and only backed off when our form started to
let go.
Jami’s race: “The trail kicked up drastically and as I held back slightly
to manage my energy output, a younger and more enthusiastic woman passed me by.
I remained focused and when I saw her struggling in transition, took
advantage and pedaled out ahead of her to reclaim 2nd place! On the bike, I attacked every hill on this arrhythmic, two-loop
course. I pushed harder on the second lap, but that wasn’t enough to ward off
a flying 49-year-old woman who took 2nd place with her as she came
barreling by. The woman in first place was a former pro-cyclist and national
duathlon champion and was riding near Sherwick so catching her was out of the
question! I did a quick dismount, changing back into my running shoes,
and in 26 seconds I was out on the run for a second time. I had no idea how far
2nd place was ahead of me until I approached the first hill. As I
passed, she explained that she wasn’t a runner and that she was expecting me
to pass her! I obliged and never looked back. I had paced my race perfectly
with my second run only one minute slower and I was able to accelerate the
last ½ mile to cross the line in 2nd overall!”
Sherwick’s race: “I came to this
race with no pressure to beat last year’s time. Recall that in 2008, I had raced this duathlon
only twelve days after having collarbone surgery so a faster time was be
expected this year. I got dropped by the lead group of runners after the
first section of trail but I maintained a steady pace to start the bike in 10th.
I had been working on my cycling all year but still came off the bike with
only the 17th fastest time. Nevertheless, a strong second run (8th
fastest and like Jami, only one minute slower than run #1) put me into a
solid 10th place overall.”
The test was successful: Jami was four minutes faster than
2008, winning the women’s 40-49 age group and Sherwick was six minutes faster
than 2008, placing 2nd among men 40-49!
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Jami: 1:44:56, 1st
W40-49, 2nd overall women Sherwick: 1:37:14, 2rd M40-49,
10th overall men |
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Enjoy the ride! --Team JaS
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