Santa Cruz Sentinel

What a race! I loved every minute of it. Well, of course I hated a few moments of it on the run course, but loved it overall, and that's why I do it, so it was GREAT! And, better yet, I posted a PR for an Olympic distance event.

I love a good road trip. There is something about them - the anticipation of getting away, looking forward to what the trip holds, and knowing you will have a great time because you chose those who you are traveling with.

It began with a half day on Friday after an incredibly stressful week of work that included business travel and the completion of a project that had been stressing me out for months. I couldn't wait to start the weekend.

Chris and I headed down to Santa Cruz early in the afternoon, as did Paul and Dian. Ashli was to meet us in town for dinner.

Once we arrived, we headed to Trader Joe's for supplies for the weekend. I don't know why, but I found shopping with Paul, Dian and Chris to be quite comical - likely because all of our personalities came through as we ran around the store with our shopping carts. It was fun to see that side of my friends, as sharing in everyday errands has such an intimate side to it. Of course we bought WAY too much food.

After setting into the house we rented for the weekend, perfectly situated a quarter of a block from the beach, we set out for dinner at Gabriella Cafe in downtown Santa Cruz, where we met up with Ashli.

The evening was quite enjoyable. Paul is on non-stop and I enjoy every minute. I also find great entertainment in watching Dian's reactions to her husband's comments. Chris and I spent a good portion of the evening laughing. Ashli and I hadn't seen each other in quite a while, so it was wonderful to catch up in person.

It was so nice to go to sleep on Friday night knowing that I didn't have to get up for anything the next morning. It has been quite a while since I had been able to enjoy a good lie-in.

Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of a blow-horn. Paul informed me once I surfaced that there was a surf contest in progress just down the street, which we all enjoyed at certain points during the day.

We all had a lovely breakfast together and then headed out for race-packet pickup. Thereafter everyone spent a leisurely day doing whatever struck his or her fancy. Jake came by and joined Chris in some qualify football viewing. It was such a nice way to spend a day, which concluded with everyone making a wonderful meal and sharing it together. My favorite moment was later in the evening, as we were all sitting together in one long row on the couch, reading, watching TV, relaxing... I looked both directions down the couch and saw the faces of my wonderful friends and was filled with joy.

We all headed for bed, and I attempted to sleep, but I must have been nervous for the race because I could not fall asleep. At 11:48 pm, I had a full-fledged panic attack about CarboPro.

I had told Chris he didn't need to schlep his "Powder Man" sized container of CarboPro down to Santa Cruz, as I already had one in my car. When we left, I had confirmed that I indeed had Cytomax, but had failed to confirm the existence of the CarboPro. What if I didn't have it? I would ruin Chris's race! I could give him my pre-mixed bottle, but I think I use too much Cytomax for his taste. OMG! I could text message Jake, who had gone back to San Francisco and ask him to bring some down. But, what if he didn't get my message? Or worse yet, what if I woke him up with the message? And my phone was in my car! I had to go check! But, I don't want to wake everyone up! Finally, I realized how ridiculous I was being, got up, confirmed that in my car there was indeed a giant container of CarboPro and thereafter was finally able to go to sleep. What a freak!

Race morning came early after my not-so-great night of sleep. After a quick rally, we headed out for the race, where we yet again met up with Jake and set up our transition areas. It was in transition that we spotted Scott, our Sunday morning swim coach. He is hilarious and was throwing out one-line zingers right and left on a megaphone.

I also ran into "Cervelo Doug," a mountain biker that I had met at Montelo Velo when picking up my P3 many months prior. It is a small world. I can't believe he remembered me.

I had a race day experience I hope that is never repeated. While warming up for the swim, I was knocked down by the surf and lost my goggles. Not the best start to a race, and normally not that big of a deal, as I always carry a backup pair in my transition bag. Only problem - transition was a half mile away, I was barefoot and in my wetsuit! I didn't know if I would make it to transition and back in time for the start of my wave, but I had no choice and took off for an unplanned warm-up run. I had to laugh as I booked to transition thinking that the run was likely Torsten-approved.

I made it back, thoroughly warmed up and started the race. Ashli told me afterwards there was some annoying woman who kept getting in her way during the beginning of the swim -- me! Funny.

I felt good during the swim, but was disappointed when I saw my time. Something to work on. I had a good solid bike ride, and enjoyed watching my friends as they cycled along on the out and back course. My run was awesome. I felt so strong, with the exception of brief calf cramp and a bee sting, and found myself smiling every time I consulted my Garmin to determine my pace.

Everyone had great races with the exception of flat tires that interfered with the races of two. Regardless, everyone was smiling at the finish line and was still talking about the race as we shared one last meal at the house before we headed back to San Francisco and our respective homes.

I get to do it again next weekend! Can't wait.