Ferrell forces a smile while fixing two flat tires before the race even begins
A quick shot before it's off to the cement ship for the start
A heavy south swell made the swim interesting
I had a good swim - 16:58. Good enough for a post-race smile
The Sandman has been a classic at our local Seacliff State Beach for 20 years. My swim training was going well, and I felt ready to set a PR for this course. My first goal was to break 17min on this 2/3 mile course (I know it says it's .5 mile, but that's clearly wrong). My more ambitious goal was to beat Ferrell. I took a good line, hugging the cement boat on the way to the first turn, staying right on the bouys, and swimming hard all the way. Managed to avoid getting tangled in other swimmers, and passed a big group in the final couple hundred yards to the shore. I started my watch at the start gun, and stopped it when I hit the shore for a time of 16:58. Rick Ferrell was at 16:20 at the transition area entrance, which I timed as about 25 seconds past the shoreline. So, Ferrell beat me by a minute. Again. The guy is just tough to beat. Yet his day started off poorly - while getting his transition set up before the swim, he found he had two blown tires. Bummer! but the issue was resolved, and in fact he had a pretty strong race.
Ferrell forces a smile while fixing two flat tires before the race even begins |
A quick shot before it's off to the cement ship for the start |
A heavy south swell made the swim interesting |
I had a good swim - 16:58. Good enough for a post-race smile |
Ferrell starts the run |
Rick at the finish |
Jamie and Kelsey were official cheerleaders |
Our happy racers and progeny |
John was official photographer #2 |
Dave DeLucchi joined us after his run |
"TacoBell" Ken, in mid-season form, crosses the line |
Jamie and Kelsey jump in and accompany Mom for the final sprint... |
...across the finish line |
Mom still looks pretty buff, eh kids? |
The Family that Races Together - Stays Together ( - ancient fortune cookie) |
Dave Liotto had a strong race |
Jeremy Gilbert and Rick fought it out for the Bronze in their age group. Jeremy winning by 19 seconds. Ferrell was 13th overall, and 4th out of 33 in the 40-50 age group; a pretty tough age group, having a lot of veteran triathletes who got in back in the sport's beginnings. Good race, and an honorable finish, Ferrell! |
