Sept 23, 2007
Last race of the season, on the last day of summer, shared with friends. Rick Ferrell of course, but also Kim got talked into doing a relay, and the whole Ferrell crew was there. Also the Delucchi's, and my old friend and former student Alec, and JC and Maria, and Curt and Michelle came over from San Jose, and just about everyone else in the Santa Cruz tri scene. I walked the beach as part of my post-surgery therapy the evening before. The water felt warm (well, by Santa Cruz standards, meaning around 62 F.) and only a little the worse for the first minor sprinkle of the season; a 1/4 inch of rain may have added a tad of the gunk from the unwashed surface of Santa Cruz right into the river and ocean. But not much (or maybe I'm just used to soupy Santa Cruz ocean water).
Pre race. John's ready for a solid bike anchor on Kim's team. The Ferrells are all smiles (but maybe a bit too much coffee for Rick?) |
Kelsey and Jamie had two parents to root on to victory this time. Jamie was especially adorable with the "blonde curl across the eyes" look goin' on |
Will this be the race I finally beat Ferrell out of the water? Stay tuned... |
Liz, proving she's really doing the race, despite the outfit |
Kim's first swim race in 10 years... hopefully muscle memory hasn't succumbed yet. At least she's still in great shape |
The Great Swim Start Migration... |
Dawn, and... |
...the first wave goes off |
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Maria was on a relay, and JC came down for support |
The swim melee. I felt strong, but didn't confirm the course beforehand and took a pretty wide line on the out leg. My time at water exit was 26:35 (+~10sec to timing carpet), more than I expected giving how strong I swam. That would be 13th/37 in my age group. This year they had bouys out beyond the pier edge which added some length, and that bit of pilot error didn't help. |
Liz seems confident as she hands off to the rest of her relay team |
Rick comes in off the bike |
No distractions, Ferrell! |
...big loop around the little loop, then pull the snakey through... |
...he's off... |
Big Dave Delucchi comes in shortly after Ferrell... |
Rack that bike, Dave. |
And hammer that gatorade, Dave. Can he reel in Rick? Running's Dave's forte', after all |
He shoots... an air ball. No worries, the volunteers will take care of that spent cup, Dave! |
...in hot pursuit of Delucchi... |
...run Dave, run!... |
Joan starts her run |
Terri Schneider provides color commentary, while Mike Bennett applauds the finishers |
Maria sets her cap hard, in prep for a high speed run |
Just for fun |
Dean Harper - still crushing the competition underfoot after all these years. Another 1st place in my age group |
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Ferrell lopes in to the finish |
...final sprint. Fix that number, Rick; the camera's are rolling |
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Big Dave Delucchi, in blue, reeling in one last runner... |
...got 'em... |
Many a brave competitor fell under his sword on that mighty run (sorry, bad poetry moment) |
Diane and her hero |
Curt and Michelle were there to join the post-race good times |
The gang is all smiles here... well, except for Rick in back. Not sure what the deal is there. |
ah, that's better! |
Rick, Kim, and Alec |
Kim Ferrell, John Anderson, and Salvador Martinez = team "OldEnough2NoBetter" had a strong finish at 2:26:07 |
Rick had another fantastic race, squeezing maximum rewards from his training dedication in '07 for Ironman Lake Placid. 2:17:19 total, good enough for another top 10 finish (10th,and 61st overall) in this very competitive and popular race. Dave Delucchi came in soon after, at 2:25:49, good for 15th in the same age group (111th overall), and beat Rick on the run. Excellent work, Dave! So, did I beat Ferrell on the swim....? Well. No. But I'm still inching closer. Rick's swim time was 25:37, beating me by 1:08. Worthy competitors, I salute you. Despite no training or competition, Kim managed to swim a strong 25 minute leg for her team.
Race results are posted here
