San Francisco Triathlon - Nov 10th 2007

The San Francisco Triathlon (at Treasure Island) has not had an easy ride. Several years ago, the original bike course was shortened to avoid Yerba Buena Island due to construction on the Bay Bridge - the number of bike laps increased from four to six. The bike course also suffers from the general lack of maintenance of Treasure Island facilities. This year, it was changed to avoid a (frequently) flooded section of road and a burned-out building. Also in 2007, the run course was modified to avoid "hazardous waste" at the north end of the loop - required run laps increased from two to three. Then on Wednesday November 7th, disaster struck the Bay Area - a ship collided with the Bay Bridge, resulting in a 58,000 gallon oil spill. The swim leg of the triathlon was canceled...

The number of amateur finishers has dropped consistently (2003 - 1175, 2004 - 977, 2005 - 737, 2006 - 653, 2007 - 496). Team In Training is also losing interest - five teams participated in 2006, but only two in 2007. In 2008 the Marin County Triathlon will compete for Bay Area triathletes' time and cash. The Treasure Island triathlon has been re-branded to use the "San Francisco" name but will that be enough?

Swim (canceled): Unable to recall the last time he was in a swim pool, yours truly was a little relieved by this development (if not the awful circumstances). It also took the pressure off having to beat past years' results. Work related travel was unrelenting for the prior 2-3 months leaving only (tired) weekends for training time. (If the swim had taken place, this would have been my tenth triathlon).

T1: In the excitement of running without a wetsuit I missed my transition spot and had to backtrack...noob...

Bike: Keith Manson flagged me down in the middle of the bike leg. He needed a carbon dioxide cartridge after being lucky enough to get two flats while going uphill. My left calf locked up when I remounted to continue the climb. Fun. :-) On the final lap my right calf took its turn. I was fortunate - the cramps were relatively short-lived in both cases.

Run: A caffeinated goo experiment seemed to pay dividends. I dosed myself three miles in and then caught and passed some guys who had overtaken me during the first half of the run.

My bib number was 209.

Results: overall, age group.

Photos:

• Official.
• Courtesy of Coach Tom Davies:
  • T2: 1, 2.
  • Run: 1, 2 (best of methinks), 3 (with Irish flag!), 4.
• Run again.

PS One of the many reasons people raise money and compete for Team In Training; Maya, one of our team Honorees and greatest supporters.