Folsom Triathlon - September 7th 2008

This year, in a departure from the schedule of the previous five years, the Folsom International Triathlon took place the first weekend in September. The date change meant a direct conflict with the Big Kahuna Triathlon in Santa Cruz. (Some have said that this was intentional, due to a fallout between race organizers. Folsom's J&A Productions recently re-branded to USA Productions and expanded their reach beyond California. Maybe Firstwave Events weren't interested?) Competitor numbers for Folsom 2008 were down more than a third from 2007. Big Kahuna entry rates were marginally higher...


At packet pick-up, I was informed Folsom tri was no longer USAT affiliated. An interesting decision for an ambitious, growing organization...This also means I won't be USAT ranked in 2008.


I stayed at the Sacramento Marriott Rancho Cordova. There's a Comfort Inn even closer to the race venue but at only $128.68 per night, the Marriott was tough to beat! I checked out soon after 4am - I wanted my choice of transition spot when the area opened at 5am. The early start was worth the effort - I claimed a rack right beside bike/run out and both my transition times were better than in 2007.


In spite of the new race date, conditions were similar to last year - glaring sunlight on the outward swim leg, light head/side-winds on the outward bike leg, heat during the run. Fortunately highs of about 102 °F (38.9 °C) arrived long after racing finished.


Swim: The Elite athletes decided (again) to start with our wave (male 20-29 at 7:06am). Race officials and announcers were apparently unaware of this and there was a little confusion...On reaching transition, I was shocked to see my unexpectedly speedy split time - that surprise may have been what caused me to stop my watch instead of simply splitting it! I realized my mistake several minutes later...


Bike: Having been in the saddle only 4-5 times since my Wildflower race three months ago, I was happy with my performance (even though it was my slowest leg, relatively speaking). About ten athletes overtook me, including some from the male 30-39 wave. I was also lucky enough to avoid a puncture at this attempt (maybe the flat I got while training in Tahoe the previous weekend helped my tire karma!). However I found it a little difficult to get my head "in gear" and this was worsened when I speculated that my fast swim was due to missing some buoys at the turnaround (even though I was with a group of competitors)...[Post-race I was assured by a race official/volunteer who claimed he was aboard the main boat - no-one he saw skipped any part of the swim course, even though sub 12 minute split times for some athletes are unbelievable].


Run: Leaving the transition area, a runner just ahead of me was told he was around 15th. About 1.5 miles in, a spectator informed me I was was 22nd. Several more runners passed me before the finish. My shins bothered me a little - I ran on the dirt at the side of the paved path where I could.


My finish time of 2:13:34 is by far my fastest Olympic distance triathlon to date. Next on my calendar is Sentinel in Santa Cruz.


Results. Official Photos. T2; run in, racking bike. My bib number was 245.


Future thoughts: More biking (and bricks). New bike helmet.