San Francisco
By Sarah Haskins
Nov 23, 2007, 17:59
The weekend of Nov. 10th, I competed in my final race of the 2007 season and it turned into a duathlon instead of a triathlon. This was my first duathlon and I do believe it was tougher than a triathlon. A normal Olympic distance tri consists of a 1.5 K swim, 40k bike, and a 10k run. The duathlon for this race was a 6.5k run, 40k bike, and a 10k run. The second run hurt---not to mention it was about 50 degrees and misting during the race! I ended up finishing second overall and second in the Haul to the Great Wall Series. Julie Swail finished up on top and added another win to her 2007 season.
The race turned into a duathlon because a few days before the race there was an unfortunate oil spill in the San Francisco Bay area. A cargo ship swiped a pillar on the Bay Bridge causing a leak that released 65,000 gallons of oil. The marine life in the bay area took the hardest hit, with many animals dying and many more attempting to be rescued. Hopefully, the Bay will be cleaned up soon. As if I learned in this sport, you have to be prepared for anything….
During the first run, I felt great! The 6.5 K flew by and it was a different feeling running with fresh legs. On the bike course there were four athletes; Sarah Groff, Julie Ertel (Swail), Jill Petersen, and myself. The course was very technical and included lots of rough sections with potholes…so I was very relieved that we all finished the bike section without hitting the pavement. Unfortunately, some athletes in the men’s race were not so lucky and there were a few crashes over the course of their 40k ride. The second run started with the normal feeling of tired legs off the bike; however, instead of my legs beginning to come around after a couple of miles, they just began to feel worse! The 10k run went by very slowly, but I was glad to finally reach the finish line and be complete with my 2007 season.
This race was a great way to end the season because I got to spend an extra day in San Francisco touring around the city. My mother-in-law and step father-in-law flew in from Minnesota to watch the race and also hang out with me and Nate. We stayed in downtown San Francisco and toured around the Fisherman’s Wharf area. The streets downtown are just like what you see in the movies (straight up and straight down---definitely would not want to drive a car with a manual transmission!). We made sure to hit Ghirardelli Square and stop at the chocolate shops! My roommate from college lives just outside the city and was able to meet up with us for some touring on Sunday. The group of us got to tour the Golden Gate Bridge and walk/drive across the impressive architecture. The view from atop the bridge is simply breathtaking and allows you to see the bay and downtown area below.
Overall, I am pleased with my 2007 season. It consisted of some high and lows; however, I feel it was a very consistent year and I finished with two World Cup podiums and two wins. I also had ten races within the top 4, so I was very pleased with those results and look forward to making improvements next season. Next year will be a big year with the Olympic Trials and my quest to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
