The swim at The Bigh Kahuna triathlon was cancelled due to the fog. The organizers converted the tri in duathlon. This is my report:

I woke up at 3:30 am packed the bike and gear in the car and drove 1:30 to Santa Cruz. Once in transition I placed my self in a quiet zone and began the ritual of getting ready. By 6:45 all were standing in the beach listening to the last instructions, it was still dark. The strongest jumped into the sea to warm up. The night ended but the fog appeared keeping the sky shadowy. You could not see buoys and the lifeguards in the paddle tables. The organizers decided to cancel the swim and turn the event into a duathlon. There was a discontent among some but the word safety spread rapidly and they calmed down. By waves they let us go from the beach to T1. I was disappointed because this is the year that I have put more time training in the pool than ever and I wanted to see the results. While lining up in the beach I decided to give everything in the bike and hang though in the run. If I was going to break it was going to be in an “improved duathlon” and not in a tri. I was going to see how far I can push my limits.

Out of T1, as I mounted the bike I heard lots of cheering, the street was narrow, people was there next to me, it was great. Apparently many had the same intentions as me because we were still in the city streets and we were hammering 24mph, and turning sharp corners fast. Once in the highway we spread and tried to keep from drafting but not until mile 10, after I crossed the railroad tracks, I saw a justifiable distance between riders. At the crest of the first hill I narrowed my distance with a group of 4 riders, later I was going to find out they were going to be my competition, I passed them going down and I thought I was going to forget about them but quickly I got pass by number 125, then 380, a minute later by 85 a gal 29 years old with very strong legs, and by a big cervelo pc3, with a warrior on it. This guy was big but not fat, he had grayish arm warmers that look more like a pipelines, large legs and narrow hips, when I turned to look at him I didn’t see his face, I had to look up. All but Ms. 85 were in my age group. The race was on. At the turn around point, we meet again within seconds. I was second behind Ms. 85 who took a glimpse of me and took off. At that point all the pre-concerns of holding back to save fuel were gone. It was all about keeping up with the big gal and guys. The second half of the ride was the same but faster. Dangerously we rode road and many times blocking traffic. Now that I have a moment to reflect on it I realize how restricted my opportunities are in my day to day activities. Today when we live day by day with a stressed economy and a constant rhetoric of slump is hard to be happy, to feel free, to take a risk or two. Last Sunday’s ride provided me with the physical, psychological and spiritual edge of adventure to keep challenging myself and keep looking for a better tomorrow. Life is more than 9 to 5.
Bike time: 2:48

Out of T2 I bumped into the big cervelo guy who didn’t look so impressive any longer, he look heavier and was breathing heavy. I moved faster to stay away from bad vibes. My nutrition was close to perfect in the bike. In the run I carried my energy belt and I planned not to stop in water stations, may be in the portap but it was not my priority. Right away I knew I had to mark the pace from the beginning and let my running skills take control. So I did. I passed every single runner in front of me. I targeted one after the other. I stopped in the portap not because it was urgent but because I felt I need it to calm down and let my heart rate drop and take the pee as an excuse. I was marking 7:45 pace at mile 6. It was good timing. At the turning point marked by a wooden carved big kahuna head I made contact with Ms. 85, I glimpse at her while I was passing, never saw her again. The way to the finish line was sweet, down the hill trail to the railroad crossing tracks then to the city streets to the beach walk to the sandy beach to the FINISH!
Run Time:47:07

I placed the pics in the photo gallery