Ashland Lions Metro West Triathlon

6/15/2003

Swim 1 mile, Bike 26 miles, Run 6 miles

Ashland on Father's Day

Overnight rain has muddied the parking area, but that is the only
dampness remaining
on a beautiful Father's Day morning. Water temperatures are finally
pleasant, after a slow start to the summer, and blue skies, calm winds
set the scene for a promising day. I am  excited to be at the race on my
first Father's Day, with 4-week old daughter, Alexandra watching her
first event of many -- well, sleeping rather.

The race start is a little delayed, thankfully giving several of us the
chance to complete our late restroom visits. Down in the starting area,
the crowds congregate. Wendy gives her Happy Father's Day announcement,
before her dad, Bill, manages to separate out the starters into their
correct waves -- ensuring that an overly enthusiastic Clydesdale doesn't
get a 15-minute start on his rivals.

Into the water -- it's not as calm as I thought, but perhaps the 100
other bodies have something to do with that! The water is pretty murky,
but buoys are clearly visible, and -- well, when you're not at the
front, you can usually just follow the splashing of other bodies! The
fastest swim is posted by an exciting young newcomer to the sport, 18-yr
old Javier Cuevas, starting in a later  wave, who almost causes an
upset, finishing the entire race in 5th place overall. The women all
race together, and an early lead is taken by Amy Rice, who finishes the
swim a half-minute ahead of any rivals.

After the swim, with wobbly legs, some of us put on sneakers by the
water front, as we all  run through woods then uphill for a couple of
minutes. Hearts start racing, but recover a little as we get out of
wetsuits and jump onto the bike -- for more uphill. The bike course is
rolling, hard efforts on uphills, significant time to recover on
downhills. The race spreads out. Amy Rice dramatically extends her lead
in the women's race. In the men's race, Dave Kane makes solid progress
at the front, though the virtual leader, starting in a later wave is Jay
Marschall, with a very strong swim-bike combination.

So it's down to the run. We can all feel the heat now, but fortunately
much of the course is shaded and we have drink stops every mile. Amy
Rice further extends her lead in the women's race, with nobody in sight.
In the men's race, Carmen Monks, after gaining over a minute on the
bike, also runs more strongly than both Kane, and Marschall (who has
tired legs from  a race on Saturday).  He passes Kane after the 4-mile
mark, and is first across the line. The wait is on, to see if Marschall,
the later starter, finishes in time. More than five minutes pass, and
Monks knows he's the overall winner. Very fitting that a father (a.k.a.
"Big Daddy") -- soon seen post-race with his 10-month old -- should win
on Father's Day.

For me, holding my new daughter after the race made for the best
possible father's day -- and like Carmen, I found that spending the time
and perhaps losing the sleep to be a father does not necessarily mean
that days of fast racing, or even PRs, are over.
 

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