On the first weekend in May, Heather and I drove up to Lake San Antonio in southern Monterey County to take part in the Wildflower Triathlon. It was an amazing experience. We got there late the night before to camp--and found the place already littered with tents and vehicles. It took us a while to find a place with enough ground space for our tent and Heather's car!
The next morning we woke up and the campground was already buzzing with activity. We walked down to the lake with all our stuff.
After checking in, we set up our stuff in the crowded transition area.
We were to take part in the Olympic Distance event: 1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run, in that order. I was in the first heat of the day (collegiate male). As they were singing the national anthem, I got a little nervous of the fact that I was one of about 4 guys (out of 120 or so) in my heat WITHOUT a wetsuit on. After the singing of the national anthem, and hearing the roaring of the crowd of supporters and athletes, they sounded the starting gun, and we all plunged into the chilly water.
Highlights of the race:
- The first 100-200m of swimming were just electrifying, almost like a roller coaster ride. People were kicking and bumping into each other, the water was churning with activity--tons of human energy being expended in a concentrated area.
- After the swim, I remember thinking "OK, my worst event over. I'm just going to fly during the bike and run." But then I hit the first hill on the bike--just a killer 2 mi continuous climb. That was the toughest part of the race for me.
- After the bike, I remember thinking "OK, my best event now. I'm going to speed through this run." But then I actually started running, and after a few steps I suddenly realized how fatigued I was. This is the only time in my life I remember my quadricep muscles feeling drained.
So yes, the race turned out to be more physically exhausting than I expected. Observe the Before & After photos:
However, my time was actually really good, for my first real triathlon! Stats:
Overall time = 2:43:48
Overall place = 314/2701
Gender place = 267/1475
Class place (Collegiate men) = 56/121
Swim time = 0:31:58 (0:21:18 min/km)
Swim place = 1100/2701
Transition 1 = 0:02:38
Bike time = 1:23:02 (17.9 mph)
Bike place = 361/2701
Transition 2 = 0:02:29
Run time = 0:43:41 (0:07:02 min/mi)
Run place = 129/2701
Some race photos I swiped off of a photography site that charges exorbitant prices for prints:
After the race, we drove up the coast on Highway 1
and we stayed the night at Uncle Dave and Aunt Sara's house near Palo Alto. It was great to see Dave, Sara, and Aunt Holly (who came over and gave us a delicious chocolate carrot cake!) and we both had a fun time.
The next day we set off for Yosemite!
The first night, we just set up camp, and found a good place to see the sun set.
The next morning, we set out to day-hike Half Dome!
We took the Mist trail, which goes by beautiful Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall.
We actually didn't make it all the way to the summit of Half Dome. The last stretch is climbable using cables that are usually held by posts and wooden blocks that provide footholds. However, during winter they take the posts and blocks down, and it's somewhat more dangerous using the "down" cables. We saw about 4 other people do it while we were there, but we decided not to risk our lives at such a young age :-)
The next morning, we took a few short hikes to waterfalls, and then headed back to Claremont.
Next order of business: graduation!
The whole family, as well as Grandma Emily, came down to see me graduate. It was lots of fun, and I even got a diploma out of it.
The night before graduation, Heather and I organized a cookout at Bonelli Regional Park and invited a bunch of friends. It was a great success.
The 5Cs:
Heather and me trying to look happy while eating a delicious torte:
On the morning of graduation day, we first took a walk through Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens, across the street, with Heather's family.
Chenettes & Schalliols:
Super-stylin' Schalliols:
The aptly-named "Poor Man's-timothy":
Whoa!! I graduated!!
The family:
Track friends. Lauren "Bird" Hodill, Alex Auerbach, Asaf "Bernie" Bernstein, Victor Camacho, me, Jon "Boobs" Neumann, Reed "Sanchez" Lyon:
Some sweet ones with the sweetheart:
My supporters, doing a team cheer(?) on my head:
Goodbye, Harvey Mudd!
So, yes, a great end to my time at HMC. Couldn't have asked for better.
I'll tell more about Georgia Tech and this summer in upcoming posts. This one was long enough!
2 comments:
You're not kidding. That really was an amazing May for you, Nate! What a coincidence that Jeffrey also competed in that triathlon last year---and that your stats were so similar. Thanks for sharing your adventures and pictures. They'll be excellent reminders of a very special time in your life.
Huggy DO Clef
Your title for this post is cruel and misleading. I thought surely you were referring to me.
Maple (Amazing May) the cat
Post a Comment