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Two events in one -- that's a duathlon, right?

Just after sunrise this morning I found myself hip-deep in the lukewarm water of Lake Berryessa. Operating on four hours of sleep, I couldn't totally remember how I got there, although I remembered something about a pre-pre-dawn pickup and our car nearly running out of gas on the dark roads of remote Napa County.

I was volunteering at See Jane Tri, an all-women sprint triathlon. There were about 500 women participating, many of them first-time triathletes. I was one of three volunteers at the swim finish helping women get vertical and walk up the slippery boat ramp.

We got to see every swimmer come out of the water. Most women happily grabbed a hand for help. Some blew right by us. Almost all thanked us. Some needed a little extra support, or extra-clear instructions on where to go. Some emerged with a look of joy or relief and some were all game face.

The best were the ones who broke into huge grins upon realizing that they had finished the swim. I remember how intimidating 800 meters of open water seemed before my first triathlon. It was a sweet deal to get to see everyone's faces as they headed up the ramp to start the bike.

The last few swimmers each had a surfboard escort offering encouragement and navigational help. The final swimmer got out of the water 43 minutes into the race, and I jogged up to the transition racks to do my second job of the day. My very fast friend Leishia had wanted to do the race, but has a running injury, so I had agreed to run in a relay with her swimming and biking.

The run was two tough miles uphill, two miles downhill. Thanks to Leishia's swim and bike speed, I was about the sixth or seventh runner on the course. Thanks to my not-too-bad run speed, we won the relay division. Due to a timing glitch, we were denied the glory of being announced at the awards (!!!) but the race director assured us we'd get our plaques.

Between the Sentinel triathlon, work travel, and this race, I've had a busy week. Can I go to sleep now?

October 8, 2005 6:30 PM