Earlier in the year, HLB Triathlon Team member Mark Hardiman was upset. And he wasn't going to take it anymore. "I'm sick of everyone saying how cute it is that I do mini triathlons," he complained, raising a sentiment shared by the rest of the Team. Arnold Pamplona clarified that "triathlons consisting of a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike and 3-mile run are called a sprint distance triathlons, and they are very challenging!" But he added, shamefully, "it never impresses the women."
Sensing that her teammates were not satisfied with their admirable performances in Long Beach and Catalina Triathlons in 2004, and the UCSB Spring Hazard Triathlon in 2005--all sprint distance affairs--Team captian Stacie Neroni made a decision. "We are going to do our first international distance triathlon on April 30," she announced during a recent team meeting. The challenge invigorated the team, but it was a daunting one.
International distance triathlons are roughly double the distance of sprint triathlons. "Now I can tell women that we do the same distances as they do in the Olympics--no more minis for me!," exclaimed Pamplona, who revealed his shallow motivation for participating in the Tri Team. Neroni picked a particularly difficult race for the Team. The Triathlon of the Champions in Irwindale, California required participants to complete a .9-mile swim AFTER a challenging 18-mile bike.
There is a reason a triathlon organizers traditionally set up the swim portion first. Over exertion on a run or a bike can cause near-fatal cramps and respiratory-exhaustion complications in the water. Pamplona, the first to enter the swim after a blistering bike ride in today's race, succumbed to cramps in both of his quadriceps muscles. The injuries almost forced him to abandon the race after the first of two laps in the Santa Fe Dam reservoir. Similarly, Hardiman suffered cramps in his calves. For Neroni, the exhaustion of swimming after the bike leg caused delirium: instead of doing two laps of the reservoir, as directed, she completed three. Amazingly, her swim split for three laps was only three minutes slower than Hardiman's two-lap split, demonstrating her complete dominance in the water. "Did I mention the cramp was in both of my calves?" offered a sheepish Hardiman in his own defense.
Hardiman regained his form for the punishing 6.2-mile trail run that followed the swim. He caught up to Pamplona and taunted his younger team mate. Pamplona was looking for redemption after losing to Hardiman by one minute in the Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon just two weeks prior. Somehow Pamplona was able to dig deep and shake the elder Hardiman, managing to eek out a narrow 24-minute victory over his nemesis. "I really wanted to crush him today, as payback. I guess it will have to wait until the next race," said an exhausted Pamplona at the finish line.
The HLB Triathlon team finished strongly in their respective age categories. Neroni finsihed 3rd in the 35-39 bracket, Pamplona finished 5th in the 20-29 group, and Hardiman managed 8th in the very competitive 40-44 division.
Results: 18-mile bike, .9-mile swim (except for Neroni, who did 1.35 miles), 6.2-mile run
Pamplona: Bike: 53:07, Swim: 36:03, Run: 54:12, Total: 2:23:21
Hardiman: Bike: 59:58; Swim: 47:00, Run: 1:00:57, Total: 2:47:54
Neroni: Bike: 1:02:00, Swim: 50:09, Run: 1:09:58, Total: 3:02:06
HLB Tri hams it up before the race
Neroni (center) at the bike start
Pamplona had a strong bike leg
Neroni demonstrates proper aero position on the bike
Neroni preparing for an epic swim
Hardiman taunts Pamplona
Co-workers. Training partners. Rivals.
The traditional post-race breakfast
The real reason they tri: Guilt free eating
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