It's race morning. The San Jose Triathlon is only 12mi from our house.  We're up at 4:45 and on the road by 5:15am.  Robin, Leonie, Dave, Kristin and I are all ready and excited.  It will be a top-notch venue, put on by J & A Productions, complete with lots of food, music, and the best triathletes around.

We arrive and set up our transition site.  We're in the far back, behind a dozen reserved sections for triathlon teams & clubs, like Silicon Valley Triathletes, Team Sheeper, Tribe, etc.  We didn't see a reserved rack for "Team Soares", but we're glad so many athletes are enjoying triathlon groups, as they are a great motivation for any triathlete trying to get through all those hard workouts.

We get ready and start our warm-up swims.  The water's warm, but not too clear.  The sun is bright.  Robin & I pray together before the start.  We know the most important thing about the race is that it never becomes the most important thing, but that we keep Christ first, run with integrity, and encourage others lovingly.

The Swim

Two waves have been sent off.  My wave is poised, floating in the water, fingers on our stopwatches.  GO!  I get a good fast start. 130 other guys alongside me all sprint straight out to the first buoy.  Many have trouble sighting today because of the sun, shadows, and tight turns of the course.  I'm swimming good straight lines.  It helps to swim behind someone.  They create a small current which makes it easier for those following. But I haven't found anyone to draft behind.  There is someone behind me, though.

Half way, as we maneuver through slower swimmers ahead, I see another orange-capped guy in front and latch onto his toes.  I'm glad to see the last turn ahead, as I thought we had 2 more buoys to go.  I'm overheating a little in my full wetsuit.

I run out of the water in 19:50 (13th place), pull off my wetsuit, dash through the spectators and into the bike racks.  Dave & I reach our bikes at the same time.  He says "nice swim, Troy".  He did it the hard way; no wetsuit.  It's also his first triathlon.  He wonders if his wife, Kristin, will catch him during the bike.  I leave the transition in 11th.

The Bike

I hear a "Go Troy" from good friend David Ridder (supporting his wife in her first triathlon since becoming a mommy).  We ride out Santa Teresa Blvd south.  It's straight and flat with a strong head-wind today.  I'm not feeling very comfortable in the aero position.  I go hard for a while, then kind of re-group, and then go hard again.  The sun has given way to temporary clouds making it a little cooler.  I'm trying to pass everyone I see ahead of me.  Most of them slower riders in the earlier waves.  At 5 miles, a Cervelo with a disc wheel (Matthew Baxter from a previous 25-29 wave that I passed in the transition) goes by very fast!  I get determined to catch him somehow, at least by the finish.  At 10 miles I feel more comfortable and push harder and faster.  21mph.  I catch Matthew on the Cervelo.  I pass my old swim coach, Alan Liu (he's been doing great as a swimmer-turned-triathlete).  After the turn-around, the wind behind me, I enjoy seeing speeds up to 30mph!  We climb "Baily Hill".  The single, steep climb of  the course.  Matthew passes me again.  He's a good climber.  I spend the next 10 miles, enjoying a tail-wind and eagerly chasing after Matthew.  I think of David's encouragement as I began the bike.  Being a good cyclist, and my training partner, he surely expects to see a good bike split... and I don't want to let him down.  Finally, a mile to go, I pass Matthew, on the Cervelo, again and race into the transition in 7th place with a 1:02:49.  Some day I want to break 1hr on the bike!   I put on my socks and shoes, but my transition is going a little slow.  Sure enough 2 guys pass me before I get to the run.

The Run

I dash out of the racks in 8th place.  I see Carrie Chavez & David cheering, and also Matthew ahead of me!  My legs feel good.  First mile is 5:50!  Just like Wildflower, I think I must be going out too fast.  But it was ok then, so I keep the pace.  I pass Matthew and compliment him on his biking and fast transition.  At the first turn-around, I see Kiet Tran running back ahead of me.  It's been a long time since racing with him (he's a great swimmer that can run super fast.  He coaches a triathlon team of young athletes).

I can't remember feeling this good on a run!  My breathing is relaxed, my feet feel light and snappy.  I guess the track workouts are helping.  With sub-6 miles I try to catch every guy I see.  At 3.5mi I eat a Gu.  Then I pass Scott Machado in my age group and move into 7th.  He sees that I'm 34 and says "if only you were 1 year older". "Come on, Scott, you can catch me".  I keep the pressure on, though, and race on to try catching more.  I see my lovely wife running the opposite direction and hear a "Go Troy!"  My lightweight shoes feel good, but they slip a little and start to cause a blister. The end is near, though, and it is a great finish line to run into.  Lined both sides with American flags.  It's great to be done!   My split for the last mile shows 4:30 (impossible since I've never done a sub-5 mile) so I determine the run course is a bit short. 

I had a great race with a 2:01:27.  I thought that would be good enough for top 3 but I'm happy with my 7th place (the top 5 all went under 2 hrs) in such a high-caliber race, and extra happy to be racing this year after watching last year on crutches.

Robin's Race

Robin saves 2 spots next to her bike for her good friends, Leonie and Kristin.  Leonie, a great swimmer, always gives something for Robin to chase during the bike.  The "friends" trio, starts the swim! Robin, Leonie, Kristin and a hundred others race around the small lake.  Leonie comes out in 4th, good position.  Robin comes out in 12th with a 22:53.  She's announced as "Robin Soares, wife of Troy Soares" and probably thinks to herself "My name is just Robin, thank you!"  She runs to her bike and sees Leonie's is already gone.  She must go catch her.. but it's probably more for being able to say "Hi!" than competition. It's really windy on the way out.  Not many women are passing her, but lots of guys are.  She sees Leonie coming back from the turn.  Finally, before "Baily Hill" she passes her.  Up the hill, down the hill.  Many more boys are passing.  And Leonie is still close behind.  Near the end, Dale, who started in a later wave, passes and says, "Those Soares are getting harder to catch!" Robin finishes her bike in 1:13:33. Robin's transition is good and fast as always.  She starts the run in 9th place and steadily picks up the pace as she goes.  She runs the dirt, just off the trail, in order to comfort her hamstrings which have already begun to hurt.  She catches some other girls, but they are all older or younger. Not until after 4 miles does she finally catch someone in her age group.  Then she sees Troy standing at a mile-to-go.  He always wants to run part of it with her but, concerned about "illegal pacing", she tells him, "be careful, don't run with me".  Robin kicks it in.  Surprisingly, she witnesses some "Race Rage" as 2 guys in front of her start elbowing each other in their fight for the fastest line to the finish.  Robin happily finishes in 8th place with a time of 2:21:19.  Leonie in 11th.  And Kristin gets the award for the best sprint at the end.

We all had a great day at the San Jose Triathlon.  We thank God for a safe race for all.

God Bless.

Troy Soares and Robin Soares.... "Team Soares... Press On"