On a perfectly bright and warm Santa Cruz morning, a thousand athletes, the largest field yet, gathered near the Boardwalk and stared at the pounding 8ft waves. I think of the salt water I was forced to swallow while practicing in the surf the day before. The water's warm but getting out to it and then back out again will be a challenge.

It's the last triathlon of the season, all my friends are here, I wish there was more time to catch up. They've all had exciting seasons, building up, or winding down, to this race. It's extra exciting for me because I think this will be my first "full-go" race.

No more pains or pads or special shoes or stopping for adjustments. A final test to see where I'm at after a year of healing.

Our first wave gets lucky, moderate swells, the water is great, smooth sailing to the end of the pier. Around the first buoy I'm yanked backwards suddenly when the anchor rope gets wrapped around my arm somehow. Once free and swimming again I hear the familiar sea lions under the pier. Above, a friend yells my name and I try to wave.   Up ahead I see the waves breaking hard. Luckily, instead of getting pounded, I just miss the wave and get sucked backward into a mess of seaweed. Felt helpless for a bit but got out safely. Another athlete dislocated his shoulder after getting tossed into the sand.

On the bike everything feels good. I'm 20th and bikes are sparse, clear sailing. The view along HWY 1 is beautiful. Yesterday, my wheel had a problem and blew 3 tubes in a row. I'm hoping I got it fixed. At Davenport turn-around I get my 2nd wind. Powered by Cytomax, I move up to 15th. I'm remembering the techniques, staying fast on the hills. Then I feel even better, keeping 27mph on the way in. I stretch as I coast Into the transition. The spectators look like they're having a blast. Cool, I averaged 25mph! But now's the true test...