Seafair Triathlon — twice

2025-07-20

The Seafair Triathlon is Seattle's only triathlon — a swim in Lake Washington at Seward Park, a bike leg through the neighborhood, and a 5K run to finish. July in Seattle, blue sky, cold lake water. It's a good one.

I've done it twice now, for very different reasons.

Saachi on a paddleboard on Lake Union, Seattle skyline and Eastlake bridge behind — Summer on the water. Lake Union, training season.

2024 — Super Sprint, Baker cross-training

The super sprint is 0.25 miles in the lake, 12.4 miles on the bike, and a 5K run. I signed up because I was training for the Mt. Baker climb that summer and needed structured cardio with a deadline. A triathlon is a good way to make sure you're actually swimming and cycling, not just thinking about it.

The swim is in Andrews Bay, a protected cove of Lake Washington. Open water swimming is different from pool swimming in ways that take a few minutes to adjust to — no lane lines, no wall to sight off of, a lot of other people. I adjusted. The bike was through the Seward Park neighborhood and back. The run felt like a victory lap.

Saachi and a friend at the Seward Park transition zone, bikes racked behind, before the race — Pre-race at the transition zone. Seward Park, July 2024.

Saachi mid-race selfie on the run course at Seward Park, race bib on, arm raised, big smile — Mid-run. The run always feels like a victory lap.

Swimming in Lake Washington, shot from a paddleboard — open water, blue sky, tree-lined shore — Open water swim training on Lake Washington.

Saachi and a friend on paddleboards on Lake Union, South Lake Union buildings behind

Saachi post-finish with finisher medal, smiling, triathlon gear, transition area behind — Finisher. 2024.

2025 — Sprint, spine recovery milestone

I had a spinal injury in late 2024 that required surgery and a long recovery. Coming back from that — figuring out what my body could and couldn't do, and at what pace — was its own project. The sprint distance Seafair Triathlon (0.5 miles in the lake, same bike, same run) became the marker I trained toward.

There's something specific about finishing a triathlon after a spine surgery. You cross the same finish line you crossed before, but it means something different. It meant my back was working. It meant the training had held. It meant I'd built back to something I'd done before — and this time done more of it.

2026 — Sprint, again

Registered for the sprint again. This time it's not cross-training for a bigger thing and it's not a recovery milestone. It's just something I do now in July in Seattle. That feels like its own kind of good.