There was a time in Jim Lubinski’s life when slamming guys into the boards and scoring goals was what he loved to do.
Then the former pro ice hockey player moved west and discovered triathlon.
“Lubi” dropped 40 pounds and transformed himself into an elite triathlete. He lost weight but not his drive to win.
That was evident Saturday at the Santa Barbara Triathlon long-course event at East Beach. Lubinski ran down leader Daniel Brienza with two miles to go on the 10-mile run and took first place in a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes, 56 seconds.
Jim Lubinski bikes along Butterfly Beach on Saturday, near the end of the 34-mile bike leg of the triathlon.
[nggallery id=49]Brienza, of Fairfield, followed in 2:54 and Cardiff’s Mac Brown took third in 2:56.43. Former UCSB triathlon team standout Taylor Hemming, a 25-29 age group entrant from Isla Vista, prevented an Elite-Pro sweep of the top five spots by taking fourth 2:58.56. Navy Seal and Silver Star recipient Mitchell Hall of San Diego took fifth in 2:59.59.
Carpinteria’s Matt Organista, competing in his first long-course triathlon, came in sixth place in 3:00.03.
Linda Smith, of Arroyo Grande, a 1996 U.S. Olympic marathoner, was the first-place woman in her triathlon debut.
After enduring the swim and bike legs, she blew away the leaders on the run course and crossed the finish line in 3:12.32. Lauren Chiodini of La Jolla was second (3:15.01) and Rhae Shaw of Seattle was third (3:17.38).
The first local women’s finisher was former San Marcos track and soccer star Erin Lamb in 17th place with a time of 3:34.58.
The participants did a 1-mile ocean swim off East Beach, a 34-mile bike loop to Carpinteria and a 10-mile run along the beachfront, up Shoreline Drive to Cliff Drive and back down to the finish line at East Beach.
UCSB triathlete Peter Burns on the waterfront bikepath Saturday.
Originally from Chicago, Lubinski, 32, played minor league hockey on the East Coast for several years before migrating to Southern California. He got hooked on triathlons and has never stopped training. He is a member of the Los Angeles Triathlon Club.
“I made a transition and lost 40 pounds and here I am,” he said. “I’m at 170 (pounds) and I played at 210.”
He said the toughest part for him on Saturday was mustering the strength to catch Brienza and look fresh doing it.
“It was digging deep at mile 8, where I passed him,” the Santa Monica resident said of the key to his win. “I saw his tail lights from mile 4 on. It was just making up that time, digging deep and passing him really strong, and put in the back of his mind that I had a lot left.”
“He really put the hurt on me at mile 8 of the run,” said Brienza, of Fairfield. “He just put on the afterburners and he got me hard, and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Lubinski said he’s preparing for an Ironman Triathlon in Wisconsin in two weeks, while Brienza is in training for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in October.
“I lost a little bit of my speed, but it’s all right,” Brienza said. “I was happy with my result and now it’s back to training today and tomorrow.”
Organista, who has been runner-up in the short-course event a couple of times, learned how punishing the long course can be on the body.
“It’s brutal,” he said.
Still, despite an early mishap on his bike, Organista, 21, turned in a good time in his long-course debut.
“I was hoping to battle it out with (UCSB’s) Zack Paris, but he dropped back,” Organista said.
Paris finished 25th.
Smith joined her triathlete husband, Scott, in Saturday’s event. She said she turned to triathlon after suffering an injury in April while cross training.
“I started training with him and decided we should try to do one together. He’s faster than me,” she said.
But not when it comes to running. Smith, 49, overtook Chiodini, who was leading from the 4.5-mile mark to mile 7 on the run.
“She just blew by me. She’s a fast lady,” said Chiodini, who was coming off a win at the Carlsbad Triathlon last month.
The transition area took up most of the parking lot just to the west of the Cabrillo Bath House.
“Running is my strong point,” said Smith.
Asked how she handled the swim portion, Smith said, “I didn’t like it. I can swim in a pool, but (the ocean) was so choppy … I felt it was choppy, but maybe it was calm. (All I know is) I swallowed a lot of water.”
She said the bike course was hillier than she thought and she worried about the traffic and turns. The strong presence of California Highway Patrol officers, however, put her at ease.
“There was a CHP at every turn and they were stopping all traffic, so they were making it easy.”
So, is she becoming a triathlon convert?
“I don’t know,” Smith said. “It was really hard. It’s easier to run.”
Smith’s husband placed 13th.
In the relays, the Nite Moves team of Matthew Trost (swimmer), James Ballantine (biker) and Ricky Ho (runner) posted the fast time at 3:03.12. Cerberus (Scott Reed, Tom Anhalt and Matthew Bertolet) was the second fastest at 3:03.46.
The top coed team was the Cal Poly Dolomites (Taylor Feezor, Jesse Zarate and Blake McDowall) in 3:07.10 No Nuts, Just Guts were the No. 1 women’s team in 3:22.20. Team members were locals Anne Illgen, Jeannette Candau and Grace Twedt.
There were a couple injuries suffered in bike crashes and the riders were taken to Cottage Hospital for observation, according to event officials.
