Name: Jessica McAllister
Years in Triathlon: 2
Employment: Electrical Engineer at D2 Technologies; Vocalist for the Roman Glowlights Jazz Trio
Family Life: I'm lucky to have met my perfect match: Kevin. My parents live close by in Camarillo, and my brother and his wife live in Ventura.
My Hero: I am SO inspired by women 10+ years older than me who leave me to eat their dust during races. They rub it in at the finish line, when they are greeted by the little baby they just gave birth to! I hope I can be a super-fit mom someday too!
Athletic Background: I grew up swimming, biking, running and playing soccer for recreation. I ran Varsity Cross Country for in high school until bursitis of the hips took me out. At that point I focused my attention on Pilates and strength training, and spinning class. In college I bought a used hybrid bike to commute from Goleta to UCSB and started taking advantage of the 50 meter pool there. After several painful attempts, I was finally able to run pain-free again. I entered the 2004 Carpinteria Tri, but I over-trained and tore my hamstring the week prior. I honestly don't know why it took me 3 years to try again, but this time I'm serious! Carp Sprint Tri 2007 was the first I actually completed, and I came in 2nd in my division! (oh ya, but that's only out of 8.) That was just the boost I needed to join the tri club, sign up for Wildflower, buy a road bike and give this sport an honest shot!
Favorite Race and why: Wildflower 2008. It was my first olympic distance race, and I loved the whole experience of the long weekend at Lake San Antonio. I had my biggest fan there to support me, and who knew it'd be my last chance to race with Hillary?
Worse Race and why: My first try-- the Solana Beach Tri, 2007. As I was coming out of the swim, I realized I had forgotten my helmet and was therefore unable to continue in the race. grrrrrr...
This years goals: Complete SB long course, then keep training through the winter and enter a 70.3 next year!
In five years I hope to: Continue to compete in local races and maybe a couple destination races. Most of all, I hope to kick my own 25 year-old-butt every successive year!
Something most people do not know about me: Aside from singing Jazz, I've dabbled into a few other genres by collaborating with local rock, hip-hop, and dance jam artists on recording projects. Even more out there is the Black Lotus fusion band, in which I sing either jazz (scat) or classical Indian syllables (sargam) with a sarode player, flamenco guitarist, and percussionist, sometimes over a funky electronic groove. It's a unique trip, alright.