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 Swim
Comments: When the whistle went off, I ran in and swam out a bit, not sure how far to go. I probably ended up going 50 yards or so and then swam parallel to the shore. I got kicked a couple of times and I'm sure I got a couple of other guys with kicks as well. In the end, I think I was in deeper than most of the other guys and had to play catchup getting out of the water. Overall I was happy with my swim. What would you do differently?: Sight better, perhaps catch a draft.  Transition 1
Comments: I was trying to improve a great deal on my transition time from my first tri, and I think I did that. I ran hard from the swim exit to the transition area (2 blocks) and I must have passed 10-15 people just doing this. I stripped the wetsuit to my waist as I was running, and finished taking it off when I got to my bike. I already had gels taped on my handlebars, and had switched to speedlaces to shave a few seconds off putting my shoes on. Quick wipe, put on running shoes (yes still riding with toe cages), shirt, helmet, sunglasses, race belt and off I go. What would you do differently?: Nothing, this was a good transition.  Bike
Comments: A bit disappointed in my performance on the bike. On my first tri a couple of months ago I averaged 21 mph on a longer course, here I dropped 1 mph and I felt like I had expended more energy. I think there are a couple of reasons for this: I went harder on the swim and faster on T1, the road surface at times was a bit rough, and it was also a bit windy. My bike was also making a squeaking noise in the front wheel, not sure if it was affecting anything but it sure was annoying. I took a gel right at the start and chased it with accelerade from my bike bottle. For the first half I nad a slight tailwind and averaged 20.5-21mph. The second half (the back portion), it was a headwind and my speed dropped to 19.5-20 mph. This was a different bike segment than on my first race. Here I was already near the front coming out of T1, so I did not pass that many people - I passed 2, got passed twice - but I had 2 AG'ers in my sights going into T2 and was ok with that knowing that my strongest segment was coming up next. What would you do differently?: Have a bike check-up before the race. Transition 2
Comments: A fast T1, didn't do much but rack the bike and take off my helmet since I already had my race belt and running shoes on. I also grabbed a gel and put it in my pocket. Took a quick drink exiting the transition area. What would you do differently?: Nothing  Run
Comments: My legs felt heavy getting started, but I pushed through, had my gel during mile 1 and kept my pace. I passed a couple of people near the beginning and got passed once. At the turnaround a bit after mile 1 I tried to count how many AG'ers were ahead of me and I thought I counted 9. I chased one down and passed him, and had 2 more in my sights, maybe 40-50 yards ahead, which I was gaining on near the end but didn't have enough in the tank to sprint and pass them. I saw my wife near the end nd she ran alongside me almost to the finish line. Overall a good run, but I know I can run faster. What would you do differently?: Practice more bricks. Post race
Warm down: Grabbed some food and gatorade from the substantial buffet. Hang out with my family and took pictures. What limited your ability to perform faster: My energy level felt lower than at my first tri 2 months ago. I didn't spend as much time in the pool this time around but surprisingly ended up doing ok in the swim, but perhaps used up more energy than I should have. The bike felt surprisingly hard. Spend more time in the saddle I guess. Event comments: The venue (Long Beach Island) is special to me, and I'm glad that Linda and Mark continue to conduct this logistically difficult event. It was after I read about this race last year that I decided to become a triathlete! The race was certainly well organized, plenty of volunteers, and the course was well marked. The ocean swim turned difficult as I explained earlier and that delayed the entire race but I'm not sure they could have done anything to prevent that. This was my last tri of the season and if I can I'm participating again next year. Last updated: 2008-09-08 12:00 AM
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United States
Lin-mark Computer Sports,Inc.
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 77/418
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 7/39
The day before, my son ran the 1 mile kids fun run at the same venue, which took place just before packet pickup for the tri started. So the whole family got there to cheer him on - and he did very well despite health issues (high blood sugar all morning).
After the kids race, I picked up my packet and racked my bike - second bike in the whole transition area! Very friendly staff and volunteers, goody bag had useful stuff like a sheet of plastic and duct tape.
Later in the day I took a practice swim. The water was choppy and felt cold (but was supposed to be 71 degrees) - so I was glad I had my swimsuit.
In the evening, I double and triple-checked my bags, had a pasta dinner, and went to bed early. Slept like a rock, but woke up just before my alarm went off at 5:00 AM.
I took a shower and ate a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and drank lemon-ginger tea that my wife made the evening before - so it was good and gingery! Then took the dog for a walk, loaded the car (which was easy because I was just carrying my transition bag), kissed the wife goodbye since she was driving up with the kids a bit later, and took off.
Check-in was uneventful, except that I was a bit pissed that someone had moved my bike over from the end of the rack where I had put it the day before and put his bike there. Maybe some tri karma will come his way...
I took a walk to the beach to see what the ocean looked like and it was beautiful, small rolling waves, not nearly as choppy as the day before. Then I walked back just in time for the pre-race meeting.
After the meeting, when most people headed to the beach, I went to put on my wetsuit. I was on wave 6 so I knew I had a half hour before my wave start, so I took my time putting on bodyglide, getting the suit on and taking the 2 block walk to the swim start. I saw my family a couple of times in the meantime, and then we walked to the beach together and my wife fixed my badly zipped-up zipper. By now, the water had gotten much choppier and some people were getting nervous about the swim.
I watched a couple of waves go out and many swimmers had problems with the waves and current. There was one wave where it seemed a half of the swimmers turned around and swam back before making it to the buoy. The lifeguards were busy helping people out of the water.
Then they stopped the race to bring the buoy closer, and this started a series of buoy adjustments and changes - at one point they had to pull the big buoy out of the water because the waves were bringing it ashore, and put another smaller one in the water. By the time my wave was starting, they had told us to not even bother with the buoy, just swim in a bit and then swim parallel to the shore to the swim exit...
So while all this was going on, I got in the water a couple of times and took short practice swims. The sun was now up and it was getting warmer and it felt uncomfortable just waiting around in the swimsuit.