I found a spot in the water out towards the right, where the current is strongest. Had a tough time holding onto the rope, but I didn’t think the current felt as strong as 2008, when it felt like being in a horizontal waterfall.

When the gun went off, there was a little bit of a washing machine. I shot a gap between two guys in front of me, and made it to the front third of my wave. I was wearing my bigger goggles that I usually wear for OWS, and they got really fogged up right away, so, although my pace was good, I think my navigation was terrible, since I couldn’t see at all. I ended up much further to the left than I wanted to be, and had to zig-zag back over to the right. Drafting was impossible, since I couldn’t see anything around me, other than the occasional blur of a colored swim cap. Overall, it was ok. I finished in a group of swimmers from the wave in front of me, and even a couple from two waves ahead, which is usually the barometer of a good swim for me.

No jellyfish! Hooray! Also, I was happy that the patch job I did on my suit after it ripped before my last race held up.


Use defogger. Navigate better. Even though this is the easiest possible course to navigate, I always seem to have a tough time with it.

I jogged at a moderate pace the whole way. No problems finding my rack or bike, even though it looked like I beat everyone on my rack back to T1.

I got the suit off without much of a problem.


Go faster.

My Garmin said I averaged 20.1 MPH, so that’s my story, and I’m sticking with it….

This was probably my best bike segment in any race. I improved by >1mph over the last time I raced. Part of that is due to the bike, but more is due to being a better, more confident cyclist. I knew what to expect in terms of hills, and none of the hills were arduous. I passed lots of people. I played leapfrog with this one guy for about 10 miles until I just said, “Screw it—I’m dropping this guy.” I got out of the saddle on the next climb, hammered down the other side of the hill, and never saw him again.

My speed topped out at 38.8, which is a little slower than my top speed in 2008 because, on the fastest descent, I was behind a couple of people on the descent and I had to check my speed to avoid getting too close to them.

I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade Endurance and ate two gels. One gel probably would have been enough.

Little bit of a headwind on the way back, but wind wasn't much of a factor.

I was sorry when this bike leg was over. It’s a great course. At one point, you can look out over the Hudson and see the swimmers from the later waves going downriver.


Go faster. I have a tendency to lose focus and decellerate and don't "wake up" until someone passes me. I have to concentrate on keeping the hammer down the whole time.

I barely remember this transition, which I guess means it was pretty good. I went with socks and shoelaces for this race to help protect my feet and calves. I think it was the right choice, but it slowed me down a little. I grabbed my visor and the baggie containing my Enduralytes and gels on the way out of transition, got a cup of water from the aid station, and jogged up the hill up to 72nd St.

No socks and not tying shoelaces would have saved me 20-30 seconds, but I needed them for this race.

My lower legs haven’t been in a good mood since May, and after the trouble I had at Rev3 (cramps and calf strains) I decided to go with a 6:1 run/walk strategy for this race.

I ran the 1st mile and then, beginning with the first aid station in the park, went to the run walk strategy. I have to say that it worked better than I expected. I never felt any cramps or problems with my calves at all. I think, if I’m going to use it going forward, I need to concentrate on running faster during the run intervals, or my overall pace will suffer (as it did here). I don’t know if I’m a run/walk convert for life, but it worked well for this race in this circumstance.

I kept my visor on, but took my sunglasses off for the run, since it was so shady. I ate a gel and three enduralytes at the 1-mile mark and then went with water at every aid station. Having volunteered twice for this race, I knew exactly where all the aid stations were, which was helpful.

The volunteer support on the race course, as well as the fan support was really enthusiastic. I gave up the run/walk strategy and ran the last mile or so. I didn’t go full-bore into the chute, because I was looking for my family. It turns out that I had been overly modest about my prediction of when I would finish. I had told them 3h to 3:15, so they hadn’t made it over to the finish line area yet, so they missed me. Too bad, but I was happy with the result. I beat my PR for this race by almost two minutes and had the best bike split of any tri I’ve done.


Not have to run/walk, or, better yet, make my run intervals faster. I would have preferred to be closer to a 9:00 pace, which I know I'm capable of, even with the run/walk.

Got my medal, cold towel, and two bottles of water. I also drank a bottle of MuscleMilk. I took a banana but decided I didn’t want it and put it back. I’m in awe of people who can scarf down bagels and bananas after a race. I have to stick to liquids for at least a few minutes after I finish. Had my finisher photo taken.

Since my family didn’t realize I was finishing so soon, they weren’t at the family reunion area when I got through the finishing area. I stood there in the sun, getting a little overheated and waiting for them. I finally had to borrow a stranger’s cell phone, since mine was back in transition. Eventually I reached my wife, who was waiting for me at the finish line, worried that I’d gotten injured on the course somewhere, when, in fact, I’d been finished for almost 15 minutes.

We wandered through the finish festival, picked up some swag and some free samples, entered a raffle or two. My wife and son took the train back home and I went back to transition, gathered my stuff, and went home.



My injury (soleus strain) is so unpredictable, I have no way of knowing if it would have been a factor if I’d tried to run the whole way, but, after suffering through the run with this injury two years ago, it was nice to have a pain-free 10k. If I’m going to adopt this run/walk strategy on a regular basis, I need to focus on making my run intervals faster to compensate for the walk breaks.

Poor navigation on the swim was an issue as well.

Overall, though, I’m happy with my performance, especially my bike split.



This is a race that lives up to the hype. Yes, there are lots of people, and yes it’s kind of a logistical PIA, with check-in at the Hilton, bike check in on Saturday, the two different transitions, the finish line being so far from transition, the 1.5 mile walk to swim start, etc. But, overall, it’s an extrodinarily well-run race for the size and scope. The volunteers are great (I’m not just saying that because I was one), the course is the best urban race course in the country, IMO, and there are some really nice amenities and details that make it a unique and fun event.

I’m looking forward to racing it again.