Nautica New York City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

A couple of things concerned me about the swim before race day. Firstly, this is an assisted swim, so you're going with the current. That means that if the current turns then you're going to be in serious trouble as it's almost impossible to make any headway against it. Fortunately there was plenty of current even for my wave (which was 34th out of 38).

It really helps to swim in the Hudson prior to this race. There's a convenient NYCSwim one mile swimming race that's the week before this. That's perfect for removing any swim-related fears.

The boost from the current is amazing. In a pool I do a mile in ~35mins, and at the NYCSwim event the previous week I managed 26mins (with a course that wasn't all current assisted). This is a _fast_ swim, but that makes it a little stressful. The current is strongest nearer the middle of the river so I stayed there as much as possible.

At the start of the swim you can choose to either wait on the barge and jump in when the horn goes or start from in the water. Being in the water means you have to fight the current to avoid leaving before your wave starts. I elected to stay on the barge as it looked exhausting and stressful.

Next year I'd do the same thing but try to get into a rhythm much sooner - it's hard to settle quickly.

There are two transition areas and both of them are at least 300 yards from the swim exit. That's why this took me so long. Also, the run is on pavement so if your feet aren't particularly tough it's not that much fun.

The rest of the transition was fine, wearing a shorty wetsuit really helps as it's easier to get off quickly. I was 134/376, so I'm pleased with this.

Toughen up my feet so that they could withstand running on pavement a little better.

As it was raining when I set up my transition area I left my shoes in a bag and that slowed me down slightly. Next time I'll request sunshine.

Biking is usually my strongest discipline, while running's my worst. On the bike course I tried to save as much as I could without sacrificing too much speed. It was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the ride.

Improve my running so I can push harder on the bike.

No dramas, everything went fairly well and I was out pretty quickly.

106/376

Nothing, really. Maybe get some elasticated laces for my shoes so I don't have to faff around tying them? Both my transitions were nice and fast though, so more likely I should work on improving my running before I start buying more gear.

I found the last two miles of the run hard work. The first four felt pretty good and it was only after I'd made it to the top of the second big hill at the top of Central Park that I felt the previous events.

It's nice having fluid stations every mile, although I managed to cover myself in as much cytomax as I drank.

Do a lot more running beforehand. :)

Stagger back to transition and then home. I completely slacked off on the warm-down as I don't particularly mind being sore right now - it's proof of what I've done!


Running, running, running.


This was my first race so I don't have much to compare it to. It felt hard, but just about within my abilities.