Born To Tri - TriathlonSprint

This was a deep water start, I was in the second wave and we swam out to the first buoy and treaded water and chatted while the first wave took off ahead of us. The starter’s pistol seemed to take us all by surprise and off I went. There wasn’t too much contact as we were pretty well spread out and I was able to start with 4 strokes per breath. I focused on keeping my form and using my body to swim instead of just my arms. After the first 150 yards or so I switched to two strokes per breath to get more air. Unlike my first tri in Belmar 2 weeks ago, I didn’t have to stop to rest. I paused briefly a couple of times to get a good sighting and noticed I was drifting toward the outside of the swimming lane (away from the beach), so I ended up swimming further than what was necessary. I made a right turn at the last buoy and swam hard toward the beach kicking my legs harder to get ready for the bike. I swam until I felt the ocean floor with my hands; I popped up and walked out of the water to catch my breath. I jogged up the beach using small steps and I felt much stronger that the last tri. My wife said my gut was hanging out of my tri top, mental note: don’t throw tri top in the dryer (and lose another 20 or 30 pounds!).

Sight better, swim faster!

I jogged to transition (I think I passed a couple of guys) and started to put on my running sneakers. Why sneakers do you ask? Because I forgot that I had already clipped my bike shoes into my pedals! Realizing my folly, I abandoned my sneaks, donned my sunglasses and helmet from my handlebars and jogged past the bike mount line and jumped onto my bike while running (just like I practiced). I placed my feet on top of my shoes and pedaled up to speed. I was nervous about possibly knocking my shoes off of my pedals and it took me a while to get both feet in and secured. I also forgot to check to make sure the rubber bands had snapped.

T1 rank: 1/18 in my age group!!!!


Not try to put on running sneakers in T1! Get my feet in my cycling shoes faster. Remember to check that rubber bands were snapped.

I stayed down in my drops for almost the entire bike ride and used the aero bars a couple of times. I still don’t feel comfortable using the aero bars yet and I need to train more with them. I found the bike course to be pretty cool, it had several curves and turns. I purposely kept my gears a little lower this time so my cadence was quicker (I think). Unlike the last tri, there were periods where I felt alone on the course because the group ahead was out of site. This freaked me out a bit because I was nervous that I would make a wrong turn even though the course was well marked. I was passed by a couple of riders and I passed a couple of riders during the three bike loops and overall I felt that I did OK in the bike ride.

Use aerobars more and drink more.

I forgot to slip my feet out of the pedals and leave them clipped into the pedals prior to dismount so I jogged in my bike shoes to T2.

In T2 there was a wetsuit hanging in my spot on the bike rack! I honestly can’t remember if I tossed the wetsuit, slid it to the side or simply racked my bike on top of it. Sheesh, the nerve of some people! I slipped on my running sneaks (the yanks laces worked well), grabbed my running hat and race belt and proceeded out of transition and into the gates of hell!

T2 rank: 12/18 in my age group.


Remember to slip my feet out of my cycling shoes before I dismount.

Almost immediately my right calf which had tightened up on me on Monday began to audibly scream “stop running you a**hole!”. Fortunately, my good left calf yelled “shut up you wuss!”. Now, normally I don’t hear voices but I swear it happened yesterday. My calves continued to argue around the lake and I seriously considered calling it a day. I wouldn’t describe what I was doing as running, it was more like a cross between, jogging, limping & shuffling (ever see Tim Conway as “the old man” on the Carol Burnett show?). Somehow, I made it to the boardwalk and limp-shuffled south. I made it to the race volunteer standing at the southern turnaround sign and said “Thank God, it’s good to see you!” She smiled and lied thru her teeth telling me “you’re doing great!” (Bless her heart!).

I turned north on the boardwalk and proceeded to get passed by men, woman, children and small animals on leashes. I only stopped briefly at the two water stations to drink, and I tuned out the racket my calves were still making (my wife tells me I have a unique ability in this area).

The running course takes you north on the boardwalk past the eventual finish line before you finally turn around and head south to the finish. At about the 2 ¼ mile point, a runner in front of me makes a u-turn right in front of a race official and heads south! I asked the official if this was the turn-around point and he said “no, keep going” and then I heard him yelling at the errant runner to turn around (I don’t think he ever did!).

The bible tells us that the road to hell is wide and I can assure you that indeed, yesterday on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ a 747 could have landed! I repented for all of my past sins, made it to the race official at the last turnaround and was tempted to give him a hug but then realized this was Asbury Park and the guy might actually enjoy it (I didn’t really write that did I?).

The last half mile was an exercise in survival as all of the major muscles in my legs began to seize up. Somehow I made it onto the red carpet and crossed the finish line. A volunteer threw a wonderfully sopping wet, ice cold towel around my neck and I tried to smile as I made my way to my wife.


Stop the voices by having healthy legs!

My BT mentor’s friends Kristen & Brad (looking remarkably fresh and relaxed) and who probably finished 30 or 40 minutes earlier recognized me and said hello. I think I shook their hands and mumbled some incoherent niceties.


We hung around for the awards ceremony and sure enough both Brad & Kristen won age group awards. I congratulated them and I had my wife snap a picture of us. I had a great time and will definitely be back next year, hopefully a little leaner and a lot stronger & wiser!



Not enough training and right calf injury.


My wife was upset at the lack of police traffic presence near the transition area. She said there were several cars that drove into the race route at this area.

The running course was changed at the last minute and I'm sure some folks were unaware of this. Although there were no mile markers on the course the google map run course did contain mile markers.