New Jersey Devilman Festival - Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was the nastiest water I have ever swum in. It looked nice from the bank, but add 100 or so other athletes getting in at the same time, the water turned into a dark chocolate milk sewer smelling cess pit! Another problem was that the entrance to the water was only about 10 meters wide. The sprint race began first and as my wave was entering the water for the in-water start, the leaders of the sprint race were trying to get out of the water. A little chaotic!
The swim was a 2 loop counter clockwise route. Within the first 15 yards I got swam over and took in a mouthful of water. The taste and smell were horrible. I actually had to stop to try and catch my breath and really had a hard time getting into a rhythm. For the first half lap I could not control my breathing properly. I think the thought that I had swallowed water and what it may do to my stomach throughout the race panicked me a little. Instead of breathing every 3 strokes, I found that I could not hold my breath that long so ended up breathing every 2 on the same side. As we spread out I did manage to calm down and eventually got into my rhythm of breathing every 3 strokes. The water changed from being shallow to being deep as you swam around the square course. The back stretch was very shallow and I found my hands hitting the bottom on a few occasions. My second lap was much smoother as I had found my stroke and some open water and as I glanced at my watch on the exit I was a little surprised to see 37:50 on the clock. I am not a great swimmer and was very happy with that time


not drink the water!

The transition area was in a fenced off baseball field about 200 meters from the swim. I was on the end rack so my bike was easy to find. As soon as I got there I started drinking Gatorade to try and get rid of the taste of the lake, although the smell would stick with me for the rest of the day! Had a nice steady transition and was out in 3:39.

This was a 2 loop bike ride along pretty quiet roads, although its hard to imagine that it ever gets busy in that area of Jersey! The first 6 miles or so out of transition were slightly uphill and into the wind that blew at around 10mph for most of the day. I set out in a steady rhythm down on the aerobars. My aim for the bike was 3 hours and I tried to pace myself to this. The run is the strongest part of my race and last year I had gone too hard on the bike and really suffered on the run. I did have people passing me on the bike but I managed to keep myself in check and to my plan and finished the first lap in about 1:30.
My nutrition plan for the race was to eat during the bike as I have had a hard time eating and running in the past. I ended up eating a pack of cliff shot blocks and about 8 fig newtons on the bike as well as water and Gatorade. This seemed to be enough and my stomach accepted it all without any problems. On the second lap I continued to stay to my plan, had my one and only stop to use the restroom (tree) of the whole race, and felt good as I completed the bike. I had on my Garmin GPS (I am a numbers junkie!) and had measured the ride as 54.23 miles. My finishing time on the bike was 2:59:47 and an average of 18.7 mph.
One little story from the bike. 99% of the locals were great during the race, clapping, cheering and encouraging but there is always that 1% you have to deal with. On my second lap there was around 5 of us close to each other (not drafting) as we rode down the wide shoulder. A big pick up truck came past all of us pretty fast and close then slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder in front of us. He then gassed the truck and screeched away leaving a huge cloud of black smoke from the exhaust pipe for us all to breath in! It wasn’t my first curse word of the day but I think it was the loudest!

From the dismount of the bike to transition was about 200 yards, and I used this to try and get my running legs. I actually felt good and strong off the bike and confident that I had a good run in me. A quick reset of the GPS, strapped on my fuel belt (I find it easier to drink from a bottle than a paper cup), a couple more fig newtons and I was on my way in 2:58. As left T2 I heard my name and looked over to see Colleen and Isabel cheering me on. That was awesome

I had my GPS set to record every mile on the run although I refused to look at it as I just wanted to run at a pace I felt good at. The only thing I kept an eye on was my HRM to keep that under control. My first mile ended up being a 7:25 which was insane but my legs were still a little strange. The run was 2 different out and backs along shade less roads. The temperature was around 70 degrees and was perfect for racing but the sun was strong. I was cruising for about the first 6 miles and felt good. I was passing people pretty regularly and had a good rhythm going. The second out and back was the toughest part of the race for me. It was a slight uphill into the wind all the way out for about 3 miles or so and the turnaround never seemed to come. After the turnaround I knew I was only 31/2 miles away, it was downhill and the wind was behind me. Knew I could finish and this gave me a good moral boost. I just kept a steady rhythm for the rest of the race and managed a good sprint finish (at least it felt like a sprint). As I crossed the line I was amazed to see 5:34:19! 33 minutes better than last year. The run ended up being 1:50:07 with an 8:25/mile average. Only 6 minutes slower than my Half Marathon PR!

Soda, roast beef, green beans, potatoes, water. Felt a little light headed but after I ate was ok. Very happy with my race and the race as a whole. Well run and well supported.
Congrats to Colleen and to Isabel ( who completed her first Triathlon). Can’t wait for the next one! Things to do different: use sunscreen. I had it but forgot to put it on. My shoulders are a little burnt right now!
Heart Rate: over the whole race my average Heart Rate was 156bpm. Max was 181 bpm



need to be a stronger biker


more porta potties,lake just plain nasty