Riverhead Rocks Olympic Distance Triahtlon - TriathlonOlympic

I was so freakin nervous while waiting on the boardwalk walking up towards the dock I was not sure how I was going to swim. It was a time trial swim so I lined up in the 31-35 minutes group. What was good was that I ran into Joanne who I swam with a Wildwood Lake she is a friend of the folks I swim with and she was right behind me lining up so we talked as we walked up there. She was much calmer than I was. I felt like a dead man walking to the gallows. I just kept telling myself this is just like a training swim at Wildwood, no different just relax. I said one final prayer as I walked up to get going. I preyed for the safety of all the athletes, volunteers and specatators. I also asked the Lord keep me safe and calm and help me do the best that I possibly could do. I did not want to finish feeling I left something out there. I finally got to the timing mat and then to the platform. They said go and I jumped in feet first, got my bearings and started swimming. It took me a minute or two to get settled in but once I did that I got into my rythym, found some space and started going well. There was some bumping and banging but it did not affect me at all I was expecting it and to be honest I liked it! It is like a rite of passage to get into the mix. I finally made it to the turn around bouy which seemed like it took forever, 600 meters. From there I just tried to stay in my rythym but there was a lot more contact the last 900 meters plus I had to do more sighting since it was not a straight line. It was easier since the bouys were on the right and I only breath to the right for now. It seemed much faster the second half then the first half of the swim. Before I knew it the platform was in sight and I just hammered it. I had a little trouble get it up there thankfully two volunteers were kind enough to pull me out. One embarrassing thing to note is after I got out I hustled up the dock and wound up slipping and went down on all fours! The volunteer asked me if I was ok and I said I was but man it was embarrassing I felt like an idiot. I more carefully made my way to the transition area while pulling my wetsuit top off.

I think I had a really good swim. I was hoping for 35 minutes and did better than I expected. I think if anything I would have tried to just be more relaxed before getting in there. As far as the contact and the washing machine effect I thought I stayed very composed and handled that very well.

So just to put some perspective on this I was 323 out of 324 for T1 times. My T1 was so slow it was embarrasing. I was giving myself a pass on the transitions for this race but I did not expect to be this bad. I was not disoranized I was just plain slow. Plus with the ground being wet with the rain the night before it sort of hindered me from getting my feet somewhat dry to get my socks on. The one positive thing was that I did not forget anything which was my biggest fear. In any case I should have done much better than this.

Move faster through the routine and prepare a little better. I should have had a better plan for the ground being wet. Most of all I need to just move with a little more urgency. I guarantee that this will not happen again this coming weekend.

The conditions of the roads were varied, there rough spots and smooth roads with it wet but drying out as we rode the course. I have a lot to say about the bike ride. I think the bike ride is the thing I am most proud of for the race. First let me put this into perspective for everyone I am not very experienced nor do I consider myslef a strong cyclist. I defintiely have potential to be good and I really enjoy riding the bike but I do not consider myself good at this point but I couldn't believe how well I did on the bike. I passed A LOT of people on the bike no exaggration. My plan was to just take it easy and not use all my energy on the bike leg. Don't get caught up racing people just be careful and ride well. I started out a little fast but got into a nice rythym on the bike and I picked off a few people leaving Riverhead. I started passing more people in Calverton and in Wading River. I felt great on the bike the rodes were flat to some rolling hills here and there. I was shifting gears like a pro, I couldn't believe it. There was also this on and off headwind that we rode into. It did not affect me one bit, all the riding down by the water totally paid off for me. I didn't labor at all with the wind. As I made my way towards Wading River I started to push harder on the bike I was worried about not having anything for run but I felt I was riding so well I just kept it up. Now I will say this for the people I passed they were all on road bikes. Now some of them were probably pacing themselves, some were probably not strong on the bike, some might have been more careful because of the conditions and the partial open roads. I don't know but I know that I had a major advantage being on my Cervelo P2. I hesitate to say I had something to do with this. I think the bike was worth every penny I paid for it. There is no doubt a TT bike will make you a lot faster than riding a road bike. Now I will give my bike most of the credit for what I was able to do but I have to say I did a great job on the bike. I have never rode like that in training where I ride mainly flat roads here I was going up and down rolling hills shifting like I've done it my whole life. There was one wicked decent that I coasted down and would have pushed it had it not been wet but I handled that great. Then I had this climb right after that where I used up all my gears got out of my seat climbed the hill and passed two people and I still had enough to keep up my speed. I felt like I could pass anybody I wanted at any time. I was literaly stalking people on the bike. I would stay back for a bit then when I was ready I would just pass them. I did that the whole ride and pretty much felt bad for these people I was passing because some of them did not want to get passed and just rode right by them. Again I can't take much of the credit for this as there is no way I could have done this on a road bike. But I am very proud of my effort on the bike. I didn't realize that I had the potential or the stregth to ride like that. When I got back to transition I was a little worried that I had used everything up. That turned out not to be the case. I will also say I have never had so much fun riding a bike, what a freakin rush! It was so satisfying to pass that many people.

Not that much, if it was not wet I would have pushed a little harder on some decents. I also would have coasted a little less in certain areas and I would have passed some people sooner. I did hold back a little in certain places and was content to follow. I could have been more competitive and passed sooner. I think I did very well but I think I could have done better.

Well I did do better in T2 but it was still embarrassing. I had to change my socks as my tri shoes and socks were soaking wet from the ride and there was no way I was gonna run in them. Plus I had a little trouble getting my bike straight on the rack as there is little room there. I moved a little faster but was still too slow. Once I got my shoes, socks, hat and my bottle of infinit I headed on out.

Again just move with more of a sense of urgency and do a better job of racking my bike.

I started my run with an easy pace. I had to keep telling myself to take it easy and not race anyone. Let's just ease into this run and get through the first loop. I got passed A LOT on the run but I really did not care. I kept my pace easy enough to let my legs get adjusted. I actually felt pretty good as I was very worried that I would not have anything left after the bike leg. I got through the first leg pretty well and as I passed Main St. I saw the time clock and thought man I can definitely get in under 3:15 which was my goal so I started slowly picking my pace up and I started passing people in the second loop. That was very satisfying. I did get passed a few times as well but I didn't care. I was good up until mile 4 and then the HR started to creep up and the body started to protest. I just keep telling myslef to keep moving and finish this thing out. I thought about the Asphalt Junkies a lot over the next two miles and knew there would not be any quit in anybody in our group and just couldn't let anybody or myself down. I just have to finish thing strong. The other thought I had all morning and into the run was a qoute from the book Scott Ludwing wrote about the 2003 Badwater race. Bonnie Busch said this when she went to the training camp they have in Death Valley to prepare for the race. Control what you can, accept what you must, you cannot finish if you quit - physically or mentally. I just keep repeating that through mile 5. Once I got onto Main St. and made the final climb up the last hill I knew I was going to finish. My HR was all the way up and I was breathing heavy but I knew I had some left to just sprint so I picked up the paced and I was passing people to the finish. I think I picked off 3 or 4 people. I was sprinting into the chute for the finish. I gave a kiss and thanks to God for helping me get through safely and headed for the finish and got to run through and break the ribbon. It was so awesome, 9 and half months of training for this and to finally do it was just an absolutely amazing and satisfying feeling.

Not too much, I think I did a good job pacing myself through the first loop. I am glad I did not push harder as I think I would proabably have struggled badly in the second loop. I feel like I left everything that I had out there when I finished.

Nothing special here. I watched some of the other athletes cross the line then went back to the van to drop my stuff off and headed back to transition to get the rest of my stuff before heading home and calling it a day and what a day it was.


I think my lack of experience and time doing this is the biggest limiting factor right now. I have a lot that I need to improve on in all aspects, swimming, biking, running and most of all TRANSITIONS! The great thing is that there is so much room for improvement and that I might be a little bit better in the swim and bike then I thought I was. I have to say a big thank you to all the Asphalt Junkies. Without your help, willingness to share your knowledge and experiences and your tremendous support I would have never been able to accomplish this on my own. What an awesome group of people, I'm so grateful and thankful to be a part of this group. I also have to say thank you to my fellow BTer's and local LI triathletes who have helped me out so much especially with my swimming. Bobby (Dream Chaser) if it wasn't for you taking me under your wing and giving me all the advice, help and encouragement at the pool and then taking me out to the lake and swimming with me I would have never gotten through the swim yesterday. You truly inspire me and had you not helped me out and hooked me up with Wynn and Theresa who I would also like to thank as well for letting me tag along and swim with them I would not have improved as much as I have over the last month. My confidence was so low in my swimming that I didn't think I could do the distance but you showed me that I could. I am very thankful and grateful to you guys as well for all your help.


Event Power LI put on a great race for the inugural race in Riverhead. Plenty of volunteers, great finish on Main St. and good and challenging course. Two things that I am not sure they can improve would be the swim in the canal. It was ok and the traffic being opened on Sound Ave. for the bike leg. You really needed to be on your toes for that part of the bike course as there is a limited shoulder on the road. Safety was the prioirty there.