New York City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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New York City, New York
United States
NYC Sports Commission
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 31m 36s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 74/357
Pre-race routine:

Bikes had to be checked in the day before because there were 4400+ participants. The transition areas were broken up in to 2 areas, Yellow and Red.

Got up at 3:30am, drank ensure, packed transition bag, called for a taxi.

Got to my transition area (yellow) at about 4:45am. Transition would close at 5:30am. Re-checked my bike and found out that my cadence sensor had been knocked off and no where in site. This was par for the course with this bike computer. For the last few weeks and at Chattanooga Tri, my computer was giving me problems reading mph, now no cadence. I didn't know this would play a major role in my mental game later on.

Everything else checked out ok, so set up my gear.
Event warmup:

The swim start was over a mile from my transition area, so I did a light jog to swim start as my only warm up. No swim warm up allowed due to the current. I was in wave 7 of 35, so I would have an early start at 6:12am. (The last wave start was 8:30am?) I arrived at the swim start about 20 minutes before my wave start, packed my "post race" pick up bag and gave it to tribesman. Five minutes later, nature came a calling. I made a quick dash to the porta-john's and found the shortest line. I was number 2 (no pun intended). But apparently others with later start times seemed to be taking their time. I was getting nervous because I didn't have my wetsuit on yet. Was able to finally finish my business and get my wet suit on when they called my wave to the start barge. My heart rate was up, so I was hoping the rushing around was enough of a warm-up.
Swim
  • 20m 48s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 23s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim start was from a barge. Because of the strong current, you had the option of jumping in and holding on to a rope or diving from the barge. I jumped in and held on the to rope while checking my goggles for leaks.

When the horn sounded, I let go of the rope as I started my watch. The current immediately grabbed me and everyone else. Within the first 15-20 feet, I caught an elbow to my lower lip. I kept swimming but not at a fast pace because I wanted to let the current do most of the work. I tried to draft but several others were letting the current do all of the work. Swam over a couple of people and thought I found some legs to draft off, but between them swimming hard and the current, it was difficult to catch a draft. About half way through the swim, I began to feel my lip swelling. Part of me was hoping it wasn't cut, I was in the Hudson after all. And, part of me was thinking what a great battle scar. Quickly got rid of those thoughts and then the swim was over.
What would you do differently?:

I still need to work on my swim because even though I had a 20 minute swim with the current, I think I could have been faster. Not all races are going to have a current.
Transition 1
  • 05m 29s
Comments:

Here is an interesting part of this race. Because there were 4400+ participants, transition was divided in to 2 areas, Red and Yellow. The Red entrance was about 550-600 yards from swim exit. The yellow entrance was about another 500 yards past the Red entrance. I knew this would be a long transition because of the distance and my goal was keep it under 5 minutes. However, a lot of people were jogging or walking. You also had to keep to the right of the riverwalk because of bikes were coming down on the left. I was running but got trapped a couple of times because of walkers chatting (WHAT! This is a race!) and bikes. Once I got in to transition, my wetsuit came off quickly with the exception of my right ankle. I had put body glide on, but I guess not enough. After that, everything went quickly and my a/g rank for T1 was 40 of 357 so I guess I should be happy with a 5+ minute transition.
What would you do differently?:

I felt rushed at swim start and may not have put enough body glide on my right ankle. I need to allow for more time to BE at the swim start when there is a point to point swim.
Bike
  • 1h 17m 21s
  • 25.5 miles
  • 19.78 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was technical with several sharp turns and hills to get out of Riverside Park. We were warned about this in race briefing and I was prepared with my bike set in low gear. In the first half mile on West Side Hwy, I hit a bump on a bridge and my bike computer went flying off.

This is where my mental game took a turn for the better. I knew my mental game had been off for the last month or so. Part of my problem was always looking at the numbers, mph, cadence, time, etc. To help I bought the book "The Triathletes Guide to Mental Training" by Jim Taylor & Terri Schnieder. In one of their Triathlete Spotlights, they tell the story of woman who worried about her time expectations. It was suggested she cover her computer with tape, enjoy herself, maintain a comfortable pace, and finish strong.

After the bump, I looked back and saw my bike computer take a high bounce off the road and over the side of the bridge. At that moment, I remembered the story, decided to enjoy myself, maintain a comfortable pace, and finish strong. I passed one person. Then another and another. I was passed by a some riders but I was passing much more than were passing me. Another confidence boost came as I ended up passing a couple of guys that had passed me earlier. I never saw them again. Because the road was rough I saw a lot of "tire malfunctions" (avoiding the F word here) but I was having fun! My bike time ended up being in the top 22% for my a/g. The a/g ranking was a PR for me.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe not buy a new bike computer?! At least not for a while anyway.
Transition 2
  • 01m 4s
Comments:

Practicing the flying dismount after every ride has been a big help. My transition area had 2500 of the 4400+ participants. So 1:04 for a transition area that was about as big as a football field was ok. Who am I kidding, my T2 a/g rank was 6 of 357! Couldn't be happier!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 46m 56s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

Coming on to 72nd Street there was a false flat. I didn't realize it until I saw my heart rate spike. Ended up running the course with heart rate between 170-177. Miles 2-5 were rolling hills with an up hill just after mile 5, energy drainer. Then I could hear the announcer in the distance so I picked up the pace to finish strong. I looked at my watch and saw 2:28:13. I knew I was going to smash my PR from Chattanooga and decided to try and break 2:30:00. I was surprised at how long the finish chute was and soon I realized it was for traffic control because there were more spectators than I have ever seen at a triathlon finish. Even more than GCT or IMAZ. It was awe inspiring. I began to run harder and started to feel my heart pounding in my chest. I crossed the finish line strong and very happy. By the time I remembered to stop my watch, it read 2:32:52. Ok, so I didn't break 2:30:00, but I did smash my PR!

After I got my medal, hat, cold towel and water, I walked out of the finishers area and was met by a volunteer that said, you can check your time at the Accenture tent. Not sure they would have my time posted already but I decided to give it a try. This was really cool, Accenture had laptops linked to timing system for Track An Athlete. All I had to do was key in my bib number and my Swim, Bike, Run and Total time splits came up! My run was 46:56! Only 10 seconds slower than my PR at Peachtree Road Race early this month! Total time 2:31:36!!!! New Oly PR by 28 minutes, 6 seconds!

Granted the swim had a good current, but my run finally came through and I was able to put all 3 together in a race!
What would you do differently?:

Continue to work on my run. I've finally got sub 8/miles. Now I need to work on sub 7's.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretched, ate Chipotle's free food, banana and bagel. Enjoyed the Delta Finish Festival for a little bit. Went back over to check on tribesman's progress then headed back out on the run course to cheer others on. Saw tribesman coming up the last short hill and cheered him on to the finish line.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My limiter bounced off my bike in the first half mile!

Event comments:

New PR! WOW! What a race! I was hoping to cut 15 minutes off of Chattanooga for a new PR, but shaving 28 minutes, 6 seconds! That put me in the top 21% for my a/g! I was a little down after Chattanooga a week ago, but I think I took away a lot of learning points and was able to apply them here. I was also able to dump a lot of mental trash in the first half mile of the bike.

Despite comments about swimming in the Hudson, I would do this race again. However, a lot of things came together that allowed me to do this race very, very cheaply which included a very cool perk! A small group breakfast Saturday morning with Hunter Kemper. I also met Dave Scott and Sarah Reinertsen. They were very generous with their time and loved talking tri with everyone! What an awesome weekend in NYC! The only way it could have been better would have been meeting Emma Snowsill.




Last updated: 2007-07-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:48 | 1500 meters | 01m 23s / 100meters
Age Group: 167/357
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: ProMotion Fluid Drive
Course: Point to point down the Hudson River.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: High
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:29
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:17:21 | 25.5 miles | 19.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 79/357
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Cross-winds
Course: Out and back with additional short out and back at the end. Mainly on the West Side Hwy.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:04
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:46:56 | 06.21 miles | 07m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 93/357
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Out of transition, up a hill to 72nd Street, enter Central Park. Run north through hilly section on west side, then down through center of park to finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5