Nautica New York City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Got a good spot towards the end of the barge and in front so I was able to get in the water before the start. Water was pretty warm. I think the current had died down a little by the time my wave started a little after 7. I could feel it, but it wasn't like I had to hold on really tight to the rope. Ideal swim course for me. I've tried, but I can't seem to breathe to my right, plus I can't lift my head up to sight straight ahead without stopping or switching to breast stroke. So, since I could see the sea wall to my left with ever breath, navigation was very easy.

About half way through, I start to feel some itching under 1 arm and on both hands, then it started to sting a little. What in the world? Oh yeah, jellyfish. Not too bad though.

The wave before my wave was the physically challenged athletes. Very inspiring.

I got a little overheated towards the end, even with a sleeveless wet suit, so maybe no wet suit? My hips do tend to sink, so I really like the wet suit, though.

Looooong run to transition. Felt good; breathing under control, strong legs, and no dizziness.

On the Thursday before the race I got my first tri bike. (Kuota K-Factor, very nice!) I only got to ride it once for less than an hour on Friday before the race, but I figured why not take a chance and ride it in the race. My road bike has aerobars, so it's not like I've never ridden aero before. Did pretty well, but I wasn't able to stay in aero as much as I wanted to because my neck and shoulders got a little tired. I was definitely faster than I would have been on my old bike.

I liked this course a lot. Fun to ride on the highways, some good hills, and a GREAT view from the Henry Hudson bridge.

A little scary coming back into transition. It was narrow, and the guy in front of me came to a very sudden stop (for no good reason) about 50 feet before the dismount area, and I nearly crashed.

Ride my new bike more than once before a race?

Long run from my rack to run out.

Started the run and knew it wasn't going to be easy right away. My legs felt fantastic, but my breathing was very bad, and even though I don't use a HRM, I could tell my HR was out of control. I am NOT a good runner in the heat. I normally run at 6 AM, so I'm not really acclimated to the heat, and by the time I started the run it was into the 90's. Had to walk some, because my body was definitely telling me, "slow down, dumba$$!". Never did feel like I could catch my breath, and I could feel my heart sort of pounding the whole way.

Got a very nice surprise around mile 2. Saw some of the Doggie Du runners come by and sure enough, there goes BT'er Dexter with his dog Sam. Said hi and kept up with them a couple minutes and chatted a bit, but pretty soon I had to slow down and let them go. Sam is a beautiful dog, and looked great trotting along with Dexter.

Grabbed 2 waters at each stop; 1 to drink and 1 to poor over me which was very refreshing. At mile 4 there was a guy with a hose spraying the runners. FANTASTIC! I told the lady next to me that I wanted to give the hose guy a big hug and a kiss, because that spray of water felt soooooo good.

The doggie runners had to stop part way through for a vet check, so when Dexter caught back up with me, I kept up with them again for a bit, but I had to let them go again after a couple of minutes. Saw another dog whose name was Murphy, and I had a dog named Murphy when I was a kid , so I chatted with the woman who was running with him for a bit which was kinda nice. Brought back some good memories.

Even though I had walked a bit, I still didn't have anything left for any sort of kick for the finish, so I just sort of jogged it in. The icy towel that they gave you after the finish was like heaven!

This run had me dreaming of those winter runs before sunrise with the temperature in the single digits that I enjoy so much. I really could have used some of those nice cold icicles I always get in my eyebrows!! Even though it was a tough run, I really had a great time. Running down 72nd street with the crowd lining the route, then running through Central Park with all the cheering people was great, and I really had a blast.



More midday running for heat acclimatization.

I'm slow and I don't train enough. Heat.


This is a huge and very complicated race, and the organizers really did a great job.