Tri the Wildwoods - TriathlonSprint

Thank you North Wildwood current! Although there was a little bit of chop on Saturday it was relatively easy to get out to the first bouy. The hardest part of the swim was finding space. I got hit and kicked a lot. But still - I think everyone probably came out of the water with their best times this season. I know I did. And I swam pretty crappy. I mean, I didn't stop to breaststroke or anything but I just couldn't get comfortable or streamlined. Caught a couple of waves in and starting unzipping my suit right at the water's edge.

The thing that has always sucked after the swim is the run up to transition thru the soft sand. I got out of the water with a time right around 5:50 or so and the run tacked another minute or so onto my swim time.

find my comfort level.

Hard to argue though because Saturday's time was my best time BY FAR in the swim part of this race over the three seasons I have done it.

Swim time from 2006 - 12:16.
Swim time from 2007 (without really pushing myself or racing) - 10:49.
Swim time from 2008 - 6:55

Sorta wish they would use a timing mat near the water's edge instead of all the way back at the transition area. The run thru the soft sand slows me down incredibly. I'm so tired by the time I get thru it.

Anyway.

My spot in transition was incredibly horrible. By the time I got there before the race - the only spot I could find was at a rack alongside the bulkhead in the back of transition - uphill and very sandy. Well - it took me awhile to get there and then get my wetsuit off. The PAM i have been spraying on me has helped me get the suit off better especially around the ankles.

Next I had to pick my bike up (ever try to push your bike thru sand?) and run with it until I got onto the boardwalk that takes you to the bike mount line.

since I always keep my shoes clipped in - I was able to run pretty good barefoot with the bike. I actually got my barefeet into my cycling shoes pretty good and got up to speed much faster then I usually do.



Get to race earlier and get a better spot in transition.

My time is a couple seconds faster then my '07 race time - although it felt as if I wasn't going as fast.

There were a TON of people out on the course and more than a handful of people riding on the left (slower than me) had S**T in their ears and would not budge. One guy I screamed "ON YOUR LEFT!" three times and he just kept on cruising along at about 12 mph on his hardtail. Many times there were probably 4 or 5 riders filling the entiring roadway and all of them seemed to be going the same speed.

Regardless - you couldn't have asked for a better cycling day at the Shore. This was the first Shore race that I didn't experience any headwind/gusts. It was awesome. I would love to try this course during a race that had maybe only 200-250 racers.

change the course. I love the concept of doing three laps but it just gets so congested. With the race getting more and more people participating every year, I think the race has outgrown the course. at the beginning of each lap you have people finishing up their laps and then you have people (triathlon AND duathlon) merging and just BEGINNING their first laps. The turns were horrendous with the amount of riders and the turn at the beginning of each lap was an accident just waiting to happen.

Bike time for 2006 - 33:40 (19.6mph)
Bike time for 2007 - 28:57 (20.7mph)
Bike time for 2008 - 28:50 (20.8mph)

Took my feet out of my shoes at a good speed and distance from the dismount line.

One problem I had was that I dismounted at an OLD bike dismount line. Not a big deal because it was only 20 feet from the race day bike dismount line.

The run thru transition to my crappy spot impacted my T2 time.

Better spot in transition.

I think I ran with my shoes in my hand last year until I got to the hard sand. This year I put my sneaks on in transition and my shoes were FILLED with sand by the time I got down to the water. I had to stop and empty all the sand out before I could start running.

Once I started running I realized I was in for a long day. In no way was I gonna come close to my PR i set at King's Grant two weeks ago. I was shooting for another 27 minute 5k. 27 minutes would have had me around 1:06 or so. Last year that would have placed me in the Top 100. Well it wouldn't have this year.

Anyway - I would try to run at an 8 minute/mile pace for 60 seconds and then walk for 30 seconds. That's pretty much how I ran the entire race.

The worst part of this run was thru the soft sand right before you reach the final stretch of course before the finish line. It seemed to be about 100 yards of nothing but soft sand. I couldn;t run it it. I was too winded. I ended up walking the entire length until I set foot onto the asphalt.

Man - as my usual comment. Focus on increased base and lose weight. Two most important factors in having a better performance.

Run time from 2006 - 40:59 (13:13 pace) - go ahead laugh it up
Run time from 2007 - 30:34 (9:52 pace)
Run time for 2008 - 34:22 (11:05 pace)

Man - I had to get home by 12 so as soon as I crossed the Finish Line I grabbed my gear and started back to my car for the 2-1/2 hour drive back home.


being a lardass!

race isn't exactly around the corner from my house.

Total time for 2006 - 1:31:52
Total time for 2007 - 1:13:28
Toral time for 2008 - 1:14:26


I still love this race! As much as the beach run kicks my butt everyyear it is by far one of the most challenging races that someone can sign up for (although I hear Black Bear by CGI is pretty difficult too).