Westchester Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I'm a former competitive swimmer and now a masters/collegiate swim coach so I should be in better shape. Despite working at a pool and coaching everyday, I haven't gotten in all that much. I stayed relaxed and tried not to run over the top of too many people since I was in the last wave. The swim was very crowded and a washing machine most of the time which made it was difficult to find someone at my speed to swim with. Overall I was pleased that I didn't tighten up and happy with how I felt coming out of the water.

Do a couple more open water swims during the summer and possibly purchase a wetsuit

Since I was only wearing a speedo and wasn't planning on putting on a shirt or shorts, I was expecting to have the fastest transition out of anyone besides the pros. I practiced the day before leaving my shoes on the bike and it worked great. I was a little slow getting my feet fastened into the bike shoes, but it only cost me a few seconds.

Run faster

I've been biking around 60 miles a week for a the past few months and it definitely made a difference. I've done this race for the past two years and although the course has changed this bike seemed like a breeze. In the past Claire's Climb has ruined my day, but this time I stayed in a middle gear and didn't have a problem. I thought some of the hills early on were tougher when I was freezing and tight.

Purchase a wetsuit so I'm not freezing the first 12 miles of the race.

I took way too long here. I guess I wasn't in much of hurry to start the run.

No socks, and figure out a way to get into my shoes faster.

Terrible. Compared to the times I was running for practice 2 months ago, this run was a terrible disappointment. I thought I would build each mile like previous years but I hit a wall at mile 3. I spent the first 3 miles running/chatting with a very nice 47 year old lady at around 7:30 pace before being dropped. She was great motivation and helped the first 3 miles pass fairly quickly. After being dropped at mile 3 it was pretty much the end of my race as I struggled to go faster than walking pace the rest of the way.

Run more, and go see a doctor about my knee which always gives me problems in August. Also, I should have kept the water bottles in my fuel belt so I didn't have to try to drink from a cup while running. I am terrible at this and kept swallowing air causing me to burp constantly and have an upset stomach the rest of the day. I think most of the Gatorade went all over me rather than in my mouth.

Hobbled around. Got a massage which made me tighter from not moving around. Hobbled around some more. I wanted to do something to warm down but I was already sore and extremely tight. I'm still having trouble walking normal 2 days later :)


More training. I was very happy with my bike and somewhat surprised with how I felt on the swim. My run needs a lot of work.


This has been my only race of the season each of the past 3 years. The course has gotten progressively harder each year which can be a good thing looking back on it, but during the race I hate it. Now that I'm out of school I think it's time to add a few more to my schedule next summer.

Having spent 3 summers working for race organizers of a large triathlon, I was very impressed with how smoothly everything ran despite the logistics. The volunteers (and cops) were great, especially out on the bike course controlling traffic. I only encountered a couple not so smart drivers.

I will continue to do this race and I really appreciate the reduction in price and separate registration for the 24 and under participants. The road might not be the best for the bike, but compared to Manhattan and River Road in NJ it's not bad at all.