Tri for Joe at Coney Island - TriathlonSprint

Wow. This was a ridiculous swim.

Half of Sunlite Pool is pretty shallow (1 foot deep close to the edge, < 3 in the middle). So for the first probably minute of the race we were running through the pool. That's right, I started the swim portion of this race by running, which was great because for the first time in my life I was out in front during a triathlon!

By the time we hit the deep end I was out of breath from sprinting and jumping over the water. I dove in and was A.)immediately hit by just how cold the water was and B.)noticed how much it sucked to start a swim and be totally out of breath from running through water at a full out sprint the previous minute.

Lesson Learned #1 today: If the water is cold, get in before the race starts. The water wasn't that bad once I had finished the first lap, but I had a difficult time breathing that first lap, something I've never really dealt with before.

Anyways, after the swim finally started it felt like I had to do a 180 degree turn around a buoy every 10 yards. One guy missed the turn and cut me off. I just pushed my hand down on his back and swam over him. Crazy! Then we all started walking/running again as we hit the shallow part of the pool for lap 2. I tired to swim at points, but it was really faster to just high step it.

Lap 2 I felt a lot better but there was definitely a lot of crowding at the buoys. I was very happy once I hit the final homestretch and was out of that crazy swim.

If I were to do this race again I would definitely get used to the water temperature before the race. I would also like to try and swim more of it, but swimming was pretty ineffective in the shallow part of the pool.

This was my first transition with the clip-in shoes and I think it went pretty well overall. I had a nice jog/run from the pool exit to the transition area. Before the race started I made sure to sorta visualize the path to my rack from the entrance and I got to the bike without a problem.

I decided to put my shoes on in transition rather than trying to get them on once I was on the bike. I took a few seconds to dry my shoulders off and my shirt went on much easier than usual. The helmet and shades went on and I took off sprinting for the mount line.

Not much. I think this transition went pretty smooth.

First race with clipless pedals!

As soon as I took off I was very happy with my decision to put my shoes on in transition because I blew right past a guy who was trying to get his feet into his shoes while riding. The first few miles were relatively uneventful for me. I tried to keep my cadence around 90 and I was busy passing all the folks on mountain bikes who had started in the wave before me. I was pretty happy with the first half as not a lot of people passed me.

This wasn't going to last.

Before we hit the Lunken Bike Path there was a tight turn and I hit my brakes. Well, it was the first time I had used the brakes since I got the tune-up and they were quite a bit tighter than I was used to. I almost went down but managed to save it despite my back wheel sliding all over. Pretty scary moment for me.

Lesson Learned #2: When you get your bike tuned up the day before a race, go for a test ride!

Once we hit the Bike Path the fast cyclists had caught me and began to blow by me. For the most part I didn't see much drafting, but a train of 6 or 7 did blow by me on the bike path. Towards the end of the bike path the path got really really bumpy and while focusing on avoiding some walkers on the path around Mile 11 I hit a really big hole and my water bottle went flying. I watched in horror as it landed in front of me and went directly under my bike. My back wheel went over it and once again I managed to remain upright. I was just thankful no one was near me when this happened. I looked back and the water bottle spun out to the grass so I just said heck with it and kept going.

Lesson Learned #3 - Seriously dude. Buy a water bottle that fits more snug in the water bottle holder.

It was pretty fast on the way back and I had a good time chatting with spectators/volunteers. I had mainly focused on my cadence and mileage but I snuck a peak at my time and I was around 51 minutes at the 17 mile mark which is flying for me. The course was definitely short because I pulled back into Coney Island shortly thereafter. I had my wife and Mom cheering me on and I had a good time unclipping and swinging my legs around at the dismount.



Go for a ride after a tune-up before racing. (DUH!). Not lose my hydration system 11 miles in. Luckily in a Sprint it's not that big of a deal, but I can't have that happen in my other races this year.

After the dismount I headed back to transition and immediately racked my bike in the wrong spot. I fixed that (stupid way to lose time) and set about changing my shoes. This proved to be difficult because my hands wouldn't work. I guess they were numb from the cold or something because I had a heck of a time tying my shoes. I finally got going and drank some water on the way out (I had an extra bottle in transition)

Not rack my bike in the wrong spot.

I decided to do the race without the Garmin to see if I would be faster not looking at my time every 3 seconds. I felt pretty good and I passed alot of folks the first two miles despite the fact that my feet were numb. I got passed by two guys in the last mile but they were smoking.

Since my PR in a 5K was 21:30 I guess I'll take 21:11. I've only ran one 5K since the Marathon training last year, which despite being very hilly and wearing a Hulk Hogan costume I did in 21:30. After today's race, I'd like to see if I could go sub 20 in a nice flat standalone 5K. I actually think the 21:11 was probably slower than I ran it since they didn't subtract transition times.

Grabbed some water and the finisher's medal and met up with my wife and Mom. My calves started cramping so I pounded some gatorade. I also think I pulled a hammy sprinting and jumping through the pool.


More Time in the Saddle. I should probably get a wetsuit, a tri top, and aerobars at some point.


I enjoyed this race despite the crazy swim. However I really really really want my transition times. How can I tell if I've improved if I don't have my transition times. Blargh.