I think the person making the wave assignments was on drugs. All the women over 50 were in the 9th of 10 waves with men 45-59. So it was 118 men and 15 women. The wave before us was 25-29 female and 60+ men. It was 93 women and 9 men. Why didn't they put the 15 women from wave 9 with the women and put the 9 men with the other men? As it turned out swimming with all those guys was not the issue.

I had a lot of problems with my goggles leaking. I had gotten in the water well before the time my wave and adjusted my goggles. I should have left them there, but I didn't so consequently they leaked big time. I had to breastroke with just my legs and empty my goggles several time. It was also pretty choppy out there so would sometimes catch a face full of water.

Despite my goggle problems I was catching swimmers from earlier waves. As I was heading back in I was surrounded by women from the earlier waves. I had to swim around, and through the earlier waves. I felt like I was in a Bermuda motif gone bad. (Lots of neon green and pink caps!) So all those women I wanted to start with, I ended out swimming around.

Adjust the goggles closer to my wave start, and not mess with them once I have them set.

It's a fairly long run up the beach and to the transition area. The good thing is hearing all the "Go Team" as I ran through. My rack was on the last row so it was easy to find. I still made sure I put my pink surveyor tape on the end and next to my bike. I did not want a repeat of two weeks ago. It didn't look like any bikes had gone out from my wave so that was a good sign. The only women near by were some 45-49 from 4 waves earlier.

Pretty clean exit from the wetsuit. I don't make myself crazy getting the legs off. I just reach down once I have it by my ankles and give each a pull.

Going into this race I was concerned about crowding on the bike course, especially on the hills since I was in the next to last wave. The crowding wasn't quite as bad as I expected. Maybe that's because I passed so many people during the swim and transition. :-) I felt really good at the start. I put it in the big ring, and started passing people on the flats. The first little hill into Port Chester I just stood up and went by people. It was a little chaotic in downtown Port Chester, but I worked my way past people and climbed up King St. At least this year I didn't cut off while passing.

I did have a problem with a relay team cyclist who obviously was not familiar with triathlon cycling rules. I'd pass him and he'd immediately come back and pass me, and quite often would do so on the right. This started fairly early on. Fortunately the USAT officials weren't around at that point, but I knew sooner or later I'd hear the motorcycle coming.

Claire's climb was interesting. I had been concerned about a bottleneck going across the timing mat at the start, but it wasn't bad at all. I then stomped up the two hills, passing people along the way. There's actually another hill on that road but they didn't include that in the split. My time on climb was 5:23 which put me 115th out of 934in that competition. That included the pros and relays. I was 3rd fastest over the age of 50. Two guys beat me. :-)

The biggest bottle neck I found on the course was on Bedford Road in Greenwich. It's narrow through there, and I know from my weekend training rides just how congested it can be. I'm looking to move to the outside and go around people. I look behind me, and another guy is waiting for me to make my move. I finally do, and he follows me. There's a very sharp turn at the bottom of a little hill. I come shooting around the turn, and yell "car up!" The guy who had followed me through the bottle neck suddenly swings in towards me. I go way over to the right, practically off the road. I did hit some gravel but I just made sure not to brake. Fortunately I've taken this turn so many times on the Gimbels Ride that I just went with the flow, and then accelerated up the little grade. The guy who had moved into me apologized as he passed. I caught up with him again, and said. "You are really fast!" I think he was amazed this women 19 years older then him could ride like that.

The USAT official went by but I wasn't passing or being passed at that point. Then the guy from the relay team passes me again. I let him get ahead for awhile, and then pulled up along side of him and explained the passing rules to him. I didn't want him doing something stupid near me, and possibly have the officials think I was in the wrong. My "admirer" passed me again and says "Come on" I think he wanted to work with me but I'm not going to do anything foolish. I drop back and then pass him again. I like jockeying back and forth with younger guys as long as I can do it within the rules.

I did the climb on Anderson Hill right for a change. I shifted to a real easy gear much earlier then I had been doing in training, and managed to get up the hill easier. My admirer was on the side of the road with either a flat or other mechanical so I wasn't going to be jockeying with him anymore. I still had the relay guy to contend with. I also caught up with one of my fellow TNT mentors. I've been trying to help her with her biking, but I make her a little crazy. As I passed her I said "You go girl!" She looks at me and say back. "I hate you Polly!" I know from her tone of voice that she's kidding around with me.

Carnage is the word that comes to mind when thinking about the last 1/2 of the bike course. I crossed 287 and there are cop cars and ambulances all over the place on Westchester Ave. I didn't see exactly how many were down though someone in another race report said 4. I was too busy trying get around the emergency vehicles and not take down a rider coming up on my left. It was another woman. First one to get anywhere near me. After the accident scene I take off and pass her for good.

There's a fairly sharp left turn on Purchase St. and there's another accident there. The guy looked to be in pretty bad shape. The people who had crashed all looked like younger and experienced triathletes who probably didn't know the course real well and rode a little too aggressively in some dangerous spots.

I got through downtown Rye and back on Playland Parkway with no more adventures. I was very happy to get through the bike course still upright.

I was very pleased with how I felt during the ride.

Came to an empty bike rack. That's always a good sign. :-) Change was clean.

The run was painful. My left heal was bothering from the get go. After the little out and back along the boardwalk at Rye Playland you come back past the transition area. One of the TNT coaches spots me, and says "pick it up!", but I think he can tell from my pained expression that this was not going to be a steller run. The only good thing about being in the next to last wave was my age group's rack was on the last row closest to where the run passed by transition. I glance over and see that there are still no bikes back. Since I observed this as the 1 mile mark came up I knew I had at least a 9 minute advantage on my competition. I figured someone was going to have to have a smoking fast transition followed by a major kick ass run.

A lot of people went blowing past me on the run which is nothing new. Mostly guys, and young women. Some of these people make running look so easy. I can't believe the speed at which they turn over their legs. I do manage to pass some people on the run. I ran for awhile with another TNTer from the upstate NY chapter. Eventually she pulls ahead, and I can't keep the pace. The heal stopped hurting as much but then the Morton's neuroma in that same foot started flaring up. My feet suck!

I swear who ever designed this run course is a sadist. You come into the park and then have to run cross country around the park before you get to cross the finish line! I run up the one hill on the grass, down the hill, across some gravel, back up another hill, and then finally down to the finish line. As I approached the finish line they announced my name and said that I probably won my age group again. That was pretty cool.

Be born with different feet. :-)

Walked around for awhile, and then went and had a masaage.


Leaky goggles on the swim, and foot pain on the run.


If they want to have so many people they are going to need to make some adjustments in the timing and number of people in the various waves. The swim was crowded as the faster swimmers from later waves overtook slower swimmers. Same problem on the bike course with faster cyclists overtaking the slower ones. They have to find a way to spread people out more.