NJ State Triathlon Thread (Page 3)

This will be my 5th race at NJ State and its never been rained out.....with that said....it will NOT be rained out! Only if I wasn;t signed up for it - i'll bring the sun.

I've been at races that were delayed from the start for a passing Storm, but the weather lately has been kind of weird, I am "hoping" they come Saturday night and clear things out a bit.  Some races cancel the swim first before they cancel the entire race, so at worst its a duathlon.  Email the CGI folks, they're very good at responding.

Thanks for the responses! Let's hope the storms start and end Saturday night so both races are spared :-) A duathlon would be better than no race, but I've been training hard for all three, and I'd be bummed if the swim was cancelled. Positive thoughts...

Sprint Clyde wave here, 16 out of 17, don't go off until 8:45!! That means the studs and studettes from the early waves will be finishing before I even get to dip a toe in the water...that'll be a new experience; I've seen people finish a swim before I start but never an entire race. With transition closing at 7:20, that's almost an hour and a half to sit around and stew...sheesh. How are all you other "late wavers" going to pass the time?

RE: the thunderstorms, I can't speak for the RDs obviously, but I would think the weather would have to be pretty bad with no real chance of clearing before they would alter the format. This is a BIG race, and changing things isn't going to be easy and will probably take some time to do. THat being said, let's hope that we don't have to cross that bridge. I think that thunderstorms are relatively rare in the early morning hours like that, no? Can't remember the last time we had a thunderstorm at 7-8ish in the morning. I probably put about 8 jinxes in there...but I am sure we will be fine

You late wavers...I feel for ya. The good news is that there is a good amount of shaded area along the lake to sort of hang out. Bring a chair, some hydration and a powerbar, and time will probably pass quickly. Also, CGI typically allows practice swims in between waves or in a special area, so you can "keep cool" and warm-up properly.

Good luck everyone!!

BTW: did anyone get a thermometer in the lake over the weekend? I had planned on getting a run in and incorporating the lake into my route, but didnt get around to it. Whatever temp it is now...probably wont be any cooler on saturday or sunday.

I googled "Mercer Lake current water temperature" and this site came up:

http://www.fishingnotes.com/lakeinfo.php?id=22106

According to the site, the current water temp is approximately 80 degrees. I have no idea how accurate this is, or how often the site is updated...but they claim that it's continuously updated throughout the day.

I'm racing without a wetsuit regardless of the temp. I just invested in a bike, aerobars, tri shorts & jersey, etc...I'm only investing in a wetsuit this season if I decide to do a September race :-) From what I've gathered, last year was a rare exception and this lake is usually bathwater-warm for this race.

Good luck everyone!!!

That site says that its an estimated temp based on algorithims..vs. actual temp. Better than nothing though. My guess is that its much higher. Like mid-80s. I dont think there is a chance that its even close to WS legal, and I am almost to the point of leaving the WS home to lighten the pack a little (which I never do).

I'm ready this year - no injuries. I'm shooting for a PR. I am requiring myself to start the run 40 minutes into the race. If I can do that - my mediocre, below avg running ability will give me 1:10 and a PR.

Just had to pick up new tires (Continental Attack & Force) because I blew out my old set. Now if I could only find the charger for my Garmin........

Wave 15 here.  Not looking forward to such a late start time. 

And I miss the "guess the starting song" contest from last year .... bummer.

Anyone doing packet pickup today? I will be heading down early afternoon....

I am headed down later afternoon. Need a bike check to by Knapps (good bike guys). I think my rear derailleur is slightly out of adjustment after a check ride this morning. Can't hurt to give it a once over.

I will be in transition early tomorrow. If you see the Sponge Bob balloon..you found me. Bib #358.

Can't wait!

Guys- this is probably the dumbest question you'll see on this thread.

I signed up soooo long ago (we're talking January - maybe February?) I can't remember whether I signed up for Race Day Pickup.

If I look up my emailed receipt, it says: "Race Day Packet Pickup: 10."

Also, next to my name on the "Entry List" it says YES under RDPU (my name is Jessica Palmer if you want to check?)

Did I sign up for race day pickup? Signs are pointing to yes (was the fee $10? I can't even remember!), but I really don't want to miss pickup on Saturday (and hence - the race) if I didn't. I emailed the RD but the bounceback email said they're out of the office (obvi).

I feel embarrassed for asking this question.

For those of you who signed up for race day pickup - it says YES under your name with RDPU - right?

Can anyone provide a wetsuit report from today's race? I hope everyone crossed the finish line before the temps went north of 90.

lol 86 degrees, no suit! 

I took a deep dive before I got out of the water to cool down....hard to tell the difference between the air and water temps!!

A great race today, I hope everyone stayed hydrated. 
Dropped 7 minutes from last year. 

Unreal race. My time sucked, but happy with placing, which, to me, tells me the relativity of my speed. Overall, I was happy.
I dont think I have seen that many people walking a 5k ever! The heat was almost unbearable, and I was wave 4! Can't imagine what it was like in the later waves.

Kudos to CGI and Mercer County Park and West Windsor Township for putting on a phenomenal race!! Between the course layout, the course control (our own lane at times/turns, unlimited cones everywhere, awesome!), the entertainment (bands all day!), post race food (GREAT tasting pizza), ..you name it! it was a truly world class event. The icing on the cake was the "cool down" misting tent after the finish chute.

Great great stuff. Just gets better every year. See you next year!

I've officially finished my 1st Oly and that's about what it was. I've never had to walk that much ever in any run but my hammy just wouldn't let me run up any inclines. That and I lost 6 lbs and I was hydrating like crazy. The weather just kicked my butt.

Wow! I know it seemed like a lot of people walked didn't it. I was in Wave #16 (second to last) and we went off a couple of minutes before 9AM. It was really hot though and my time sucked too (32 minutes) but seriously - I don't WANT to sound cocky - but maybe 32 minutes wasn't as bad as it would be if the 5K was in March or April because Saturday was one of the ONLY races I have EVER passed ANYONE during the run - EVER! I am always the one that gets passed during the run. LOL!

And that misting tent was terrific!! I think I hogged a shower head for about 5 minutes!!!! But it felt sooooooooo good!

Agree with all regarding Saturday's race. Top notch, first class all the way. And that cool down tent was awesome...I went back inside for seconds. I was also in the next to last wave, so by the time I got to the run it was pretty brutal. I didn't have any kind of expectations for this...I was treating it like a longer than normal brick that would be more fun (and it was) than doing a brick by myself. And I'm glad I had no expectations because my time sucked; slowest 5K ever for me. In the first 10 minutes of the run my HR was hitting max and going beyond...led to some walking and I had a boatload of company walking with me. This thing tore me down too; I got home and slept solid for five hours!

funny about the sleeping - thing did the same to me. first time i have ever felt like sleeping so much after doing this race in 5 years.

That was my first triathlon and it was awesome!  I enjoyed every bit of that race (other than the heat).  The run was brutal but considering I was doing it on 2 bad wheels, I'm happy with the time.  I also slept more deeply than I ever have after that race!  Kudos to CGI Racing.    

I finished my first OLY here on Sunday also - that was rough! Not only did we have to deal with the heat, but it seemed somehow like there was a major headwind for much of the bike course, and I don't remember ever having a tailwind!

That run was ROUGH. I walked a ton and ended up with almost an 11:00 pace (which included one bathroom stop). I was happy when it ended.

The misting tent was fantastic!