NJ State Triathlon Thread (Page 4)

I ran (walked) Saturday and agree the event was very well run.  I will definately go again next year, if for nothing else to redeem myself.  I was in wave 16 and hit a big wall at mile 10 on the bike.  I went from averaging 21mph to 14mph over that last stretch.  My last 5K was under 23 min, Saturday was over 33.  Post race I had a gallon of water, a bottle of Gatorade, and 2 bagels and still weighed 2.5lbs less then pre-race.  I haven't napped in years, but I got a good 4 hours in Saturday afternoon.
Thanks to the volunteers and local law enforcement/fire/rescue for their efforts.
-D

Pretty awesome race overall, my first Olympic.  I did the NJ State Sprint last year.  The heat during the run was just about unbearable and I've never had my legs give out like that before- both hamstrings cramped on the bike and then both quads wanted to cramp in the run.  Like most people I had to mix in a lot of walking, mostly in the shade and took advantage of every opportunity for water.  Given the conditions I would've like to see more water stations.  Besides that no complaints.

I weighed 214 before the race and 207 after the race & after the post-race meal.

Congrats to all who competed on Saturday and Sunday!

I guess hot is a relative term. I know people last year who did not start the Olympic until 9 am and they were fried by the finish. The year before was not that bad but still uncomfortable. I guess that's what you get for late July in new jersey.

I am not sure what the park hours are and maybe that has something to do with it. So you open transition at 530 and give people until 645 to get done for the Olympic. There are plenty of other races, including sprints that start by 7AM. Perhaps that's the only event of the two that would need the earlier starting time. I understand that many folks are doing this for the first time at this event. However, many people set up their transition area like they are settling in for three nights camping and are taking their time. If they knew there was a time limit, this would make it easier for all.

As far as volunteers being there early, I really don't think that's an issue. The boy scouts were out in full force both days and I don't think telling these kids they were going to have to get up an hour earlier is a big deal. That means they would also be finished an hour earlier.

Your bike time started as soon as you left transition and crossed the timing mat. Just like your swim time did not end until you crossed the timing mat going into transition. So your swim time is longer than you were actually in the water. That's just the way it's set up here. Some races have the mats closer to the mount and dismout line. However, this is not one of those races.

Lastly, wetsuits were legal last year but the water temp reading was 77.8. That's darn close to the legal limit. RDs do their best to help make swims wet suit legal any way they can as far as temps go. You can take the temps in 10 different places in a lake at different depths to find the right temp, with the exception of this year.

I know Larry and Michelle put on great races. I was just suggesting a way to make life a little cooler for all involved in the race.

"Keep in mind, if you compress the amount of time to get into/setup transition, you are going to compress how much time 1,500+/- athletes have to get into the park, which leads to traffic issues, backups at bodymarking etc. This is obviously a huge event."

New York allows you to set up the day before, I can't see why NJ would not allow this as well. If you open Transition the day before from 5-8 for the Sprint, you could do the same for the Oly and still have them on both days.   You figure the Sprint would be done by 10:00 and cleaned up well before the Oly's arrived to set up.  You would pay more for security, but you could move the start time back an hour at least. 

This was the first time I did the oly for NJ state, mainly because before the oly and sprint were combined and there was no way I wanted to race that late in the day, in the NJ heat. \

Ah well, sometimes you've got to just play the cards life deals you. I returned from Istanbul Friday night and jet lag didn't bother me too badly, just recovered from airplane food poisoning, only to lose my aero bottle and 75% of my water just a few miles into the bike.

Thank goodness for the good samaritan at the Village Road turn who recovered my bottle  . . . I sure needed that for the remaining 20 or so miles. Next year, think, "rubber bands".  Just hung in there on the bike, didn't push, worst split ever, worst split on my home turf, best time not getting  heat stroke or injured.

Luckily I carried my own water and drank at each water station for the run. Still couldn't make up the hydration deficit. Definitely was walking every 2-3 minutes. Glad to be done. Last race of the year. Next year is another chance. Ended the season injury free . . . just a bruised ego.

Well managed race, well staffed, great music.

I remember the "brightroom" pictures being posted on their website within a few days last year.  No?