Nautica New York City Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 8)

I'm glad I did the Aquathlon last week. Ive been stuck working late this week and have not done anything.

I'll try for a short run Saturday morning. With the rock and roll cranked up.

I cannot belive how amped I am for this race.. I did a great OWS this past Sat.. a strong 8 mile run on Sun.. tues and wed strong pool swims.. wed - a hard cardio class.. and now .. just rest.. and a short run either tomorrow or sat before I come to the city to do the hokey-pokey ..

wooohooo! almost race day... i am bailing out of work @ noon to hit the registration and expo ;-)  I'll report later regarding crowds and how smooth registration was.

Good luck everyone!!!  Maybe i will see some of you over the weekend!!!!

I'll be at registation around 4-4h30p today.  If anyone would like to meet up, you can shoot me an e-mail at [email protected].  Same for tomorrow during bike check-in and tour, between 2 and 3h30p.

As the French good luck saying goes, "Merde!"  Good luck everyone!

Just checked out the swim start, end and transitions. Yellow transition seems pretty far from the swim end but I am sure it will go fast when running and there is tons of room reserved for cheering crowds! The swim course looks amazing, to one side you get views of sailboats moored in the river and the other side you get to see RSP with tons of fans.

The hudson looked pretty good, a little trash floating around but I am sure the really early waves will catch all that nastiness. One good reason not to be Elite right?

Also, there are signs up in transition that bike pumps are provided by Toga bikes, so you may not have to bring your own foot pump. That's a big relief to me because I didn't want to lug mine home after!! 

SO EXCITED!!



 

this is my first year doing this race and I will be attending the "Mandatory Age Group Briefing" tomorrow. Are there better/worse times to do this? Just trying to avoid crowds...

Also, do you have an assigned spot in transition? Or is it a free for all in either your yellow or red transition area?

My wave is one of the last 4 to go. Will there be porto-potties near the swim start? I will have roughly 2 hours of waiting time from the close of transition to when I hit the water.

Thanks!

I am planning to be there around 3PM... if anyone is interested in meeting up... this is my first EVER Tri... forget first olympic so am really nervous, excited, and well ready to go!

You'll have an assigned spot in transition. There'll be a sticker on the rack with your name and number and a clever little saying like, "You look good in spandex!" on it. It's the little things...

I'm going to wander over to the expo around 2 or so. I'm wearing a black shirt, (quiet, LazyMarathoner...) and white bucks (shoes). Should make me pretty easy to spot.

So who do i tell "you're lying"  to???

Jonah, i will hope to meet you tommorrow at Trans Red, proly sometime around 3 or so.

Thanx sooo much for all the advice, info and wisdom you have provided us all!!! 

sincerely

rudy

Edited by Rudedog55 2009-07-24 11:52 AM

Haha...one of the signs leading to the registration area said "WARNING: Spandex Ahead"

Registration went smoothly, I'm all briefed and ready to go, expo was cool but i did not have time to really check it out.

I just got back from the briefing.  I totally missed getting a goodie bag.  For some reason I wasn't thinking about it and didn't see the "Goodie bag and t-shirt station" that the athlete guide mentions.  I'm bummed.  Can someone let me know what was in them?  I'm wondering if it's worth going back this afternoon or tomorrow after I drop off my bike to pick one up.

ummm.. it has:

t-shirt
2 water bottles
powerbar type thing
cytomax
hand lotion
coupons
mini athlete guide
in a nice little back pack thingy

Well crap, that sounds nice.  Guess I might head back.  I was in a little bit of a rush to leave and I didn't even think about it.  I'm glad I have a checklist for Sunday!

I think I'm going to close up shop early today and get this out of the way.
Probably getting there 3ish...wearing a checked blue/white button down and will most likely have a gray messenger bag slung over my shoulder to carry the swag (and bicycle locks).
Say Hi...I won't bite.
-Jack

This user's post has been ignored.

Thank for the reply   It really helped.  I did learn all about the fear response our bodies has when having anxiety. Rather than passing out, our bodies will be on extreme alert and I was told there is no way to pass out from anxiety.  I just hate anticipating the awful feeling of panic in the water.  I figure I will wait a few seconds after the horn goes off and start swimming slowly or breast stroke.

Does anyone know if there are a lot of safety boats ??

this from the NYC Tri site


"Q: Is the Hudson Safe?
A: Yes, the Hudson is safe and clean. Water quality testing is done regularly. No vaccines, no shots, no panic attacks necessary. Calm down. The race has sports psychologists at the start for the faint of heart. The Hudson River is the fastest Olympic distance swim in the world. It is a tidal river so you swim with the current.

If you’re struggling in the swim, raise and wave your arm to get the attention of one of our many
swim support team on kayaks, jet skis, boats and the seawall."



Sorry that is all i could find, but it sounds like a lot of support!!!

I think i am done for today and heading for the Expo.

In my first couple of races, I used to get a good panic attack, too.  I'm not an expert, and can only speak from personal experience, but here is what has helped: I simply moved off to the side, and floated on my back for a while.  With a wetsuit, that will be very easy (and even without one, that's a fairly easy thing to do).  I didn't worry about losing time, because I had put it in my mind that I would only try to finish the swim (whereas I had set more ambitious goals for the other two portions of the race).  That helped me calm down, and once I felt good enough, I did a little bit of back-swimming to get going, while still feeling safe in the dead-man float position.  Once I got enough confidence going, I turned around, and got back into freestyle swimming--and I went back and forth a few times like this.  On a .5 mile swim, I found that I did that for the first half of the swim, then gained enough confidence to do the second half almost entirely in freestyle position, at my own leisurely pace.

I've never held on to a surfboard or kayak, but I do know that this is NOT a race disqualifier.  The race officials want safety above all else, so if you feel the need, get to a kayak, take your breather, and know that you're still in the race and totally OK!

One other tip I have heard here and elsewhere is that the current is stronger on the right side (NJ side) of the swim.  That is where all the aggressive swimmers will be, so you might want to stay a little more off to your left.  You'll go slower, of course, but I think it'll be worth the peace of mind.  That's my opinion, at least.

Also, one last thing that helped me: in the pool, I swim bilaterally (from both sides).  Even today, on some races, I get a little too worked up, and I find myself short of breath.  If that happens, I will try breathing every stroke on one side.  It helps me get enough oxygen, and I don't do that downward spiral into not getting enough 02 and have that make me even more panicked, and so on.  Once I feel comfortable enough, I go back to breathing bilaterally.

I will probably have a mini-anxiety attack at the beginning of the race.  My plan is to move off to the side if that happens, and possibly breathe on one side, until I calm down.

Remember, it's all for fun!  Good luck to you!

E.

I just got back from the hotel / expo.  Tried to look for a few of you based on your descriptions, but it's a big space!  Ah well!  Again, I'll be at JMK's Red Transition tour at 3:30 or 4p tomorrow, and will be loitering about before then too.  Feel free to send an e-mail at [email protected], or else see you there!

Expo was cool, btw.  Bought this nifty race belt with a small pouch that holds keys and race gels.  Nice!

E.

Anyone heading down to the underwear run in a minute? I'll be the one in a stupid Australian hat, blue shades, and, erm, underwear.

"My wave is one of the last 4 to go. Will there be porto-potties near the swim start? I will have roughly 2 hours of waiting time from the close of transition to when I hit the water."

Last year i was in the middle back waves .. and used the porto potties that were up the hill a bit .. dunno if they will be back there this year .. but there was a ton of potties up the hill "behind-ish the corral ..