My goal for the swim was to beat the infamous bag of Cheetos that allegedly finished the swim in 30:00.

We got in a few minutes before our swim start time. Had to grab a cable so that we wouldn't get swept down the river. The current was really strong!! I was towards the front and I had a ton of people behind me pushing. Not pleasant. At one point, I got fliped to the other side of the cable, which was a little scary. Managed to hang on until the swim start.

The start was pure chaos! I'd never been in a start like this. I kept getting pushed under by people swimming on top of me, so I was having a hard time breathing. It felt like forever before I got to the 300 meter mark (they put signs up on the sea wall to tell you the distance). Around that mark, I started getting in a breathing rhythm that worked well - every three strokes - only had problems when the big boats would go by. Between 600 and 900 meters I started getting stung. I noticed that the top of my right foot was burning, but I wasn't sure it was a jellyfish. Then I got one in my face and neck. Yuck!! Kept going as well as I could, but the stings were making me freak out a bit. After the 900 meter mark, I actually got my right foot wrapped up in one. I was so happy when I could finally see the finish pier. It was kind of a scary swim.

I got to the finish pier where they had lots of volunteers to help pull us up. I was really glad they were there. The muck at the bottom was so thick that it was really hard to get up.

I did make my goal of beating the Cheetos!!

Not get stung by jellyfish. Try to keep my cool at the beginning when there were so many people around me and I was having a hard time catching my breath.

Made it out and up to the sidewalk along the river. I had a very long walk back to transition. The swim exit was on 79th street and the entrance to my transition area was on 72nd street. Not fun.

Tried to remember to move the goggles to the top of my head until I got the wetsuit sleeves off so I could tuck the cap and goggles in the sleeve. That made it a lot easier to run and not have to hold them in my hand. Ducked under the showers they had set along the walk.

By the time I got to transition, my feet hurt from the jellyfish stings and running on the pavement. I had an extra bottle of water just to rinse them off, so once I got my wetsuit off (had to sit to get the right foot out) I rinsed off my feet as well as I could.

Didn't put on socks during this transition...just wore the bike shoes with no socks. Grabbed my bike and ran to the other side of transition to exit.

It was slow, but I really wanted to take the time to rinse off my feet and wipe some of the jellyfish crap off. I don't think there's too much to be done with how far away my transition area was.

Right after the chip mat for T1 was a medical tent were the three volunteers were doing their best to help everyone who had jellyfish stings. I was there for about 5 minutes wiping down my face and neck and around my ankles. Couldn't get to the sting on my feet, but it was nice that they were prepared and really helpful. If I subtract those 5 minutes, my pace was a lot closer to 15 mph than 14.

Pedaled out of transition and around the paths in the park until I got to the hill to street level. What I thought was a low gear was not actually a low gear. Still getting used to the tri bike. I did make it up and headed on to the highway.

This ride was insanely crowded. I am actually surprised I never got a drafting penalty because there were constantly people around me and I just couldn't do anything. I tried to stay to the right as much as I could, but at some points I was riding three across.

The course was hilly than I was expecting and my legs did not feel up for it. They were very tired after all of the walking around for the past few days that I had done. That was probably not a great plan on my part.

Still, I tried to push up the hills as much as I could. For some of them, I was definitely just surviving and keeping the pedals turning was as much as I could. Tried to make up for it on the downhills and use that momentum going into the next set of hills.

I wish I had been more familiar with the course. I would have paced myself better.

For the first 5 or 6 miles, I didn't eat or drink anything. Finally, I started thinking about it and forced myself to eat a bag of Clif Shot Blocks over the rest of the course and both of the bottles of Nuun that I had. That was a little hard because I just didn't feel hungry or thirsty.

I felt like the bike took forever. By the end, my back was killing me from being in aero and my legs felt like they were on fire. Not a very good sign knowing that I still had a run to do.

Not walk around so much in the days before I race! That was really dumb and I'm sure caused a lot of my problems. Get more comfortable being in aero.

Got back and found my rack right away, which made me happy. When I put my bike on the rack, I knocked over the bike next to me, so I had to set those back up. That cost me time.

Put on socks, slipped on my shoes, grabbed my race number and a Gu and headed out.

Not be so tired that I knock bikes over.

I knew the run was going to kill me. I hadn't been able to run as much as I would like because of the abdominal pain that had been plaguing me earlier in the year. It was gone, but I am still really worried about it flaring up.

Right after you leave transition, there is a large hill to get back up to street level. A few people in the New York forum suggested not trying to run up it, but to walk and get your breathing under control before you get to street level. That was good advice and I did just that. I started running on the street and was completely amazed at the number of people lining 72nd street going into Central Park. I've never experienced anything like that.

First mile was right as we go into Central Park. I was running (or shuffling...who knows) and continued to do so through mile 2. Some hills after mile 2 that I walked up because I was so tired and hot. Somehow I slogged through to mile 3. At the water stop after mile 3, I had a Gu.

All along the route, tons of people doing their workouts were shouting encouragement. Tons of volunteers doing the same. It was really nice to see.

At mile 4, the water stop volunteers had a hose. I ran through it and it was so helpful. Unfortunately, my shoes got soaked and I could feel my feet squishing in them. Didn't help the pain. But, I wasn't overheating anymore so that was helpful.

We passed a pool near mile 5. I really wanted to jump in. Looked so much better than finishing the race. I started asking people what time it was so I knew how close I was to my goal. I figured it would be close, but there probably wasn't much of a way.

There was no 6 mile marker. We went around a corner and someone said 500 yards, so I started running a little faster. I think he was lying though. We had to go around another corner and then a loop before the finishing line and turn. The end of the course was really confusing. At the loop, one of the wheelchair racers had gone off the curb (because there was no ramp for them!! Terrible!) and looked like he was in bad shape. Poor guy. He was so close to the finish. There were plenty of people trying to help so I kept going.

The whole end of the course was completely packed with people. I couldn't believe how many people came out to support this race!! I rounded a corner and got into the finishing shoot and just kept running as much as I could until I crossed the finish line.

Train more!!!

Walked through the finish chute. Got a cold towel for my head. Got a medal and a cap and a bottle of Vitamin Water. Made it through to the area to call family (how cool is that?) and called Andy so we knew where to meet.

Met up with Andy, then FINALLY got to go to the bathroom (I had to go the whole race). Walked around the post-race stuff. I had a foot ice bath at the Crocs tent, which felt great. Lots of free samples.

Then we walked over to Tavern on the Green and caught a pedi-cab over to transition. That was an interesting ride! I packed up transition, took the subway back to the hotel, showered and napped.


I was really tired going into the race, both mentally from exams the week before and physically from all the walking I'd done.

I don't think I had enough time on the tri bike before the race and I know I hadn't been running enough.

Still, I managed to make both of my goals, so I consider this race a success.


This is one of the best organized events I've ever done. They do a wonderful job keeping everything running smoothly and taking care of the athletes. I highly recommend this one.