Time from NJ State sprint '07 - 9:22
Time from NJ State sprint '08 - 9:52
Time from NJ State sprint '09 - 10:03

Race directors announced that the swim would be wetsuit legal. Now I brought my wetsuit - but decided against using it. I wanted a real comparision between what I did in years past without a wetsuit and what I could accomplish today. So - no wetsuit even though I probably do the swim portion maybe 1-2 minutes faster wearing the wetsuit.

After the start, I sprinted out the 1st 100 yards really hard and then slowed down. It seems every time that I decide I want to "race" I need more air and I screw my breathing up. I started taking a breath almost every stroke until I passed the turn buoy - then I was able to get a better 1-2-3 stroke/breath rhythm going. I still stopped to breaststroke waaaaay too many times in order to catch my breath. I'm starting to think I swim much faster from the outset if I swim under control instead of getting caught up in the moment and going all out at the beginning.

Can't figure this one out. I think I stopped to breastroke and catch my breath too often.

My time from the swim exit to the transition entrance was good - I ran pretty good too. The problem was when I crossed over into transition I walked the length of transition until I reached my rack. Once I got to my bike everything went smoothly. Really good transition except for the walking at the beginning.



Run after crossing the timing mat. I ran pretty good from the swim exit up the enbankment - but was resolved to walking once i entered the transition area.

Time from NJ State sprint '07 (13.5 mile course) - 37:03 (21.4 mph)
Time from NJ State sprint '08 (11.5 mile course) - 32:49 (21.0 mph)
Time from NJ State sprint '09 (11.5 mile course) - 33:45 (20.4 mph)

I was ready to go this year. My fitness levels and base were supposed to be stronger this year than last year or years' past. In 2007 I did ride out on the road for prep of this race a lot more than this year though. This year most of the training was either in a spin class or on my trainer.

I started the 1st leg of the race (within the park) fairly well. My plan was to get up to about 18-19 mph with a high cadence to loosen my legs up and stretch out a little until I reached Hughes Dr. Following the right turn onto Hughes I would shift to a smaller ring and pick up the intensity. Everything was fine. By the time I reached Quakerbridge I was up around 22-23 mph. We made the right turn onto Village (I believe) and started up on a very slight incline. I dropped to about 20-21 mph. After making another right turn onto South Post - I pushed it back up to about 25mph until we made a left onto Conover. Once on Conover I was up and down from anywhere between 26mph to 18 mph. I stopped counting people I passed at 70.

My problem started right after the turn off of Village onto Old Trenton Rd. After making the turn I pushed it up to about 26mph until I ran into car traffic. There wasn't a shoulder to go around the 3 or 4 cars ahead of me and they were slowing down because of the bikers ahead of them. So from the initial right hand turn at Old Trenton Rd - thru the intersection of Old Trenton Road and Edinburg Rd then up to the entrance back into the park - I was STUCK behind a Ford F250 pickup truck and 3 cars in front of that. What was I gonna do? That was about 2 miles I had to wait. My mph dropped to about 15mph!!! My time most definitley goes from 33 minutes to about 29 or 30 minutes if I didn't get stuck in the traffic jam.

Still - ranked #98 out of 1129 ain't horrible.

I think I'm finished using Zipps. At least until I drop 40 lbs. I used them two years in a row and my mph has decreased each year.

Probably didn't help that I got stuck behind three cars and a truck on a road without a shoulder to go around them.

Gonna attempt to start swinging my leg over to the other side and jumping off and start running.

Again I ran pretty decent after I dismounted. I even passed 2 or 3 others on the way to transition. But again - right after I passed the transition area timing mat - I walked to my rack. Again - once I got to my rack, everything went smooth. Walking to my rack was the "slow-down" factor in my time.

Time from NJ State sprint '07 - 29:46 (9:37 mile)
Time from NJ State sprint '08 - 32:00 (10:20 mile)
Time from NJ State sprint '09 - 36:28 (11:30 mile)

This is a really bad pattern here.

Today my right achilles was just screaming. I did a race last weekend and it was swollen all day last Sunday and then still swollen on Monday. I probably should have decided to get off the asphalt earlier and run on the grass. Once I started running on the grass (just before the turn aorund and the bridge) I was able to tolerate it much better. Most of the 75-100 people I passed on the bike course came back and passed me.

This one is easy. I had to walk a lot and run on the grass because my right achilles has blown up. Stopped for a month because of shin splints, started running again and my achilles is the problem now. Can anyone say calf problems?

Still the race I consider to be my "A" race. The one I try to train all year for! Terrific race!