Nautica New York City Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 3)

It won’t be worse than Florida. That much you can be sure of.

what kind of hydration and nutrition do you plan for the race?

from what i have read and electrolyte drink and a few gels... but that seems really light to me...

also - if the current is strong how do you keep yourself from floating past the exit?



Edited by maggiemeans 2010-06-16 4:25 PM

Personally, I do the following for an OLY:

1 gel b4 swim
sustained energy- 1 1/2 scoops with 1 gel on bike and endurolyte powder (although I never drink all my fuel on th bike)
200-250 calories heed on run.  typically every other water station I take water (but if its really hot, I take it at each)

does anyone know of any way to buy a registration for this race
I know its sold out but a friend of mine was telling me last year he bought his through a friend of a friend that got it through a race sponsor or something like that
I checked out the home page for the race and didnt come up with anything
if anyone knows of anyone looking to get sell a race entry please let me know
I am local so I would just need the entry not a hotel or anything else like that
if so please pm me or email me at [email protected]
thanks

Question about wetsuits..I usually wear a sleeveless suit in the winter months here in florida..pretty much from May-nov we dont need wetsuits..but i am a wimp with the cold water...
Should I be wearing a full sleeve suit for NYC? 

You could wear either. You won't be too hot in the full suit, I don't think, so you might as well wear it. And you won't have to worry about getting the black silty stuff all over your arms and ruining your swim exit race photo.

For the first-timers:

Here's some stuff I posted last year on the NYC Tri Thread. Most of it I got from my volunteer meetings. Some useful info.

If you're a strong swimmer and you're comfortable with the strong current, pick a spot on the outside of the pack (towards the middle of the river). If you're not, stay towards the inside. The further away from the wall/shoreline you are, the stronger the current is.

There's an aid station right as you leave T2, but the next one isn't until about the 1.25mile point, after you enter the park. If you're too discombobulated from the bike and you run past the aid station in T2 without getting a drink, that run along 72nd St. can feel awfully long and hot. I brought a little 4oz bottle of sports drink with me out of T2 and I was happy to have it. I ditched it as soon as I got to the park.

DO NOT stand up at the end of the swim until your feet are on the exit ramp. If you stand up in the water, you will sink into the nasty, silty goo at the bottom and will end up with black gunk all over you.

Regarding the tides & currents:
They always plan the race so that largest pct. of athletes will have the strongest downstream current, which is why the race date moves so much from year to year. The currents change every 4 hours or so, so no matter what, the people in the later waves will have to cope with ebb or slack tides. They change the wave times around a little every year so that the same AG’s aren’t coping with the slack tide every year.

The jellyfish in 2009 were a freak occurrence, but there’s no way to predict whether they’ll be back.

Regarding wetsuits, if you have one, it’ll help, so you might as well wear it. You’re going to have a long T1 time anyway, given the distance from swim exit to T1 (180y or 400y, depending on which transition area you’re in) so the few extra seconds you’ll save by not having to take off a wetsuit won’t matter a whole lot. And there’s always the chance that the jellyfish will return…

Thanks for all the tips!  But I would just like to clarify one thing regarding the currents.  If you check my post from the second page, I posted a link to the current predictions from the NOAA, which for Grant's Tomb on July 18 predicts slacks at 5:20 to 11:36, with maximum current at 8:24.  So later waves will get more current than earlier waves.

I am coming in from Brooklyn...
how should i get there?
i was planning on driving but will i have trouble finding a parking lot close by?  i really don't want to be taking all my gear on the subway that early....

 

Driving and finding parking will be a huge PIA.

You're going to have to check your bike in on Saturday anyway, so you could always take a cab on race morning. I took the train last year at around 3am. The only other people on the train at that hour were other triathletes.

If you want, PM me. Maybe we can ride the train at the same time if we're near each other.

I am a dork.. In my head i kept picturing me taking my bike that morning and that's why i was thinking of the car... forgetting i had to drop it off the night before...
Maybe I should take the train...    what time do you like to get there?
or maybe i should just take a car service..

i just don't know how i am ever going to fall asleep the night before.

 

Tylenol PM (which is basically just antihistamine) works wonders when I'm anxious the night before.

Last time I raced, I got up at 2am, took the train there and arrived a little before transition opened. I never sleep well the night before a race anyway, so I concentrate on trying to get plenty of sleep in the couple of nights before.

I took the subway there from Brooklyn last year - it wasn't a problem. In fact you get the joy of seeing all the night owls just coming home. 

WHOOO HOOO race is getting really close!!
For those who have done this in the last few years,  they FINALLY finished the walkway along the river from 86th to 96th, so we won't have to be trudging into riverside park this year. This should also mean more room for spectators if they allow them to stand along the path.

Who else is getting excited!?!?

Anyone want to share any tips? The only thing I am doing differently this year (besides hopefully going faster) is to bring a change of clothes for after the race so I can hang around and watch people finish in some comfy clothes.

Question about the bike-out: in the athlete guide it mentions a steep technical climb out of T1; is there enough space between the climb and T1 to get into your bike shoes (safely and at speed) if you start with them on the bike, or do people do the climb on top of the shoes and wait till they get out on the highway? Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but from the transition area map it looks like a really tight space, and while I've done the shoe thing in one race and have been practicing, I am still not "natural" at getting my feet in.

It is steep and narrow. Last year I saw plenty of guys mis-judge it and had to dismount which caused havoc with everybody trying to get around them. The tip is leave your bike in a easy gear before you leave transition for the swim and if your going to leave your shoes clipped in I would ride on top of them until you clear the steep incline.

I wouldn't do it. Depending on which transition area you're in you may only have 100y or so from bike out to the sharp turn/incline and you're going to be in a narrow lane with spectators on one side and swimmers running to transition in the opposite direction on the other side. They really should designate it as a no-passing zone, but you may also have people trying to zip past you on the outside.

I'm not convinced of the value of leaving your shoes clipped onto your bike in any case, but in the NYC in particular, I think the potential costs outweigh the benefits. If you're not 100% you can do it smoothly and safely, I'd put your shoes on in T1 and clip in at the mount line.

Whoop Whoop! 9 days til I am in NYC.  I am hoping the heat wave passes before the race.  One of hte reasoins I am doing out of state northern races this year is ot get out of the south florida heat! Up until this pat weekend, the weather was perfect conditions for racing! Ugh..

On another net note..B/C of the NYC triathlon, I am being written up in the paper here tomorrow! Article is about doing tri's and owning a restaurant and how I am able to do both...Yay!

All good input. Sounds like it would be a bad idea to leave the shoes clipped in, but for me it's not so much a time issue as a not wanting to run in my bike shoes issue.