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2011-07-31 9:59 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
gonna be a fun fast race again this year and hopefully some sun!


2011-08-02 12:13 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

I'm trying to figure out what to do about the swim for this race.  I train at Corey Beach, and on Sunday, the water was really warm, so I decided against the wetsuit, and felt great.  How is the water at Smith Point in comparison??  I was really hoping to avoid using the wetsuit, so I was hoping that the water will be as warm as I've been getting used to.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

2011-08-02 4:48 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
Turtle who Tris - 2011-08-02 1:13 PM

I'm trying to figure out what to do about the swim for this race.  I train at Corey Beach, and on Sunday, the water was really warm, so I decided against the wetsuit, and felt great.  How is the water at Smith Point in comparison??  I was really hoping to avoid using the wetsuit, so I was hoping that the water will be as warm as I've been getting used to.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

was there yesterday on the ocean side and the water was warm enough to swim without a wetsuit in my opinion.  so if you are a great swimmer I would forgoe it to save t1 time but if you have some flaws keeping your legs up and a podium spot is not very realistic go with the wetsuit.  good luck

2011-08-03 4:13 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

Hey congrats for the win and great future ahead.

I would keep an eye on the weather leading up to the race, it looks like cooler temps and some thunderstorms in the coming week. this should help cool down the water.

2011-08-03 12:41 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

 was there yesterday on the ocean side and the water was warm enough to swim without a wetsuit in my opinion.  so if you are a great swimmer I would forgoe it to save t1 time but if you have some flaws keeping your legs up and a podium spot is not very realistic go with the wetsuit.  good luck

Thanks for the input.  A podium is definitely not in my future (I'm a Turtle after all!), but I feel a million times better swimming w/o the wetsuit, so depending on the temp on race day, I'm going to go without it, I think (I'll bring it just in case).  We are swimming on the bay side from what I understand, so it might be warmer than the ocean.  How deep is that water anyway; and how gross is it?  Have no clue what to expect from the swim here. 

I rode the bike course last weekend and got lost three times as many of the street signs were missing (probably in someone's basement or garage, I'm sure), so I'm really going to be counting on some good direction from the race director on that.  The run looks to be pretty boring, out and back over the bridge.  Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of the bridge on Sunday.  Fingers crossed for good weather!

 

2011-08-07 9:20 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
Great job to all that participated


2011-08-07 9:24 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
Just got back from the race. Awesome race in the rain with great work from race directors and volunteers, although there was a lot of cheating at the final swim buoy turn. I went around the buoy and saw about 15-20 swimmers cutting the corner and not swimming around the buoy in the few minutes I was there. God only knows how many competitors actually swam around that final swim buoy.

I loved this course and the experience regardless of that turn. At the end of the day, people who cut the corner are only cheating themselves.

Great race!

Edited by scrappy62 2011-08-07 9:38 AM
2011-08-07 10:16 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
loved the race though i do say i didnt like finishing in a parking lot, no complaint there really. gotta love the head wind coming back and slick roads! nearly fell because i nearly missed a turn lol. great job to everyone and the volunteers!!
2011-08-07 12:19 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

scrappy62 - 2011-08-07 10:24 AM Just got back from the race. Awesome race in the rain with great work from race directors and volunteers, although there was a lot of cheating at the final swim buoy turn. I went around the buoy and saw about 15-20 swimmers cutting the corner and not swimming around the buoy in the few minutes I was there. God only knows how many competitors actually swam around that final swim buoy. I loved this course and the experience regardless of that turn. At the end of the day, people who cut the corner are only cheating themselves. Great race!

 

what are people thinking? I forgive some inadvertent drafting if the course is crowded before I would excuse this.

2011-08-07 3:26 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
FELTGood - 2011-08-07 1:19 PM

scrappy62 - 2011-08-07 10:24 AM Just got back from the race. Awesome race in the rain with great work from race directors and volunteers, although there was a lot of cheating at the final swim buoy turn. I went around the buoy and saw about 15-20 swimmers cutting the corner and not swimming around the buoy in the few minutes I was there. God only knows how many competitors actually swam around that final swim buoy. I loved this course and the experience regardless of that turn. At the end of the day, people who cut the corner are only cheating themselves. Great race!

 

what are people thinking? I forgive some inadvertent drafting if the course is crowded before I would excuse this.

 

it was so crowded throughout the swim! i was only able to just touch the turn buoy

2011-08-08 9:30 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

found the swim to be crowded as well; although, i have very little to compare it to.  Also, i couldnt see the last buoy either and saw all of these people that looked like they were not going around it - but once the official pointed me to the next buoy, i put my head down and didn't notice where all of those people had come from (perhaps they were just coming back in).

It was a fun race though - i liked the flat ride/run.  And the rain just made it more fun (except the transitions were pretty sloppy).  I would definitely come back.



 



Edited by ITri5959 2011-08-08 9:34 AM


2011-08-08 9:32 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread


Edited by ITri5959 2011-08-08 9:34 AM
2011-08-08 1:03 PM
in reply to: #2959867


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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
I didn't do the race this year, but I was wondering did they fix the swim distance.  I think it was a bit short last year.
2011-08-08 3:29 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

Well I swam around the d--- buoy, but encountered the following situation...  I couldn't see the last buoy clearly and swam with the herd.  When I finally picked it up it was a little to my right, and I corrected.  From there on, Every time I spotted it, it was still off to my right (I grew up swimming in the LI Sound, and I swim a fairly straight line, no trouble at Great South Bay).  After a significant right hook, I passed on my left, headed for home, and was rather annoyed with my (lack of) swimming skills.

More than a few people at that time did appear to cut the corner.

As I am heading for home and looked up to spot, the d--- buoy is suddenly about 10 meters inshore of me, and being towed by a guy on a surf board. I yelled at him "you moved the ****%%% buoy".  He replied that is had moved and he had to bring it back.  I am not sure any of us swam exactly the same course or how valid the the swim times are. Mine was significantly worse, while my other times were in my normal range (assuming for instance the run was a full 5K.

Enjoyed the race very much anyway, I am in it for me, and don't worry too much what other people are doing.

2011-08-08 4:42 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
I think the race was great, swim..not so much... =) will definitely do again though! 
2011-08-16 11:47 AM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread
My suspicion that the swim involved a lot of cheating was accurate. I swam around the buoy as directed, and my time is accurate. Anyone who did complete the course is a cheater, and their times are not accurate. Below, please find a quoted message from race directors to all participants:

"Swimtimes were longer then expected, however, the swim was not long. It was measured accurately at 500 meters. The reason the times were slow isthat there was a strong current on the longest leg of the swim (300meters) that went in front of the pier making it take longer to swim than in a pool or still water. The slower a swimmer is the more this has an effect on the time. This is the nature of open water swimming and one that every seasoned triathlete needs to understand so they donot judge their swim performance based on a time in a pool. Sometimes conditions can be favorable and allow a swimmer to swim faster thanthey ordinarily can. Due to the strong winds on race morning we wereforced to use only the small lifeguard buoys since the wind was pulling the bigger ones off the line. Looking back, when we changed to smaller buoys we should have added one or two extra buoys for sighting. We also plan to make the swim entrance wider for next year, this isdifficult because it requires moving debris from the surface under thewater to create a safe path to prevent foot cuts and injuries. The strong current forced the lifeguards to station more guards at thefirst buoy to make sure the weaker swimmers were safe. This left fewer to police the last turn buoy. We want to thank the majority of you whomade sure you turned the buoy and completed the entire course and encourage any of you who did not to make sure you do in the futuresince at the end of the day any event can only do so much to make suregood sportsmanship prevails, ultimately it is up to each individualcompetitor to make sure he or she plays fair.


We also want to share with you why we need to have only 4 waves and why we can not have more time between them. Our permit at Smith Point (and most of our events) require us to be off the bike course at a certain time so that the event has minimal impact on the community in terms of traffic for residents, restricting business etc. Hopefully, as the community embraces the event in coming years we can start to extend the time you guys are out there and add waves and time between them. Thanks for understanding and we certainly realize it can be crowded on the swim and appreciate you being considerate of your fellow athletes and understanding the restrictions that exist to stage an event like this. Hey, at least it is not almost 3,000 people all starting at once like some long distance races "

Edited by scrappy62 2011-08-16 11:50 AM


2011-08-16 9:47 PM
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Subject: RE: Smith Point Triathlon : Official Thread

Great race and another awesome t-shirt, but the swim was crowded.  All the women in one wave wasn't ideal. 

Awesome job to all, see you at the next one!

 

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