Cedar Beach Triathlon

I'm signed up.  Never done it before but a few of the folks I train with have over previous years and had good things to say. 

Comments from our forum:
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I did this race in 2008 and volunteered in 2009.  It was a 3/4m / 15m /3m sprint at the time though they have modified the course by shortening the swim to 1/2mi and added 2mi to the bike.  Overall its a nice end of season race.  It will be dark prior to the start, so bring a flashlight.  Dress warm too as it has been cold and windy.

Swim
The LI sound is unpredictable.  Ive swam there when it was peaceful, but my race consisted of whitecaps and big swells.  Its a triangular style course so you will be swimming against the current at times.  Be prepared for a true open water swim.  Water temp will be chilly, but comfortable in a wetsuit.

Bike
2 loop course.  Rolling hills. Police and volunteers do a good job of stopping traffic, but stay alert as there are some big intersections.

Run
Its an out-and-back on a cement pathway along the beach.  Flat and fast, expect it to be windy.
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I'll be coming off Syracuse 70.3 (and possibly the Bassman half) so I'm looking forward to just going all out and seeing what happens.  Should be a fun, smallish race.

-matthew

I signed up, and this will be my first tri.

This is a great race, I've done it every year since it's inception. The swim is certainly unpredictable, most years it's either been choppy or had a strong sweep. The bike is a great sprint course, one big climb in the first mile then rollers and a very fast descent to the turn around. The run is super flat and fast. This is a great race to close out the season.

I'll also be coming off of Syracuse 70.3 and am looking forward to the different style of racing.

Ok, Im in, sounds like fun! See ya there!

I'm in too.  Coming off IMLP I wanted something fun and relatively fast.  I raced it last year and really enjoyed it.  Swim was fair with a bit of a sweep but nothing too bad.  THe bike was a lot of fun with one big climb but the rest fast.  The run was flat and if you can run, unlike me, you can fly.  Also they had really good food after the race.  Now all we need is to get Blue Point Brewery to sponsor the damn thing and we can really end the season on a high note!  Toasted Lager and Pumpkin Ale.

I'm in, volunteered at it last year and just happen to live about a mile away. Hoping for calm water, it can kick up pretty good there.

Looking forward to ending the TRI season strong. Looking to win my age division, 20-24.  I have had trouble winning it in all my other 4 races. This races is do or die.

2 questions...
1) What is "sweep"? The replies mention a lot of sweep in the water, but I am not familiar with the term "sweep".

2) How does the water at Cedar Beach compare to the water at Sunken Meadow. I have been practicing at Sunken Meadow, which can be fairly choppy at times. Are the conditions at Cedar Beach similiar to Cedar Beach.

Thanks, Bill

The sweep is the directtion the current will pull or push you as you are swimming.

What should the last week of training be like??

Take it easy, keep your self moving, avoid lots of volume or very high intensity.  You're not going to "gain" any fitness in the last week, you just want to keep yourself fresh.  For a sprint distance race a lot is going to depend on your general level of fitness, what your training has looked like, and what (if anything) you have on the horizon past the sprint.

I may not be the best to comment as I put sprints in as hard/threshold workouts in the midst of other training, but that's my .02c

I am signed up and ready to go. My family wants to come down and cheer me on, so I told them to come down around 8:30 (figuring on approx 2 hr finish time). So I went down and drove the course and realized we are biking on the only two access roads to the beach.

How do spectators make it to the beach after the race starts? Do thye have to show up before the race?

The road was open last year but got a bit backed up as cyclists came in and out of transition. Coming early would be better but they should be able to get in assuming they allow enough time.

This is my first Late season Tri.  Any recommendations on how to prepare PRE-Race.

Would it be entirely stupid to do the swim portion of this triathon in just tri shorts and a tri top with no wetsuit? The wetsuit I rented is way too small and its too late to switch it out. Would rather not rent another one. Thanks

It is going to be a chilly but beautiful morning this Sunday..... I am super amped to finished the season strong.

My body needs some rest

What have the water temps been like out there, and what is your tolerance for cold?

Water further in (Coney Island) has been hovering in the 68 degree neighborhood even with the colder weather.  Speaking personally, for a 1/2 mile swim that's a toss-up temperature for me wearing a wetsuit - I'll likely play it by ear race morning.

-matthew

The water is reported to be 66 degrees. I was out in the water on Thursday AM and it was chilly, but not too bad.

That was a very difficult bike course....

Anyone else Agree? 

I found it challenging - but the only thing I wasn't able to manage was that super-big first hill. The rest was difficult, but certainly doable.

All in all a great event, will do it again next year. 

I'd say it was challenging, but not overly-so.  That first hill was only about 3.5%, but doing it right out of T1 on cold legs wasn't terribly fun.  The rest of the bike was fast enough to definitely make up for it; I spent big chunks of time (over 40% of my ride time) above 20 mph, with multiple stretches above 30.

Fun race, very well run, I'll be back next year.  5th place (~1:30 off podium) in my AG - going to have to improve on that

-matthew