I really liked the start, basically you could start anywhere you wanted as long as you stayed behind life guard chair on beach. Many people started from beach, some were wading, I chose to find clean spot in deep water. Not a lot of banging except for 1 guy that kept zigzagging infront of me and running over me or having me run over him. It was uncanny, there was so much OW and this guy kept doing fly bys over me. I seriously contemplated just clocking him in the face, but that goes against the sportsmanship credo (However, we were in Staten Island). My 2nd biggest problem was the red jelly fish, I got stung about 5-6 times and man did that shit hurt. At one point I got stung under both arms and almost begged out I was in so much pain, but I kept swimming the whole time! The 1st biggest problem was the current, we swam 1/4 mile with it, then 1/2 mile against, before turning back with it. That 1/2 mile was the longest 1/2 mile swim I ever experienced. Everybody's swim times were high, mine was through the roof. Finally it was a nice touch that NY Harbor managed to cooperate by littering the swim course with so much garbage and debris.

Get a tetanus shot before the swim.

not much to report.

Nothing.

Right away my aero bottle comes loose and empties half way and then rattles the rest of the ride, rendering it useless. I took in no water during the bike. I had 1 bottle of Gatorade, luckily they were handing out bottles on the course. Lack of training for 2 weeks really showed here as I faded fast on bike, although I really enjoyed going under the bridge 3 times. That's the closest I've ever been to the bridge without actually being on it, man it is HUGE! Anyway, the 2 small hills kicked my butt. I got passed by Matt (tri_sport19) 2x, man that guy is fast. I also got passed by Jonah (jmk-brooklyn) as the Sprint course was intermingled with the Oly course. I tried focusing on cadence, but it was hard during hills. Overall, I had fun though. I especially enjoyed taking a few swigs of gatorade they were handing out and then tossing it away, a la Crit style.

Maybe add granny gears. Up hills I could only manage 50-60 RPMs (expert advice welcomed here)

I knew I was in trouble!

I was toast and I knew it. I did the best I could but had several walking breaks. I ran to light poles for awhile, also called on my son Lucas to carry me for awhile. People definitely thought I was crazy out there, as I would repeat things my son says to keep my mind off the torture. I couldn't believe how slow some people were running and they were passing me! As I approached the end of the first 5k loop I saw Matt and he was awesome as always offering encouragement (he was already finished taking 2nd in AG). There was a huge crowd at finishing chute and Def Leppards Pour Some Sugar on Me was blasting....would have been great to finish just then...but I had to make U-turn and do another 5k loop. 2nd loop was more of the same, although I think I actually did 2nd 5k faster and by the time I reached finishing chute the crowds were gone and I could hear RD doing the raffle.

More bricks, keep running, lighten engine.

Walked around a little. Almost gagged at the sight of the post race breakfast of pancakes and sausages! Found some grapes, they were yummy.


Lack of brick training, lack of training period.


This was a very well run event, except for making Sprint athletes wait around for 2 hours before start. Overall, I can't really say anything negative about my peformance since I finished an Olympic distance triathlon. I stepped up in distance too soon and at times it felt like an IM to me with my struggles. All in all, I am very proud of myself!