Two weeks ago I completed my final race of the year, the New York Triathlon Series - Race #2. The following is my race report:
Pre-Race
Pre-Race
The night before the race I gathered all my triathlon equipment and decided to put my bike into the car so that I would not have to deal with it at 5:30 in the morning. Unfortunately I discovered that I could not fit my bike in the trunk or back seat unless I took both of the wheels off. The next morning I placed my wheel-less frame in the back seat of my car, and when I arrived at the race site the next morning, discovered that I had two kinks in my chain! I tried to no avail to work them out myself, and unfortunately found the race organizers did not have a bike tech on site. I was literally about to just call it a day when I approached a serious-looking triathlete (expensive bike, aero helmet, 0% body fat) and asked him if he could help. He fortunately agreed, and after working on my bike for about 15 minutes (including almost completely disassembling the rear derailleur), was successfully able to right my chain (incidentally, he ended up winning the entire race by eight minutes -- if you somehow stumble across this, thanks Chris from Nyack!) I had just enough time to set up my transition area, use the bathroom, throw on my wetsuit, and head to the starting line.
Swim (1/2 mile)
I definitely was a bit nervous going into the swim -- I literally had not been in a pool or open water in nearly a year. That said, I knew that my overall fitness level was pretty high, and I was fairly certain that I had not forgotten how to swim. The swim was an out-and-back with a run-in start (which I honestly love -- for some reason it makes me feel like more of a serious triathlete). As the gun went off, I ran into the lake and settled into a fairly comfortable pace. I used my normal bilateral breathing technique in which I catch a breath every third stroke, but definitely threw in some every other stroke breathing as needed. I also sighted a fair amount -- I was not interested in making this swim any longer than it needed to be! There was some contact throughout the swim, but nothing too terrible. It seemed like I reached the turnaround buoy in no time at all, which is the exact OPPOSITE of how most of my race swims normally seem! I coasted back to the shore, and was pleased when I saw 16:08 on my watch as I exited the water -- not bad for a guy who had not swam all year!
Bike (16 miles)
My first transition was fairly smooth -- I got my wetsuit off quickly, put on my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses, and was off! I must admit I really was not very confident as I started the bike -- given my crash in May, all of the mechanical issues I endured this summer, and my pre-race chain issue, I was kind of just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Well, it turns out that I did not have to wait long. The bike course started on a fairly steep uphill, and given the fact I was still a bit winded from the swim, I shifted into my small chain ring. Big mistake -- within seconds, my chain seized up. My initial thought was that I was done -- this was God's way of telling me to call it quits. I turned around and started walking my bike back to the transition area.
After walking for about a half a mile, I had an epiphany of sorts -- I had prepared since November to race this season, had woken up at an ungodly hour this morning to get here, and posted a decent swim with zero training! In addition, I simply did not want to end my 2009 season with my second DNF in two years. I decided to see if there was any way that I could complete the bike ride. I discovered that as long as I kept my chain in the big ring and rode small gears, it seemed like I would be O.K. Thus, I re-entered the race and was on my way!
The rest of the bike ride was uneventful, aside from some FRIGHTENING, extremely long downhills (I spoke to a couple of racers afterwards, who both said they had hit 47 MPH during the race). I basically rode my brakes the entire way down the really steep hills, and caught most of the people who bombed past me on the ensuing inclines. Oh, and since I was riding really small gears, I must have looked like Lance Armstrong with my incredibly high cadence! My chain was also skipping almost incessantly, so whenever I had a chance to coast and not pedal at all I did, as I reasoned the less I pedaled, the fewer opportunities for my chain to lock up or come off. Needless to say between the lost time, extra distance, and low gears I rode, this was by far my slowest bike ride ever. But I knew there would be one benefit -- I was going to have really fresh legs for the run!
Run (3 miles)
My second transition was very smooth -- I did my normal "leave the pedals clipped in, flying dismount," quickly got my race belt and running shoes on, and I was off! The run course was essentially an out and back, with most of the first mile and a half uphill, and the second mile and a half downhill. As I suspected, my legs felt great, and I was passing a fair number of people immediately. I started to feel even better as the run progressed, and once I hit the turnaround point, I really started to pour it on! I was now passing people in droves, and as I approached the finish went into an all-out sprint. When I crossed the finish line and looked down at my watch I did a double-take -- I was expecting to run sub 7:00 per mile pace, but 6:30, not so much! My run split was actually my fastest ever in a triathlon -- at least something good came out of my ridiculously-slow bike time...
Swim (1/2 mile)
I definitely was a bit nervous going into the swim -- I literally had not been in a pool or open water in nearly a year. That said, I knew that my overall fitness level was pretty high, and I was fairly certain that I had not forgotten how to swim. The swim was an out-and-back with a run-in start (which I honestly love -- for some reason it makes me feel like more of a serious triathlete). As the gun went off, I ran into the lake and settled into a fairly comfortable pace. I used my normal bilateral breathing technique in which I catch a breath every third stroke, but definitely threw in some every other stroke breathing as needed. I also sighted a fair amount -- I was not interested in making this swim any longer than it needed to be! There was some contact throughout the swim, but nothing too terrible. It seemed like I reached the turnaround buoy in no time at all, which is the exact OPPOSITE of how most of my race swims normally seem! I coasted back to the shore, and was pleased when I saw 16:08 on my watch as I exited the water -- not bad for a guy who had not swam all year!
Bike (16 miles)
My first transition was fairly smooth -- I got my wetsuit off quickly, put on my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses, and was off! I must admit I really was not very confident as I started the bike -- given my crash in May, all of the mechanical issues I endured this summer, and my pre-race chain issue, I was kind of just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Well, it turns out that I did not have to wait long. The bike course started on a fairly steep uphill, and given the fact I was still a bit winded from the swim, I shifted into my small chain ring. Big mistake -- within seconds, my chain seized up. My initial thought was that I was done -- this was God's way of telling me to call it quits. I turned around and started walking my bike back to the transition area.
After walking for about a half a mile, I had an epiphany of sorts -- I had prepared since November to race this season, had woken up at an ungodly hour this morning to get here, and posted a decent swim with zero training! In addition, I simply did not want to end my 2009 season with my second DNF in two years. I decided to see if there was any way that I could complete the bike ride. I discovered that as long as I kept my chain in the big ring and rode small gears, it seemed like I would be O.K. Thus, I re-entered the race and was on my way!
The rest of the bike ride was uneventful, aside from some FRIGHTENING, extremely long downhills (I spoke to a couple of racers afterwards, who both said they had hit 47 MPH during the race). I basically rode my brakes the entire way down the really steep hills, and caught most of the people who bombed past me on the ensuing inclines. Oh, and since I was riding really small gears, I must have looked like Lance Armstrong with my incredibly high cadence! My chain was also skipping almost incessantly, so whenever I had a chance to coast and not pedal at all I did, as I reasoned the less I pedaled, the fewer opportunities for my chain to lock up or come off. Needless to say between the lost time, extra distance, and low gears I rode, this was by far my slowest bike ride ever. But I knew there would be one benefit -- I was going to have really fresh legs for the run!
Run (3 miles)
My second transition was very smooth -- I did my normal "leave the pedals clipped in, flying dismount," quickly got my race belt and running shoes on, and I was off! The run course was essentially an out and back, with most of the first mile and a half uphill, and the second mile and a half downhill. As I suspected, my legs felt great, and I was passing a fair number of people immediately. I started to feel even better as the run progressed, and once I hit the turnaround point, I really started to pour it on! I was now passing people in droves, and as I approached the finish went into an all-out sprint. When I crossed the finish line and looked down at my watch I did a double-take -- I was expecting to run sub 7:00 per mile pace, but 6:30, not so much! My run split was actually my fastest ever in a triathlon -- at least something good came out of my ridiculously-slow bike time...
Post-Race
Despite my mechanical problems on the bike and my worst overall placing ever (by a wide margin), I took more good than bad from this race. I was really happy with my swim given my non-existent training, my transitions were smooth, my run was extremely strong, and I was proud of myself for not packing it in after how my pre-race and early part of the bike went. I now know that I am not getting any slower as I get older -- with the right training and preparation (including mechanical), I still can be plenty competitive. I enter the off-season with a new resolve -- I am going to continue running straight through next year, and am replacing my bike frame (which was probably the main reason for my recent bike problems -- my old frame is bent, which is causing my derailleur and chain issues). Thanks for reading, and I promise to at least try to update this blog every now and then during the off-season!
Race Splits
Swim: 17:10 (includes 200 yard run to transition)
Transition 1: 1:21
Bike: 1:05:52 (14.6 MPH -- I lost at least ten minutes with my mechanical issues)
Transition 2: 0:29
Run: 19:29 (6:30 pace)
Overall: 1:44:20 (136th overall, top 53%)