This was the first race I had after I started working with my coach. Granted I only had a couple of weeks to work with him, but even in that two weeks he helped me. My problem has been my knee. I sprained my knee while running three weeks before the race. I actually considered pulling out of the race but was really looking forward to the weekend. So I went to the doctor and he suggested that before any surgical intervention that I try a cortisone shot first and then some rest. So I only ran twice in the two weeks leading up to the race. The week before the race I had the injection in my knee and that helped tremendously. I am glad I did the race. I had a horrible run. I was really just trying to finish without injuring my knee any more than it already was. Sometimes it isn't about how you finish it is about just finishing. So it in that spirit that I am posting my race report below.
Race Report
Swim
I was in the Clydesdale over 40 group. To call some of these guys Clydesdale’s is just wrong. I look like the Michelin man in my tri suit but these guys look like they just finished lifting weight. Some of those guys were in great shape. So I knew going onto the barge for the swim start I was going to stand back and not get beat-up at the start. Jeff Jacobsen had suggested starting to the right of the barge to stay further in the river and current. So rather than get in the water and hold the rope tied to the barge I stayed to the far end of the barge and just jumped in after the horn. I took my time at the beginning of the swim to get relaxed and into a good pace. I felt pretty good. The water wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and I felt like I was swimming pretty well. It was a little hard to see the swim exit but I was passing people and caught the wave in front of me. Time 19:30.
T1
This is an interesting transition. You actually have to run about 300 yards to the transition. Now I hate running on the sand barefoot, so running on asphalt barefoot for me was painful. I probably had 30 people pass me running to transition. Once I got into transition I was ok and actually got out before several people that were already in my row when I got there. Time 6:04
We were warned of a steep hill leaving transition. The hill looked steep from the bottom but it actually wasn’t that bad. Onto the road the first thing I noticed was how crowded the road was. I have never been in a race with such a large field. I am surprised they didn’t have any collisions. The speed differential (between the fastest and slowest) must have been pretty large. I really tried to keep a steady cadence and I felt great on the bike. I usually get into a big gear and try not to change gears too much. But I really tried to focus on keeping a steady cadence and it really helped. The bike course was kind of bumpy and a lot of people had flat tires. I was a bit concerned about a flat because I had a really tough time getting air into my rear tire earlier. By mile 2 I figured my tire was ok and went as hard as I could. The course has rolling hills and I thought it was pretty fast. There was a lot of passing and you really had to pay attention. It was also the first time I was able to ride my bike thru a toll plaza. Overall I liked the ride and felt good off the bike. Time 1:22:54
T2
Pretty uneventful. I got my running shoes on, got a drink and got out. On the way out of transition I was right behind Jeremy Parks. We spoke for a brief moment and he was off. I thought to myself that I must have had a pretty good bike and swim because I was keeping up with Jeremy. Then I realized that I actually had started 30 minutes before him. Oh well, I still felt good. Time 2:52
Run
I hate running. I always have and probably always will. But the run is the third leg and it must be done. I have been nursing a knee injury so I have only run twice in the last month. Even so, I was hoping to reach my goal of finishing under 3 hours. (I know the current is fast but I it still counts). Coming out of transition there was a pretty steep hill and a tunnel before going onto 72nd ave. This is where the race changed for me. When I came out of the tunnel it looked to me like there were thousands of people lining both sides of the street cheering. It was pretty amazing to see. I felt like I was running thru a tunnel of people all cheering and clapping. It really makes you feel pretty good. So I felt good going into Central Park until I hit the first hill. Now people that think New York City is flat are dead wrong. And Central Park is even worse. I was not prepared for all the hills on the run. They are not real steep hills but long rolling hills with an incline and then a decent then another incline and decent. It was like this for 5 miles. I actually thought this was tougher than Columbia. I was able to pass some people on the run which is rare for me. I get passed a lot on the run which is difficult for me. But I was watching my time and I was still determined to finish in less than 3 hours. At around mile 5 you can start to hear the crowd at the finish line. This is also the point where other people from Annapolis or the ATC must have been, because I could hear the “keep going Iron Crab” and “Go ATC”. When I was coming to the last corner and last hill on the run I could hear a group of people really cheering me on from the ATC. I don’t know who it was or if they were cheering me on or not. If you were, thank you because it really helped me. It gave me the one last jolt of energy to step up that last 400 yards and finish. This run was tough for me. Time 1:07:06
Overall time 2:58:23 37/68
I had a great time this weekend. I got to spend the weekend with my 13 year old son. Even though it seemed like I walked 5 miles with him on Saturday visiting the natural History Museum it was great. He must have had a good time because he already said he wants to go back next year. I also got to meet and know some of the members of ATC. It was a lot of fun and ATC was really represented well. Neal Cooper found a new friend in the Naked Cowboy and the underwear run was a blast. But there was also something for me that put triathlon and the training we do in perspective.
I was able to see all the Para Triathletes start the swim. It is pretty amazing when you see someone in a wheel chair push themselves into the water with their legs tied together. Or watch a blind athlete jump into the water. And when you see the paralyzed swimmer dragging himself through the water it is pretty amazing. I also had an experience near mile 4 in the run that was unbelievable. I was passed by a runner wearing a US Army tri suit. When he passed me I could see that that he was a double amputee. He was running on two prosthetic legs. He had no legs from the hip down and he had to twist his entire upper body to run. To think what he must have gone through and that he wasn’t just finishing, but finishing strong and passing able bodied athletes was great. It was inspiring for me to see someone like that.
Life is good!
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