Transitions

TriRock Asbury Park Sprint Triathlon - Race Report
500 m swim
10 mi bike
5 km run

Pre-Race

I signed up for this race about two weeks ago, which is pretty unusual for me.  I was originally signed up for a race on Saturday (TOBAY Triathlon on Long Island), but found in July that I had Relay (science teacher class) that day, and I didn't want to take an absence on my first Saturday class. Fortunately, I had been signed up for the only triathlon I've seen that has full refunds available, and I received a check for the entry fee within a week from GLIRC (good organization). Tim had been asked to volunteer at the medical tent for the TriRock, and I really wanted to get in a third race this year so I can get an official USAT ranking (it won't be pretty, but it'll give me something to work on), so I signed up on a whim.

Of course, I later realized it wasn't a smart idea to do a triathlon the day before school starts. I would be sore and short on sleep. I've been super unmotivated lately and didn't really want to do the race.

A little later, I realized it was a great idea to do a triathlon the day before school starts, because I need something to keep myself busy this weekend.

Communication from the race was...lacking. I checked the website regularly between registration and the last week, but there was no information about race morning - wave times, packet pick-up, transition closing, etc. On Monday night (< one week before the race), they finally posted the information packet (I didn't get an email with the information until Wednesday), and I discovered that they had no race day packet pick-up.

Really? I have never seen a race without race day packet pick-up that didn't mention it clearly at registration and on the website, let alone not mention it until the week of the race. I had class during the entire Saturday expo, an hour away, so there was no way I was picking up my packet. And they wouldn't release it to friends or family.

I spent a night tossing and turning, and called in a panic on Tuesday morning. Oh, they do have race day packet pick-up. They just don't advertise it because they don't want a long line. The all-caps NO RACE DAY PACKET PICK-UP is just for show. I took down the name of the employee I spoke to, just in case, and got ready to race.

Last night, I didn't get my eight hours of sleep, because I was out dress-shopping with my parents (one mother-of-the-bride dress complete), and I didn't get home until 8:30. I spent about a half hour packing and prepping, another half hour relaxing, and was a sleep by 9:30-ish.

Race Day

I beat my 4:30 alarm by 10 minutes (perfect). I threw Tim in the shower, ate an Eggo waffle, and unsuccessfully attempted to use the bathroom. Oh well. I packed some toiled paper in my bag and loaded up the bike in the car.

We arrived at about 5:40. Tim got awesome parking as a medical volunteer, about 20 feet away from transition.

I picked up my packet (there was no line) and labelled my bike. In transition, I convinced a dude with a Sharpie to mark me up, because I HATE TriTats (temporary tattoo race numbers). I had TriTats at NYC, and it took three days of hard work to remove. I didn't want to show up to school with big "57"s on my arms, nor did I want to be relegated to long sleeves and pants for the first week of school.

I set up my transition, grabbed the TP, and tried again. No success. I was a little bit worried, but I really had no time goal in mind (what a terrible way to start a race!), so I could stop during any transition.

It was chilly, and I left my sandals and sweatshirt with Tim as I went to line up at the race start, about a 1/4 mile walk from the medical tent. I dipped my feet in the water, and was happy to discover that the water (74 degrees) was a little bit warmer than the air (62 degrees). I had decided to leave the wetsuit at home for the 500 meter swim. I figured the 1-2 minutes it would cost me in the race, plus transport and washing it, wouldn't be worth the 2-3 minutes it might save me in the race. Unfortunately, it meant I had to be a bit more sly about my usual pre-race pee.

Swim

The swim was nearly soul-crushing. There's always moment in every race that makes me question my life choices. This moment is usually much later in the race, giving me an opportunity to balance it with my successes. Not today. For the first 100 meters, we were swimming perpendicularly away from the shore, with waves breaking over our heads every 10-15 seconds. Each time I caught a wave, it would push me back 10 feet. It hurt. I couldn't see the buoy. I really missed the buoyancy of my wetsuit. It took 3:30 for the first 100 meters - embarrassing. In the pool, I can do 2:15 easy, and in a wetsuit it's closer to 1:50.

I found out later that 3 racers DNF'd in the first 100 meters.

I got into a rhythm for the rest of the race, except for the occasional wave and one big inhalation of salt water. Good for the lungs.

The last 100 meters was interesting. I started moving my legs more, to loosen them up, but about halfway to shore, I saw people standing and running already. I thought that would be harder then swimming, until the waves came. The undertow fought my swimming, and found it was most efficient to stand at the bottom, move slowly, and ride the waves in the best I could. I trudged up the shore at 17:21, or almost 3:30 per 100 meters.

T1 was slow (long barefoot run), but uneventful. I passed Tim, grabbed my bike stuff, ate half a package Cliff Shot Bloks, and got on my bike.

Bike

The bike went really smoothly. I kept up the pace pretty consistently. I passed a few people, and got passed by a few more. The ride was flat and beautiful through the newly gentrified Jersey Shore town of Asbury Park.

The route was marked well and I had a good time. I ended up averaging 14.9 mph (40:23), which is much better than I expected. A few times, I wondered if I could keep up this pace during short, flat training rides. It's almost a reasonable pace!

I ended up ranking considerably lower on the bike than the swim (348/422 compared to 301/422), so I guess everyone had a tough swim.

Run

The run was similarly uneventful. I didn't have a bad time, but I also didn't love every minute like in the NYC run and the entire Tri One On race. It was okay. I hit mile 1 in about 10:30, so I knew I wasn't going to break 30, and I had no time goal, so I just sorta hit a groove and stuck to it.

In mile 2, I met a nice girl who does nutrition research in Maryland. I tried to convince her to be a teacher. This keeps happening. I think I'm really ready to start the year.

I finished the run in a respectable 31:34, or 10:11/mile.

Post-Race

I got some ice cream and a parfait, and sat down on the grass while Tim finished up at the medical tent. His day was, fortunately, pretty uneventful. Mostly scrapes and bruises. I went home, took a nap, went grocery shopping, and then ate everything in the apartment.

My one final thought on the race organization is this: I am not fast. Many races I've done have run out of cups, or coconut water, or something at the finish line. At this race, the Porta-potties still had toiled paper at the end. This is not something you see every day.

The total time was 1:36:30. It put me at the 25th percentile for women, and 20th percentile for my division. Does this mean I can say I've accomplished my goal of being a midpacker this year? Eh. I'm not so sure. I already have a goal for next year: top half of my division. It's a hefty goal, but it means I can work on speed. For this race, that means having a good swim, building the bike A LOT, and building the run a little. I guess I know what that means.

There's gonna be some weekend bike rides this fall.

This afternoon, I watched coverage of the 2012 Ironman World Championship in Kona. Damn. I don't think I could ever do that. Maybe an Ironman, sure, but never a qualifying one. Those people are serious. And have really pointy helmets.

I've come to the conclusion that I can probably run 50 meters at the same speed an Ironman champion (woman) can run an entire marathon after running 112 miles and swimming 2.4 miles. That's something, right?

I did have more fun today than I have had in any recent workouts. It's definitely recharged my triathlon spirit. Pretty good way to end a triathlon season. I think I've kicked my funk and ready for some off-season speed training.

And I'm ready for a new school year.