"Rain, rain go away...", yesterday's theme for racing was "safety over speed". I pulled into the parking lot at Smith Point around 5:40 am yesterday and was amazed by the number of cars in the parking lot. There were A LOT of people doing this local race and I was pleased with that because as the sport of triathlon continues to grow, more people are out there training, getting fit and accomplishing a goal. There was a slight mist in the air that early but no real rain yet, the darker clouds still off in the distance but not by much. Racked my bike in a really tight transition area, donned my sleeveless wetsuit and set off for the water. The swim is on the bay side (darn, would love an ocean swim but I understand the safety factors) and the water was warm, dark and murky. I tried not to think about the slime under my feet as I made my way out and in front of the majority of yellow caps in my wave. The first wave of men 35 and under took off and we lined up at the start. 1 minute countdown began and I found myself in front, on the right with a group of girls that looked like fast swimmers as evident by the tiny swim race goggles they wore in addition to the V shaped characteristics of their well defined swimmer backs. Horn went off and I sprinted out. It was crowded but I had a great start, settled into a good rythym, sprinted around a couple of girls in my wave and quickly started to catch the back of the first wave. The swim was tight, I thought to myself "Ironman swim conditions" got aggressive, picked up my pace to get around and through people where I needed, and before I knew it I was at the last turn around buoy and headed for shore. They lengthened the swim this year which was good. Flat, calm waters, I swam the half mile in 12:20.
Running to T1 as I unzipped my wetsuit I tried to will my heart rate down. Wetsuit off, cap and googles thrown on the ground. Bike shoes on, helmet strapped, out of T2. The bike course takes you out over the bridge onto William Floyd Parkway and the nice thing about it was that the entire left lane was closed down going out and coming back. To make the bike long enough you hook a left 5 miles up and ride through a nice neighborhood. Lots of turns, raining now, I was up out of aero for the quick turns. Safety first. The roads were nice, I was chewing up pavement, breathing hard but in control and passing lots of people. Back out onto the parkway the wind smacked you in the face. It was a strong headwind all the way back, rain stinging the eyes. Up out of aero over the bridge and the slick grates, turning the corner into T2. Bike 36 minutes.
Bike shoes exchanged for runners, hat on to shield the eyes from the rain and out of the parking lot back onto the parkway for a 5k. I ran as fast as I could, breathing through a straw in the thick humid air. "Light and quick" I reminded my feet. Got passed by a 40 year old (DARN!) towards the 1 mile mark. Tried to shout out "Emi!" to my friend and blazing fast athlete as she ran back to the finish but all that came out was a croak. I was on the red line again, willing the turn around to come sooner, stomach going acidic as I tried to push myself harder. I was counting the women as I ran, knew I was somewhere in the front but not exactly sure where and then my counting started to fudge and I just concentrated on holding my pace and controlling my breathing all the way to the finish line. Run 24:50, I was really pleased with the improvement to 8 minute pace.
Total time 1:16, good for 2nd in my age group (2 for 2 literally!) and very happy with my effort. The sky really opened up when I was done. It was time for a quick check of the results before heading home. Looked like 19th overall but there were some relay's in there, no matter. The field was VERY competitive with some really hard hitters there yesterday and it was a good, fair race. Outside of the swim waves being way too crowded and too close together (more waves going by age group similar to the Montauk Lighthouse Sprint) would work for this race perfectly and make for a more enjoyable and less frustrating swim for the MOP to the BOP, I can understand their frustration of getting pummeled by the wave coming up behind. Everyone deserves a chance for some free space to swim in without the fear of getting run over. While I am aggressive in the water, I do not swim over people, just through and around but other people are not as courteous and being pulled at, hit, and swam over is not fun and should not be tolerated. The race organizers can do something about that. Overall I loved the race, the course is great and I will definitely put this on my race calendar for next year. So should you!
Capped off the weekend with a visit from my bro from Florida and my cute little niece. We spent the rest of the rainy morning watching robots kick ass in Transformers 3D at the movies. Fun for the kids (for me and Dave too!).
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