2009 Nautica NYC Triathlon Summary

Pre-Race

My brother Tom and I and over a dozen other Liquidnetters with a few spouses thrown in the mix ran the NYC Triathlon on Sunday, July 26. This was a day I was preparing for since January and as I write this I find it hard to believe that it's already past. Below is my race summary.

The day before the race, Tom and I got together before noon and brought our bikes to Brands for a final checkup. Tom had a tire puncture and decided to simply replace both tires with top-of-the-line items. My front bearings were loose and I thought for a second they needed replacement, but they just needed to be tightened. I'm really not sure how you "tighten" bearings, but they fixed the problem in any case.

We got into the city by 1:30pm and rode our bikes to the race hotel. There, we attended the mandatory briefing. Someone in the audience raised their hand when the presented asked if anyone in the room participated in all 9 NYC Triathlons. Holy cow!

After the briefing, we got our numbers and our race package and proceeded to pick u our bikes and drop them off at transition on 72nd street. Tom and I were both in yellow transition, there are two and the other is red. The only difference is yellow is further from swim exit, but closer to the run start. Red is closer to swim exit and further from race start. Since you run from swim exit, the transition placement more or less equals out. As long as you consider running barefoot equal to running in shoes ;-)

After dropping off the bikes, we went right to dinner at Carmines, a NYC institution of family-style italian cuisine. Dinner was fantastic and since no one was drinking, the bill came to only $150 for 11 adults! I ate too much, though, and realize that carb-loading still shouldn't mean eating until you can't breathe. I'll make sure I adjust that next time. Luckily I had no problems the next morning.

Race morning saw us up at 3:30am. Tom and I shared a room and we gathered out bags and headed out to the shuttle busses. We arrived in plenty of time and it was still dark. There were thousands of participants and the pathways throughout Riverside Drive park were packed. Our way was lit with self-powered halogen worklights, which were turned off once the sun rose.

The whole race was delayed by precisely 20 minutes due to a storm which was closing in on the area. They had each age/sex group organized into waves. There were something like 27 total waves. Each was called in turn and we lined up at the doc and jumped in the water. They provided a rope so we could hold on and not get pulled toward the finish prematurely by the current. After I jumped in, someone jumped on top of me while I was still under. Anyway, my age group had 396 participants and these are the folks who I was more or less competing against.

The Race

• The swim began with the boat horn and we were off. The swim took me 22:38 which put me in 322/396.
• I got out of the water and ran toward yellow transition, must have been about a quarter mile run barefoot. My brother said he was passed by a girl in sneakers... not sure where she kept those things!
• I pulled off my wetsuit at a park bench right outside of my transition and ran to my bike. Pulled on my Tri-Tighty with my race number and hopped on my bike.
• Bike was the best part. I wasn't speedy, but it was a fun ride. The hills were rough and slow-going. I kept wishing I had a lower gear!
The downward slopes were amazing as I reached speeds of 36.7 miles per hour, which is pretty fast.
• I ate a gel pack about every 45 minutes, once when I started the bike, once in the middle, and once before I started the run
• The bike took me 1:39:00, which put me 362/396.
• I got back to yellow transition and loaded up with two more gel packs for the road.
• I felt good at the beginning of the run, but kept up my snails pace of 12 minute miles.
• People passed me and told me how good a job I was doing. That was encouraging... not.
• We ran East on 72nd street, which was closed off. Cars were waiting at the traffic light, perhaps they didn't see the signs. They would be waiting for quote a long time.
• Mile 1 marked the entrance to central park and I was hating life. The run is definitely my weak point, bit I kept going because pain is only temporary as a friend once told me.
• Each mile was like sticking bamboo needles between my fingernails. I walked for about 15-20 seconds at every water station so I could take a fill.
• Finally, around mile 5, I saw my brother Johnny, wife Lisa and my sister-in-law Anne and her cousin nancy. Tom's daughter Lia was also there. I smiled for the camera. That was awesome.
• The final stretch saw me pouring it on a little early as the finishing tunnel was a lot longer than I expected. I had to slow back down and suck wind for a bit.
• I crossed the finish line with a run time of 1:15:00, which put me in approximately 388/396. Yes, I was that slow.
• Overall, I was 370/396.

It's Over!

The athlete recovery area was a lot of fun. I got to see my teammates and we swapped stories. I felt good. My company threw an after-party at the Boat Basin Cafe, which is a cafe on the water right next to where the swim start was. It was a good time. People brought their families and had a good time swapping stories.

I did this at about 190lbs, which is about 30 lbs over what I should be doing it at. Next year I'd like to get down to at least 170lbs and I should see a big improvement in my overall time.

Thank you everyone for your support. Enjoy the rest of your summer!