HOLY CRAP

I DID IT. Here is the race report. Photos to come soon.

Race report

Few things have inspired as much anxiety for me as treading water at the starting line and looking out across a flat lake at 1.5 kilometers of open water that have to be crossed. But as I looked around at the start of the race, my eyes moved from the 20 or so blue clad DC Tri members (who rock) on the benches to the source of the high-pitched sound yelling “WOLFSTHAL!!!”. Seeing my wife and my two cousins with signs (“Hungry like the Wolfsthal) really calmed me down and reminded me of the support I have received over the past 5 months. I was as ready as I was going to be. And then, suddenly, the whistle blew and we were off.

Swim:
I started at the back of my swim wave, wanting to avoid the washing machine of other arms and legs. And it worked for a while. But as I started to get into my groove, I started swimming onto the legs of the slower racers in front of me. I was passing the slower people in my group. That raised my spirits, as I didn’t think I was working that hard. After about 200 yards, however, I found a very long stretch of open water and was able to slow down, calm down and start easting up the meters. By the first turn buoy, I was in a very good groove. Not fast, but steady and staying within myself. Given that I was most concerned about the swim and was making decent progress, I wasn’t going to screw with anything by speeding up. As I approached the second turn, I was gaining in confidence. I knew I was going to finish the swim and, therefore, the whole thing. I ran into a few other swimmers, including one person who was either zig zagging and kept cutting me off, or who was swimming straight and I kept zig zagging across his back. Either way, I HAD to get away from this guy, so I went wide right and found some more open water.

At this point, I was starting to be passed by the strong swimmers from the wave after mine, and things got a bit more crowded. No major combat, but hit a few more legs and got hit on the legs a few more times, but over all not too bad.

I cleared the second and third buoy ok, and had a slight cramp in my left foot as I neared the last turn. But was I made the turn and could see the exit, I really felt my spirits improve. I managed to resist the temptation to stand too early, and made a smooth exit from the water.

Swim – 38:36

Transition 1 was really smooth. Lots of prep and planning helped, and got out in 3:08 (take that Jeremy and Jessie).

Bike
With the swim behind me, I was feeling pretty good and I admit that I let things get a way from me on the bike. The course in NJ is flat and fast, and I found myself really pushing most of the way – trying to avg at least 20 mph. I was in Aero position from the beginning and was averaging about 20-21mph on the main runs. There were a few downhill bits as well, which allowed me to go even faster. But there were also two loops in the Mercer County Community College that had a lot of turns and required a lot of peddling. I also found that on the back stretch (miles 13-17) I was letting my mind drift a little and had to remind myself to push it. I did not want to just go through the motions, and found my self upping the cadence, shifting up in gears and trying to make time. The result was a good bike time, but the payment was yet to come.

Bike – 1:12:29 or 19.2 miles per hour pace

Transition 2 was also easy – 1:20. Love T2

Run
The run was miserable. I have done bricks to practice transition from bike to run. I knew the initial runs would be hard. I went to a lighter gear at the end of the bike and increased my turnover to get more blood into my lower legs. But my legs still felt like cement as the run started. So I thought I would just let them work themselves out and started at a very easy 10-minute mile pace. The only problem is the legs never came back. I had left them out on the bike course, or the hot sun was taking anything else I had away. I was also feeling bloated from the Accelerate I was drinking on the bike, which may be too heavy for me (has 5% protein as well as carbos). Regardless, I was unable to step it up. And, in fact, I was lucky to keep moving. There were two spots where I could have easily started walking, but managed to keep jogging along. The memory of the people who had kicked in 3500 bucks for House of Ruth because of me, all of the hours I had logged in all helped. What really kept me going, however, were all the other DC Tri athletes on the course cheering for me as I was for them. “Keep it up!!” “Looking great!!” They were lying, but it helped.

I had a few little spots where I tried to pick it up, but settled back quickly into a regular jogging pace. As I came near the end and could see the finish line, I managed a nice little kick but was still far behind, hot, tired and totally spent.

Run - 1:00:56 or pace of 9:50/mile

total – 2:56:46. UNDER THREE HOURS. 604 position overall Olympic and 55th overall (out of 70) in the 40-44 men’s age group.

slow, and not too impressive but finished. I would have placed 17th overall in the new men division had I been registered in that group.

A thrilling first experience, and I was encouraged all the way by friends, co-workers and my wonderful wife. The DC Tri Club and the New Triathlon Program made it all possible. It proves that we CAN do anything we want, we just have to want it. The t-shirt I saw on the course summed it up. “The body can do anything, it is the mind that needs convincing.”