Pre-Race Morning
We were up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 in the morning on Saturday to make our way out to the Schiff Boy Scout Camp in Wading River. I had never heard of this camp and therefore had never been there, so we gave ourselves a few extra minutes in case we got lost - which we did. Luckily it wasn't too detrimental to our arrival time and we still got there with plenty of time to get everyone set up in transition.Seeing as how this was not the biggest race, check-in went smoothly for SJ, although they did make her pay $10 for not picking up her packet prior to race day. (Note to Race Directors: if you want people to come back to your race, do not penalize them for not being able to drive to west bumblefuck prior to race morning to pick up their packet. If you are only offering packet pick-up in places obscenely far away from where many of your races actually live, then at least give them the courtesy of a race-day pick-up. It's not like this is Age Group Nationals and there are thousands of people banging down the door to get into your race.) I was able to go into transition with her (clearly the extra $10 was not going towards security) and help her set up her gear next to her bike and get her all set up. She's starting to be a pro at this now and soon she won't need my help - I guess this is what it feels like for parents when their kids start to do things on their own, like tie their shoes or go to school. Spread your wings a fly, little birdy!
The Swim
It was a simple 800 yard out and back set-up for the swim course - nothing too crazy - and since it was a pond, there was no real current to contend with. The field was small - probably 200 people max - so the waves were relatively tame at the start, as opposed to bigger races where there could be between 50 and 100 people in each wave and it's like a mosh pit when the gun goes off. Or like an Ironman, where it's just one big giant wave of people.
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| Mamadukes and SJ ready for action! |
Mamadukes took off in wave four and SJ was right behind her in wave 5 three minutes after, which made it super easy to cheer for them both. Mom was first out of the water and I was able to cheer her up the hill and then make it back down in time to see SJ come full steam out of the water. It was about a quarter mile to T1 and the hill they had to charge up right out of the pond was no joke, but it was great to cheer everyone on and the effort was there from every racer.
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| Mamadukes making her way up the hill. I told you it was no joke. |
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| SJ in transition. |
The Bike
After a stellar transition (sorry, Mamadukes, I was waiting on SJ so I never did see your T1), SJ was off and on the bike - which is probably her strongest event. Because the course was off the campsite, I didn't really see much of it, but from what I do know from the race map, the course took the riders onto the Calverton Executive Airpark, which used to be called the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant and was used by the Grumman Corporation to retrofit jet planes for the Navy. Without going into too much history (snore), the airport is best known for the testing, assembly and retrofitting of Naval planes like the A-6 Intruder, E-2 Hawkeye, EA-6B Prowler, and the F-14 Tomcat (best known for it's role in Top Gun). It is supposedly one of the longest runways in America.SJ was able to make up the time on mamadukes and came back into the camp about a thirty seconds in front. They went through transition together and mamadukes beat her out onto the run course for the third and final event.
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| SJ heading out onto the run course. That's mamadukes up in front. |
The Run
The run was actually a 5K trail run around the lake that the racers had swam in earlier. Again, I didn't see much of the race course itself since I mainly stayed around the transition area so that I could see everyone finish, however I did hear that is was a tough course. For those unaccustomed to trail running, it can be super tough. It's less about the speed that you are running at and more about how strong your legs are. You are constantly on the look out for tree roots and rocks and anything else that you can stumble over. In this case, SJ forgot about that part and took a digger right around the 1.5 mile mark. According to her:I flew in the air about 5 feet and then landed on my side and rolled 25 times before finally coming to a stop. People kept passing me and asking if I was alright and as I laid there, feeling sorry for myself I realized I had two options: sit there like a baby and cry, or pick yourself up and start running. Because she is awesome, she chose to do the latter.
As I limped along for a couple hundred yards, snuffling and snorting and generally making a giant mess of myself, I realized that it is nearly impossible to cry and run at the same time. I was having a hard enough time as it was just without the added drama of hyperventilating, so I stopped for a minute, pulled myself together, and got down to business. As I ran, I slowly started picking people off and climbing my way back into it. My left knee was about seven times the size of my right one and I had blood running down my leg, but I just told myself I was a warrior coming back bruised and bloodied from battle. That this 'battle' happened to be with a tree root and my left foot, no one needed to know. As I crossed the finish line, I was so pissed at what had happened that I ripped the banner out of the poor volunteers' hands and threw it on the ground in disgust. This was not the way I had intended the race to go.
I saw mamadukes come out of the woods first and knew something had happened since
Post-Race Party
Or, as this sub-heading should be called, "What Post-Race Party?", because there was none. There were some bagels and fruit for the racers, and the Sayville Running Company had set up a little stand to sell some running goods, but as far as 'after-parties' go, this was a dud. However, they did serve popcorn and hot dogs to the racers, so had I been running this might have been tempting. Unfortunately, 9:00am is still just a bit too early for even me to eat a hot dog, especially as I had done no form of physical activity that morning, except waking up at 3:30 which is a feat in and of itself.Race Wrap-Up
As far as small-time races go, I would say the race directors put on a pretty good show. For only it's second year in existence, the Deep Pond Tri went smoothly and aside from the digger SJ took, I don't think there were many complaints about the day. Parking was fine and the transition area was well spread out and uncluttered. Paying a fee for picking up your packet on race day is a bit ridiculous and if you want to keep triathletes happy, don't make them pay for things that should just be offered free-of-charge. That's kind of like when airline companies charge you to both check a bag AND carry one on - if you are going on an airplane, it's kind of necessary to bring some kind of bag with you.The course was well marked and I didn't hear of any wrong turns or unclear directions on either the bike course or the run course. The volunteers were all very friendly and the race director was around the entire morning, talking to racers and family members.
SJ walked away still placing 2nd in her division despite the drama on the run course, so now we have this awesome travel mug to use. I love it when races give out practical gifts to Age Group winners! Mamadukes did well, too, and now that she's got the bug she keeps telling me that "if only she trained a little more she could have caught the person in front of her." Looks like someones got her eyes set on a podium finish at the Huntington Sprint Triathlon in September.
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| SJ with her medal and the goods. |
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