So you go ahead and have another kid - or, in my case, maybe sign up for the race again.
Pre-Race
Considering I had my mom fake being me so that she could pick up my race packet while I was away at my cousin's wedding, the security couldn't possibly have been all that tight surrounding this race. We received all the emails about how there would be no packet pick-up the morning of, death to those who try, etc. etc., however, I saw more than a handful of people picking up that morning, so I'm pretty sure my mom did not have to risk life and limb to go and get mine, but it was nice to have it beforehand anyway.
Mamadukes and I were up at the ungodly hour of 4:45 on race morning and heading towards Crab Meadow Beach by 5:45. The road up to the beach closed at 6:00am in preparation for the bike and run, so we wanted to make sure we were there in time to snag a parking spot close to transition so we didn't have to walk/ride up there. It was pitch black when we arrived and there were roughly 150 watts lighting the entire parking lot and transition area, which made it somewhat difficult to manage - hindsight always being 20/20, it would have been smart to bring my running headlamp. It had always rained all the previous day and night, only stopping about an hour before we made our way to the race, which turned the parking lot - as well as parts of transition - into what can only be described as a small lake. Luckily it was a small field, so not every transition area was full and we all able to squeeze ourselves into our places.
I set up my area - towel, running shoes, helmet, gels, racing bib - and did a tour of the transition area to see the exact layout of the swim in/bike out/etc. With probably 300 people registered, it's not exactly a huge race, and seeing as how I work in the fitness field and also do local races, I probably knew roughly 95% of them (that's a lie, I probably only knew 25 people, but whatever). I hung out, helping Mamadukes set up her transition area, and then headed over to the beach to hear the pre-race meeting.
The Swim/Run
You're probably wondering why I added the "/Run" bit to that there heading. Well, my good friends, it's because that's exactly what we had to do. Someone, wayyyyyyy back when they were in the beginning planning stages of this years' race, forgot to check their Farmer's Almanac to see when high and low tides would be for Crab Meadow Beach in September 2013. So they go ahead and pick a date, secure all the necessary permits, and do all the things you need to do to have a successful race, only to have us all turn up for a swim at low tide. On the north shore of Long Island. Where the beaches look like this at low tide:
So the first wave takes off and makes it around the first buoy and the second wave heads out to the starting buoys. This was supposed to be a deep water start, but, due to our tidal mishap, it ended up just being a bunch of women standing around in water up to our knees. Super. The horn goes off and I start to run a bit until it's safe enough for me to do a shallow water dive and start to swim. The first buoy felt like it was about 100 yards away and before I knew it, we were making the turn. It was a little choppy heading out towards the Sound, so it was hard to get a rhythm going - every time I went to take a breath I felt like I was getting smacked in the face regardless of which way I turned to breathe. It evened out a bit after the first left turn and we made our way across the long tangent to the second turn of the triangle.
And then everything went to shit.
Obviously, seeing as how our starting buoy was only about knee height, as we made our way towards the second buoy at and angle that took us closer to shore, we inevitably ended up running - or I should say, swimming - into a slight problem: we ran out of water. Seriously. Half way to the second buoy, my hand starting scraping rocks and I realized that I could pretty much crawl along the bottom with my head up. As I started looking around, I realized that half the guys from the first wave were just walking their way around the buoy and towards shore.
It got to the point where walking was easier than doing my half crawl/half swim thing, so I stood up, took the top part of my wetsuit off and started trudging in towards shore. Only this hurt my feet. So now I was in a sort of limbo with not being able to decide what to do: stay horizontal or walk on the rocks.
I finally got to the swim exit and ran up the sand towards transition. I figured if I couldn't gain any time in the water, I also couldn't' really lose any time either, so I had to get my ass into transition and on the bike leg in order to both make up time as well as bank some.
The Bike
I had a quick transition and was on the bike leg for the hilly 9.8 circuitous route through Northport and Fort Salonga. It was a bike leg that actually suited me, but the rocky run had actually hurt more than I thought it did and I couldn't really get my legs under me until a good mile into the ride. I had done a preview ride in the week leading up to the race, so I knew what to expect and with it being a pretty technical course, I at least knew where the sharp turns and slow downs were coming. The roads were still wet from the rain we had had, so I wanted to be as far out in front on the bike as I could to avoid any mishaps with other racers.
I stayed clear of any major disasters and was back on the home stretch into Crab Meadow in just under 30:00 - slightly slower than I wanted but, considering the number of Jack and Cokes I had consumed on Friday, I was happy with it. I had a quick transition - in which I had to run through two giant puddles to get to my rack - and was out on the run course in less than a minute.
The Run - revisited
So now I am off on my second run of the day - albeit this time with shoes and on the road, not barefoot and on the rocks (that reminds me, I could go for some Jack right now). The run is a fairly straightforward out and back course, with a big climb right around the 1 mile mark. It's slightly longer than a 5k at 3.3 miles, so I was hoping for a run somewhere in the low twenties - accounting for the distance and the climb.
I knew coming out of transition that I was third on the road for females, but I didn't know exactly how close I was to the two in front. It's a pretty long stretch to the first turn and the start of the climb and I didn't see any other females, so I knew that I had a decent shot at catching at least one of the them. As I made the turn and started up the hill, the first female was coming down, so I knew she had somewhere in the range of a mile lead on me. There was no way I was making up almost 7:00 in a little under a mile, so that was out of the bag. It was just a matter of where the second female on the course was. We passed each other at the top of the hill - so she had just under a half mile lead on me. Again - not easy, but I had never seen this girl race before so I had no idea what her run times were so I kicked it up a notch and got ready for the downhill and the final push to the beach.
As I was coming down the home stretch I passed by Mamadukes making her way out to the run course. This is only her second full triathlon and she was smoking it! She ended up coming in second in her age group - not bad for her first season.
I rounded the corner and saw the finish line roughly 100 meters up. Thank god - I hate exceptionally long finishing stretches. It's awful when you can see the finish line for hundreds of meters before you are even in the finishing chute - I just want to be able to round the corner and cross the line. I was never able to catch either of the two leaders, so now it was just a waiting game to see where I finished compared to those that started in the waves behind me.
Post-Race
There were your typical bagels and bananas and sandwiches lined up for the runners - as well as some awful soy-based products that for some reason companies are always trying to push on triathletes. Like they think that because we're all out here at the ass-crack of dawn for a race we also like to eat super healthy. Don't they know that the only reason I'm out here at the ass-crack of dawn for a race is so that I can eat all of the really bad things and drink beer? I mean, really. What's the point of both working out hard AND eating healthy? I only do one so that I don't have to do the other. Duh.
Anyways, I had packed a cooler because I knew from being here last year that it wasn't the best after-race party there is - and as I was going back to my car to put my bike and gear away, I realized that cooler was still sitting on the floor in my apartment. So, alas, no post-race beers for me. I did manage to snag a box of PowerBars, though, so I guess I made out pretty well in the end anyway.
Wrap-Up
This has all the trappings of your typical small-time triathlon - small field, small venue and small post-race party. Seeing as it's only in its third year, there is still plenty of time to grow the event and increase the field and they could easily start by NOT having this event on the same weekend as the Great Cow Harbor 10k, which is literally run on the exact same streets. Having both events over one weekend just forces a lot of people that might do both to have to choose which one they would want to do. Especially if you are trying to grow your event, it's probably not the best idea to put it up against something that is a pretty big deal on the East Coast and on Long Island. The Great Cow Harbor isn't exactly your local 10k - there are some serious runners that come and compete and it's got a pretty big name in the running circuit.
Other than that aspect, this event is a great local race. As a relatively new race - and put on by a company who (I'm pretty sure) doesn't put on any other events - there are a few things that could be tweaked, but it takes time to iron out all the kinks and to expand the interest. There are a lot of events this time of year, and many of them are well-established races, so it's tough to drum up interest for a new triathlon. The location also makes it difficult for people - it's a small transition area and if the directors ever really wanted to grow the race, they would probably need to figure out a larger location to accommodate everyone. However, that isn't the case yet, so I don't have to worry about. Actually, I never have to worry about it since I'm not the race director.
Here's the breakdown:
Swim/Run: 13:44
T1: 1:11
Bike: 32:00
T2: :31
Run: 23:18
Total time: 1:10:42
I ended up taking third overall for females, and 30th overall, so it was a good day. Like I said before, Mamadukes placed second in her age-group and ran a phenomenal 30:52 split. Gone are the days when a 10:00/mile pace was her goal. We are on to bigger and better things! Not bad for someone who only started running in her fifth decade!
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