RR: NJ State Triathlon - Sprint

I did my second race of the year this past weekend....the NJ State Triathlon - Sprint.  This race is special in that it was the first triathlon I ever did back in 2006.  That first year I had no idea what the heck I was doing, I walked into Transition without a clue as to what I should be doing.  I was on a newly acquired Cannondale road bike that was a size too small for me and had the shifters on the frame.  The swim was a nightmare, I thought I was going to drown.  I swore I would never do another triathlon.

My oldest daughter crossing the finish line...the day before the race.

So, here I was back from my seventh year at the NJ State Triathlon (six at the Sprint Distance, one at the Olympic Distance), I guess I ended up liking this triathlon thing.  As always it was an early morning, up and out of the house by 5:00AM.  The weather was predicted to be absolutely perfect, cool and sunny.  I arrived at the race site just after transitioned opened and of course there were already six guys on my rack....ugh, what time did they get there?  Any how, got everything set up and putzed around until the swim.

Swim (500m) - 11:04 (253/1136)
The gun sounded for my age group (fourth heat to go off) and I felt great.  I got myself into a good spot, very little contact, and swam a straight line.  I was psyched to see some of the swim caps from the group ahead of me, I was actually swimming well.  Not much to really say other than I was very consistent and steady for the entire swim.  I emerged from the water feeling good, ran the 100yds or so to the timing mat and entered T1

T1 - 1:08 (52/1136)I didn't dally here too long, glasses and helmet on and out I went.

Bike (11.5 miles) - 30:52 - 22.4 MPH (77/1136)
I felt very solid on the bike for the most part.  I am still a bit away from good cycling fitness, but overall my legs felt pretty good and I think I was only passed by two people the entire ride and I was able to pass a ton of folks.  My legs tired a little bit around the final mile or so, but nothing to worry about.  The one thing that I forgot to do was drop to an easy gear and spin my legs out prior to dismount line.  This definitely would have helped my run I think.  Once dismounted, I had a good 200yd run to T2.

T2 - 1:16 (92/1136)
Good transition, hesitated for a minute as to how I should rack my bike (idiot!!!).  Regardless, there was only one other bike on the rack which was a good sign.

Run (3.1 miles) - 24:38 - 7:57 (290/1136)
Ugh, at what point in time did running become my weakness?  This is embarrassing!!!  I can't believe that I couldn't get my legs going any faster than they were.  I tried to run fast but it just wasn't happening.  It didn't help that my Garmin lost its signal 1.5 miles in so I had no clue as to the pace I was running.  I trudged along, trying to run hard and smooth, just to finish it up.  Around 1/2 mile from the finish a pack of four guys from my age group passed me and I had no answer for them (pathetic).  I managed to keep my head up and finish with a smile on my face and my head held high.

Final - 1:08:58 (112/1136)
All in all I was happy with the result and my time.  I did the best I could and I really know what I have to work on now (at least it was proven).  I haven't been running a lot and when I have it was been pretty slowly.  I have to start doing some speed work and get faster.  My bike was significantly improved from my last race which made me happy and my swim was solid.  In fact, all of my time were faster (sans run) than when I last did it in 2010 when I placed 3rd in my age group.  Granted the weather was horrible, temps in the upper 90s at 8:00AM, but still I was in the midst of Ironman training back then. 

Not a lot of time until my next race....this Saturday, Born to Tri in Asbury Park, NJ.