RR: Riverstock Triathlon (Olympic) - Award!!!!!

First off, the past few days have been very mellow with regard to training as my plan called for a mini-taper for my Olympic distance triathlon I did yesterday.  I was still training every day, but the sessions have been shorter and less intense leading up to my race.  Example:

Thursday:  One hour bike with with 5 x 1 min pick ups at 15 min
Friday:  40 min. run with 5 x 1 min pick ups at 10 min; 30 min easy swim
Saturday:  was suposed to do a :15 bike (bike check) and :20 easy run, actually played a soccer game with fellow coaches of my daughters soccer league

Now on to the race report....I decided to drive up to Sunbury, PA (2.5 hour drive) the day before the Riverstock Triathlon (Olympic distance) and camp out (tenting it).  I arrived at the race site around 5:45PM, signed in and then realized that I never actually reserved a camp site.  I spent the next hour trying to find one, eventually getting a spot about a half hour from the race site (whew!).  I set up the tent, which I borrowed from my neighbor, finished my dinner (pizza from "Unida Pizza", great name) and was beat...I think I fell asleep around 8:45PM.  It was not a good night of sleep as the air matress I was sleeping on lost some air slowly through the night, and I didn't have enough blankets.  Some wacky dreams didn't help either.

Race Morning
I woke up at 5:15AM, actually I was lying there awake for a while waiting for my alarm to go off and trying to stay warm.  I emerged from my tent and immediatlely noticed the fog, thick soupy fog.  After packing up camp, I made it down to the race site with plenty of time to set up in transition and take care of normal pre-race business.  There really wasn't time for a swim warm up because the fog was so bad, you couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of you.  So everyone just milled about in transition until the pre-race meeting.  One quirky thing, the DJ they hired never showed up so we didn't have music for the National Anthem. So the RD asked if someone could start us out in singing it....so one person started singing and them all together we all joined and sang it. Pretty neat and had everyone feeling good before hitting the water.

Swim  (1,500M)
The fog finally eased up a bit, but not a whole heck of a lot.  Regardless, the race director was determinted to start the race at 8AM and that is what we did.  The swim was wetsuit legal (thank God!) which meant I didn't fret at all, knowing that I just had to keep my arms moving and just try to swim straight.  It was pretty uneventful for the first 300m as we were swimming with the slight current, then we had to go about 200m perpendicular to it before turning upstream for about a 600m.  This was a bitch!  The current was a bit stronger than normal and just before making the turn back towards the start you had to do under a bridge where the current picked up quite a bit and made for some really slow going.  I pushed through it, bumped into a few people, and then made my way to the last couple turns.  All in all it was a good swim; I think I had my wetsuit a bit too low as my shoulders and neck were just a bit tight afterwards.  Swim time: 31:26

T1 - 1:36
I felt like it was a bit slow just because I had to get the wetsuit off and I opted to put on socks.  After looking over everyone else's times I realized that there were only a handful of people faster than me. 


Bike (24.07 miles)
Everything was going really well for the first five miles or so, then I had my first bit of uphill and I could feel it in my quads, the result of my Saturday soccer game.  I pushed through it and just kept my legs moving.  The course was a bit tough, pretty much all uphill for the first 12 miles but then some really great downhill portions where I hit 38 - 40 MPH.  I think if I drove the course ahead of time I could have let off the brakes a bit and gone a bit faster.  Duirng the bike I think I passed three people and was passed by two, but that was it for me seeing anyone out on the course.  I would have liked my bike time to of been faster, but it was a pretty tough course where I wasn't in aero for any solid length of time.  Bike time:  1:14:38 (19.35 MPH)

T2 - :42
I was pretty quick, but could have been quicker.  Shoes on, Garmin from bike to wrist, nutrition, visor and glasses.  Looking over the results, again, there were only a handful of people faster than I was in transition.

Run (6.2 miles)
Immediately my left hamstring felt tight, almost cramp-ish, and I was nervous that I didn't drink enough on the bike.  I eased off a bit from my 7:30/mile pace and just tried to find my right pace.  I passed one guy right away and then ran the next two miles or so with a guy named Jeff.  It was nice to finally have somene to chat with.  I opted to try and pick up the pace a bit for the last four-plus miles, so I said good-bye to Jeff and off I went.  Miles three and four were tough, pretty much a gradual incline through Northumberland, until the turnaround at the far end of town.  Then it was smooth sailing for the last couple miles as I was able to go from 7:47/mile pace down to 7:30's.  I felt really good and was eager to get to the finish line.  Once I entered back in to the park where the race finished, I was told that I was in 12th place overall and I was smiling BIG.  Run stats:  46:52 (7:33/mile)

Final Time:  2:35:13
Place Overall:  12th out of 92
Age Group:  1st out of 6 (not a very deep field)

The highlight of the day came during the awards ceremony when I learned that I won my age group and received a really cool award (see below).  It is an old "45" recorde on a wooden base. So cool and so happy that I actually won my Age Group for the first time EVER!!!!! Granted it wasn't a bit race but I am still proud.

Oh, and a really cool finishers medal (see below).

So, there you have it, the Riverstock Triathlon is in the books and it was a good race.  Next up is going to be the Hunterdon Half in October and then Ironman Arizona in November.  As for today, I am going to be resting my weary legs so that tomorrow I am ready to get back to training!

RR: New Jersey State Triathlon (Sprint) - OMG Hardware!!!

Friday
I went to my sports doctors (Advanced Sports Chiropractic) to have my neck worked on at 2:15PM Friday afternoon.  It had been bothering me for the past week and a half and I needed some relief before the race on Saturday.  I suppose that it helped a bit, but nothing dramatic.  From there I had to pick up my girls and head over to Mercer County Park to pick up my race packet.  Nothing too exciting to report, just picked up my number, chip and actually was gifted a dry-fit t-shirt that I didn't pay the extra cash for (score!). 

Friday night was uneventful which was a good thing.  I was in bed by 10:30PM, probably a little late, but I wasn't able to get in bed any sooner....too many last minute things to remember to pack.

Saturday
Up at 4:30AM and out of the house by 5:00AM.  I ate a package of Pop-Tarts on the way along with a bottle of Powerade.  At the race site, I was body marked by a 10-year old boy who apparently just learned how to write his numbers, and write them really BIG.  I laughed it off, racked my bike and set up transition.  Again, uneventful morning leading up to the race start.  I did manage to get in a decent warm-up which helped to loosen up my neck (yeah!)

Swim - 500 meters
The swim was a little rough, and I mean that in the literal sense.  There was a lot more contact than I have had in any other triathlon.  I was dragged under twice, swam over twice, pulled back a few times, and generally man-handled for the first 300 meters.  Once I made the turn to shore I was able to start swimming in a nice groove and cruise.  I think because of all of the contact, I was more tired than I expected to be getting out of the water.  Luckily I immediately saw/heard my wife, girl, parents, and mother-in-law which gave me a boost of energy and I flew up into transition.  There is a good 100 meter run/climb out of the water to transition that goes towards the swim time, so my actually time is a bit skewed. 
Swim time - 11:12 (2:14/100m) - 275th out of 1,357

T1 - 1:28 - really happy with my transition, only about 20 seconds off the fastest (one of the race leaders).

Bike - 11.5 miles
After getting on my bike and getting into my shoes I thought I was just start flying.  That was not the case.  I think my heart rate was really high and I was having a bit of a problem with my breathing.  It took about two or three miles before I felt better, but I never felt really good on the ride.  I think the heat and humidity definitely played a part in that.  It was just after 8:00AM and it was already 85F+ and really humid, conditions that I don't do well in.  I plugged along as best as I could constantly picking off cyclists from the earlier waves.  I tried to keep my cadence up around 100 RPMs and just pedalled hard.  I don't have good ride stats because my Garmin got all messed up about a 1/2 mile out of transition.  I was never passed on the bike and I never saw anyone from my age group the entire ride.  It was definitely odd, but I didn't think much of it.  I finally made my way back to transition doing pretty good, but definitely feeling the heat.  I saw my family as I was racing down the shoot to transition and again got another boost of adrenaline.  Bike time - 31:59 (21.6 MPH) - 56th out of 1,357

T2 - 1:11 - Again, really good transition, only mistake was almost forgetting my race number belt, luckily I was only about 10 feet away when I remembered.

Run - 3.1 miles
One word....HOT!!!!  Even as I was running out of transition I could tell how uncomfortable the run was going to be.  I saw my wife running along side of me down the exit shoot, she was yelling to everyone that I was coming.  I was able to give my daughter (oldest) a high five as I ran by, so awesome to see her and everyone there.  I felt like crap for the entire run, never once feeling like I was running smoothly.  The whole time I felt like I was slogging along through the heat and humidity.  The first mile took forever, but I was only passed by one guy from an earlier wave and I must have passed at least 20.  At least 1/4 of the people I passed were walking, it was just so friggin' hot out there.  I continued to check out the numbers of the guys coming the opposite way to see if there was anyone in my age group that I might be able to catch, but I never saw anyone.  I thought it was odd, but I never thought much about it.  About half-way through the run (at the turn around) I was passed again by a guy I had no chance of catching...that was it for me being passed.  I continued to make my way through the field of runners in front of me and watching what looked like a walk-a-thon for the rest of the folks out there.  Finally, I saw the finish chute and I pick up the pace a bit.  I could hear people calling my name (thank you Lynch family!), then I heard my wife and family yelling for me; I gave them a wave and a smile and made my way to the finish.  I didn't have anyone to catch ahead of me so I just cruised in.  Not a great run, but considering the conditions (and the walking wounded out on the course) I am OK with it.  Run time - 23:24 (7:33) - 86th out of 1,357

Final Time - 1:09:19
Overall:  48th out of 1,357
Gender:  43rd out of 755
Age Group:  3rd out of 123


Post-Race Comments
It was a brutal day, with temps in the mid-90s when I finished.  I would have like to have gone a bit faster in every leg, but conditions just wouldn't allow it.  I was about 30 seconds slower than last year, with my swim time about 1:10 slower (wetsuits were permitted last year).  I wanted to stick around for the post-race festivities and see about awards but I had Daddy-duty (youngest daughter had a birthday party at 10:00AM) and had to leave by 9:30AM.  When I got home around 1:00PM, I checked the final results from the race and BAM!  there it was:

I placed 3rd in my Age Group (M 35 - 39)

Holy Crap!  Granted my time was not even close to the top two guys, but still, 3rd in my age group!  This is only my second award ever (the first an AG 3rd place in a tiny 5k).  I thought back to the bike and the run, and how odd it was that I didn't really see anyone in around my age.  I guess I know why now, they were all behind me.  What a great way to end the day.  Now if I can only find out how I am supposed to get that darn award (I have emailed the race director already).

What's next?  Back to training with my next race either Saturday, August 7th (Born to Tri in Asbury Park, NJ) or Sunday, August 29th (Riverstock in Sunbury, PA).  I am signed up for Riverstock (Olympic distance), but not for Born to Tri (Sprint) as it doesn't really fit into my training, but we'll see.  Stay cool!