So after about 10 weeks of training, the day finally came. Preparations are a bit more involved then just showing up and moving a pre-determined distance as fast as you can. Yup, this is one of those events that it matters just as much as how you got there as what bag of tricks you bring come 5am.
I brought a borrowed bike 2 sizes too small for me, sporting a brand new Under Armor race top (part of being good is looking good), more experience/better mental prep (of which focus was lost..i'll get to that), and a longer training cycle.
After missing my exit on the thruway getting there and taking a valuable 10 min detour, Michelle and I arrived around 5:30am. Which didnt leave much time to find a good spot in the transition area (closed at 6:15). The lucky part of it was that this year things were set up by your bib number (which I had already attained on packet day..big score).
Elite racers were first, followed by the full distance competitors (including Karen). Aaron and I were in the same wave but stood around freezing in our wetsuits and bare feet for a little over an hour.
The water was actual warmer then the air temp. so it was a relief to get in, however the cold had already done some damage. Literally squeezed the pee out of me, so I did what 90% of all Triathletes do, peed in the water. Now before you judge me, remember that this is a long timed race, so stopping along the way will be a huge waste, and now was the best time to get comfortable!
Having endured my longest tri training block yet, I felt pretty confident toeing up to the line and waiting for that air horn. I had gotten in countless hours with my open water swim, I had switched from Mt Bike to road bike and gotten used to that. However after the gun went off, the excitement may have drained me.
This is where I have to tell you a bit about the Finger Lakes Tri course...Swim is in the North end of Canandaigua Lake where you can touch the bottom .3 of the .5 mile swim. The bike course is always pretty windy and very hilly (you shift gears almost constantly), the run is along the water, around a pond and out on a pier, and its pretty flat but switches from fine gravel to road and back. The finish is blind, especially when there are a lot of spectators. This year brought in the cap number of competitors as well as spectators.
So, the horn went off and it was a wading start. I ran in the water for about 100m and then swam for about 250m, then walked a little, then swam around the buoy and nearly got myself drown. I had to throw a few bows and im pretty sure that I pushed someone under and he ended up choking. From the start I never saw Aaron again (this was his first Tri), and upon our start Karen was just coming out of the water from her x2 swim. I got out of the water top 5 in my wave with a huge improvement from 2007 (about 5 mins).
I was a bit more experienced this time and my transition went well except that my new top was so tight and I was wet, so it didnt go on easily. I think in the future id just wear it under my wet suit, and have a bib belt for my number.
The bike for me was absolute agony, it was still a chilly morning and I was cold for about 10 mins of it. Then my mind just wants to be done with it at about 10 miles. The big hill around that distance helped a lot. I just got into a tuck and peddled when I wanted to pass someone. Bike leg was another huge improvement(about 6 mins).
On T2 I get back to the transition area and cant find my spot, I must have wasted at least 2 mins looking for it. All the bikes were gone. I noticed that Michelle's bike was gone which means she survived the swim. When I found my area I wasted no time, and got out there on foot.
I knew I had to make up for those wasted moments so I just started passing people, later I find out that none were in my wave at all. I didnt have as great a bike as they did and with such a short run, its hard to improve your rank.
On the run I did pass by a former UBTF runner Jenny Donifrio who was kicking ass on the full distance and had another loop after I passed her. My second mile could have been a lot better (before I saw Jenny), but because of her I had a great finish mile in the low 7s.
Since I wasnt even tired or sore from my first Tri experiences, my goal was to leave it all on the course this time, and I did bike and swim hard (as you can see with my improvements) but my focus was not there and I dont believe I ever got into that zone of pushing myself past training phase (which was mainly solo) and into race mode.
I finished and then got some water, Aaron finished soon after. We then grabbed the camera from the car and tried to catch a glimpse of Karen on the road (I was half expecting to catch up to her on the bike, but their course ended up being a bit different). We got to see her on her first lap of the run (as Jenny was finishing) and then some how we missed Michelle finish, she must have snuck right past us. I left Aaron and ran over to the finish line to congratulate her but by the time I got over there she was MIA. I ended up finding her talking to some guys in the transition area. You should have seen the look on her face, full of confidence and accomplishment. Races like this are so great for your inner spirit, there really is no feeling like completing such a huge task. We walked around and did a cool down, put our bikes away at the car and gorged ourselves on the catered food that they had.
I checked out the results and really thought I had done better, I would have liked to have been 8mins faster though (which is a huge time but within reach). I would have liked not to have babysat a first timer that didnt want to do her training, or any research/practice on her own. It really did take away from my focus in the end. Dont get me wrong It was a great shared memory but im tough on myself and my goals and it could have been better if she took hers by the horns instead of me by the hand.
On the bright side, I was sore for about 3 days after. I really started to like road biking and entered into the 20 mile ride for MS. I was sponsored by New Leaf iced tea. I then gave the bike back when the weather started to change.
September races are so late in the season. I had a huge opportunity to see my inspiration Jesse Stensland race in CT 2 weeks after this race, but missed it. Maybe next time her and I will be in the same race.
I have already learned so much after 3 races and im going to continue that trend and definitely race again. Triathlons are pretty addicting, I warn you.
2009 Finger Lakes Half Triathlon Canandaigua, NY
0:14:57 0:46:37 0:22:05= 1:28:46
.5mile swim, 13 mile bike, 5k Run
90/471 men, 71 of 225 in my age group 25-29
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