Sunset Challenge Triathlon - July 2011

I picked the Sunset Challenge Triathlon as my second attempt at a tri due to its flat courses, and lake swim. The first swim at NJ Devilman was a bit of a debacle. Since then, I took an Open Water Swim (OWS) clinic with Mid-Atlantic Multisport. What a world of difference. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The race was ¼ mile swim, 13 mile bike, 5K run.

Janice and I packed up and left for Dad’s last night. He lives only 30-35 minutes from Parvin State Park where this year’s Sunset Challenge was held. Normally it is at Sunset Lake in Bridgeton, NJ (hence the name) but due to some water quality issues it was moved to Parvin State Park. This was a good choice. Parvin is a beautiful little park that I spent a lot of days at as a kid but haven’t been back to since. The lake was warm, and clean (if one ignored the piles of goose $h!t all over the beach).

With a sprint start time of 8:00am, we arrived around 6:30. Registration was a snap. It wasn’t a really big event and I had pre-registered. Quick packet pick-up, body marking, outta there and off to transition. The transition area was probably a good 300 yards from the beach start. I headed to the T area, went through a quick bike safety inspection, located my transition spot and got set up.

We then went off to the beach for the pre-race meetings. (After a brief stop at the REAL bathrooms at the back of the main building). We watched the Olympic distance head out and then I went for a quick warm up swim. The lake water was well over 78 and wetsuits were, therefore, out. Even starting on my warm-up I could tell the OWS clinic made a difference.

Back on the beach we got our last-minute instruction, advice for staying within the rules from a USAT official and then waded out for the start of the sprint. Basically our wave was all males doing the sprint. Go!

I was much more relaxed in the swim then two months ago. Today my only issue was catching up and passing slower swimmers. It is disconcerting to clunked in the head by a foot or arm. The water was dark enough that you really couldn’t see when you were approaching another swimmer. I will buy goggles that are tinted and that have a bigger field of view. Those I talked to said it helps. I slowed or stopped 3-4 times to get out of traffic or avoid back-ups at buoys. I did do an official Tri-buoy-flip-turn-thingy around the second buoy. I was sort of proud of that. After the 3^rd buoy I sensed the shoreline and went a bit too fast. I had to back stroke for a moment after swallowing a mouthful of lake water and choking but . . still . . overall the swim was pretty good. Time: 8:41. Not bad. I haven’t focused on swimming with speed at all so I’m happy with that.

Next point of focus will be transition. I will learn to ride/run without socks. I spent way too long in both T1 and T2 today. After exiting the water it was a 300 yard dash to the T area. All through sand, so my feet were pretty dirty when I got there. I had to do a lot of rubbing with a towel to get my felt clean enough to put socks on. No more socks for short races after today. I then grabbed my sunglasses and discovered one lens had come out. Of all times! Anyway, put that back in, strapped on the garmin, put on the helmet, grabbed a quick drink and went. In the future I plan to save serious time in T1. Until now this has all been for learning and I have not been worried about it.

My T area was close to “bike out” so in short order I was on the bike and pedaling. The ride was fun. I’m not the fastest guy on the bike yet but I do okay. I think I averaged 18-19 mph. I got passed quite a bit but did my share of passing too. I took good mental notes of those passing me. I planned on seeing them later during the run. I hit mile 9 on the bike and next thing I knew I was back at transition. It was a 13+ mile ride. Very fast. Bike time: 38:31. Lots of room for improvement as I get more bike time. I’m also no sure where they counted T1 & T2 because there weren’t separate times listed for those. Overall, I was happy with my bike.

Back for T2 . . not very fast here either. Janice has video footage of it (posted later), and I really screwed around a lot with getting my shoes tied. That will change too. But I got my shoes on remembered to take my helmet off, grabbed hat & race belt with bib and left. I guess because I took so long to get my laces on I never really “felt” the bike-to-run rubbery legs. Or maybe it was because the bike was short & flat.

Anyway, the 5k run was around the delightfully shaded trail around the lake. What a great place to run! We would have quickly been broiled were we out under the mid-morning 80-something-degree sun. As it was we were shaded and cool. There were ample opportunities for water along the way. At the beginning, I grabbed one cup and dumped it down my back. Then took off! I did all the passing. My runner’s legs kicked in and I blew by everyone I saw. The only part that sucked was the end. We turned onto the beach and the last 20 yards or so were loose, deep, sand. Talk about 20 yards of torture! Run time: 20:27. This was 3^rd fasted in my age group.

The overall winner was also in my age group. His times were unreal fast: 5:37, 29:24, and 16:56. Holy Fast Dude Batman!!!!

The post-race grub was perfect. Not a lot of heavy pizza etc. but pasta salad, fresh jersey tomatos, bread, lots and lots of fresh NJ blueberries, other fruit, cookies, and cake. I indulged in all but especially blueberries!

My total time was 1:12:12. Good enough for 54^th overall and 6^th in age group. By simply improving transitions I could easily move up 2 spots in my AG. I look forward to bettering this time, but I REALLY had fun today and will indeed Tri again!

2011 NJ Devilman - First Attempt at Triathlon

I signed up for the New Jersey Devilman Sprint Triathlon several months ago after receiving sound advice from our friend Susanne. She explained that it was a good beginner tri. She was right. Still . . a first tri is a first tri and I had plenty of race-week jitters. Jitters like I NEVER had before any running event including my first marathon. Of course, the difference might be that it is impossible to drown while running a marathon. Conversely, it would be quite a simple thing to drown during a triathlon. This was first and foremost in my mind especially as the spring temperature stayed low keeping the normally warm lake nice and cold.

I didn’t realize these tri things started so blasted early. I gave my personal race videographer every opportunity to bail out but after the drowning discussion, she insisted on coming along, insurance policy in hand. (Okay . . not really, but she may have been somewhat worried.) We crawled out of bed around 4:00am Saturday and traveled to the metropolis of Cedarville, NJ. When I say metropolis think “Tiny Village”, which it is. Cedarville is a small farming community along the Delaware Bay shore that I’ve driven through probably a thousand times on my way to Fortescue (an even smaller village) to go fishing. Every time through town I see people fishing in the little lake and think “The bay is 5 miles away. Why would you bother fishing in that pond”? Yet today, I would be swimming in it. Yikes!

We were some of the first to arrive in the parking lot for the race. I parked and got my bike and bag out and was going to head toward registration and packet pick-up when my phone rang and Joe Lombardi (Soarfeet) was on the phone. Turns out he was moments away so we waited. Joe is an experienced triathlete and his guidance would prove invaluable.

Joe arrived and after meeting his new dog Kona, we made our way with our bikes to packet pick-up. This all went smooth and we received a shirt, hat, packet and timing chip. After stopping for body markings (first time I’ve had someone write numbers on me with a pen) it was off to the transition area to setup. I was bib number 136 and found my spot in transition just a little way from Joe. This was handy. “Joe what do I do with this big sticker with my number on it”? Oh . . it goes on the bike. “Joe what do I do with this little sticker with my number on it”? Oh . . it goes on the helmet. And so it went. (Seems these triathlons like you to have your number everywhere.) I proceeded to lay out my transition area based on many hours of watching transition videos on Youtube. Apparently I looked like I knew what I was doing because bib #138 was watching me carefully. I stopped and said “This is my first one too”. He started laughing and said he’d better watch someone else. I got everything laid out except for my bib and race belt. I had been through my bag completely 3 times without finding it. I was SURE I had packed it. No matter . . off to the registration tent to buy another one for $10.00. (Later, I found my race belt in my bag, right where I packed it.)

After getting setup I returned my bag to the car and bumped into Susanne Vanzijl and her husband Sean. Susanne just looks like she knows what she’s doing at a triathlon (even before you look down at her Cervelo Tri bike with Zipps and her Aero helmet). Race results would later show that indeed she does know what she’s doing. Anyway, we chatted for a bit but she had to hurry to setup as they got their later then us.

Fast-forwarding to race start, I was one of a few people without a wetsuit. The whole tri thing was new to me and the race predictions had been for 70 some degree water. As it turns out it was 66. Oh well. Susanne had packed an extra wetsuit but I wasn’t going to try to learn how to use that on race day. I’d survive for 4/10ths of a mile. Joe and I wandered to the start area. A boat ramp with a couple of floating docks. It was a deepwater start where we’d paddle out, and wait for the go signal. Joe & I were both in wave 2. Susanne was in wave 3. I asked her to pass nicely when she went by.

Anyway, we watched wave 1 go and then got the signal to hit the water. We filed down the dock and in I went. Oooh. Cold. Okay ... actually not too bad. I quickly acclimated to the temperature while swimming out to the start and was thankful I hadn’t fooled with the wetsuit. I was still paddling out to the start and heard “10 seconds”! I thought, “Is that for us”? “Go”! I guess so . . . I dove immediately into a freestyle and after submerging my head completely panicked because I couldn’t see 2 inches in front of my face. I jerked my head out of the water and stopped. Try again . . . no . . no good. (Did I mention this was my first Open Water Swim?) There was no logic to this. I knew it wouldn’t be like the pool but for some reason not being able to see was scaring the bejeezus out of me. I had to keep my head out of the water. I began crawling toward the first buoy head held up. Then on to a side stroke. Finally a weak back stroke. I decided when I got to the first buoy I could easily swim to shore and slink away. I was ready to quit now and we were less then 20 seconds in to the race.

I made it to the first buoy faster then I thought. Okay . . just make the turn and start going to the second buoy. More back-stroking. At one point I looked back and saw a wave of blue swim caps coming at me. The third wave. I was near the second buoy so stopped and treaded water out of the way to let them go by. No point causing more chaos then necessary if I were to drown. I noticed a lot of other people having way more difficult time then me swimming.

Finally, I made my way around the 2^nd bouy. I had to stop and hold my hand up to see the 3^rd buoy as I was looking straight into the sun. I spotted it and resumed my back/side stroke routine. I was making better time then you’d think but not nearly so good a time as a strong freestyle. I got around buoy 3 quick enough and turned toward buoy 4 and the dock. As I side stroked on I could see bikes on main street. “Okay enough of this bullshit. Swim you moron”. Finally, I relaxed, turned and swam a strong freestyle to buoy 4 and the dock. Of course, my left goggle filled with water. In retrospect, I’d have been MUCH better off leaving off the goggles. I gotta check the rules and see if that is legal.

I got to the dock, climbed out and hoofed it toward transition. It was a couple hundred yards to the timing mat and I passed a lot of people on the way there.  I hit the mat in the absolutely ridiculous time of 17:23 for a .4 mile swim! This was 211^th out of 253. At least a few people swam slower.

Transition 1 went smooth. I was glad I didn’t have to wrestle a wetsuit for the first time. I sat in the grass, put my socks and shoes on, strapped on the Garmin, donned helmet and glasses, grabbed the bike and left. I did take the time to gulp down some G2 since the swim was more strenuous then needed. Total time for T1 was 2:36. Seems slow considering how it felt.

The bike ride was fun. 10 miles out with a tail wind and 10 miles back into it but not that bad. I’ve been riding into worse wind all spring. Too many sprinters didn’t pass me though the lead edge of the Half Lite began passing me toward the end. Those carbon wheels sound like a car coming up behind you. Along the bike route I saw a race belt with someone’s bib attached, a nice looking mini-pump, and the head of what appeared to be a Garmin 205 or 305. I meant to go back and retrieve the latter and turn it in but completely forgot about it. I was conscious of the drafting rule but there were only a few places where I was near anyone fast enough to draft off of and made a point to hang back the required distance until I was ready to pass. I saw all kinds of bikes too: tri bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, cruisers, and recumbent. It was clear you only need a bike. It doesn’t have to be fancy. The mount/dismount area for the bike was probably 150 yards from the bike out gate for the transition area. I ride with SPD pedals so popped my feet out of the clips about 50 yards from the dismount line and pedaled in on my heels. I’m not that good at clipping/unclipping yet and am not about to try clipping my shoes to the bike ahead of time. (At least not yet.)  I hit the scoring mat for the bike leg in 1:11:11. 128^th overall for that leg. As far as I’m concerned, right on target for me for now. Certainly better then the swim. Oh, I also identified 9 species of warbler by song along the bike route. I meant to mention that to race officials in case that merited some sort of time deduction.

Back to Transition for T2. I racked the bike, popped off my helmet, changed shoes and tied my laces (no yanks or anything yet), grabbed my hat, shiny new race belt, and bottle of G2 and beat it. I was surprised how many people walked the transitions. I guess at the stages we were at they didn’t think it worth it to run. I hauled butt out of there. T2 was 1:57. (It occurs to me the transition times are from the time you enter one gate, get to your spot, and leave the other gate so not just time at your mat).

By the time I left the transition area my legs were already feeling pretty good. The 20.5 mile ride was a good warm-up and the run from the dismount, through transition had shaken out the post-bike feeling. I was ready to run and it felt GOOOD. I thought “Now this is my thing”. I may not have been the fastest runner in the field but I can say I was the fastest while I was running. I passed everyone I saw. I got a lot of funny looks like “How can you be going that fast”. The first couple miles were 7:27ish. Mile 3 was a little slower . . maybe 7:50ish. But then I sped back up for the last mile. The course was definitely longer then the advertised 4 miles but I didn’t mind. I was really enjoying myself. As I came down the finish chute the guy in front of me was struggling. I accelerated thinking “I’m going to dash your hopes of that 127^th place finish”. He heard me coming and buckled down but I could tell he just couldn’t go faster. Then I spotted my wife with the video camera. I thought “You know what, I’m not gonna elbow this guy outta the way for one extra spot”. I eased up, smiled and gave the camera the thumbs up. As we went through the chute I congratulated the gentleman in front of me on a fine finish. He said “I heard you coming”! My run leg was 31:31 or 55^th overall. (I can tell triathletes hate running.) Final time: 2:04:41. Not fast, but a good learning experience.

Afterwards, I hung out with Age Group legends Joe Lombardi (and Kona), and Susanne Vanzijl as they accepted their respective age group trophies. (Susanne 1^st place, Joe 3^rd place). I got a finishers medal and a big kiss from my wife. So . . fun, friends, GREAT weather (70 degrees and sunny by the time we left), and my first tri in the books. Oh and most importantly, I met my single biggest goal for the race: I DIDN’T DROWN!