Summary – great and miserable at the same time. Beat my PR by a whopping 33 minutes! But cold and lonely at the back of a small race.
Pre-Race
Registration was easy and quick, except that I forgot my wallet and had no photo ID. The grumpy, crabby, volunteer signing me in grumbled “No ID, no race. Next person.” Thankfully I was so stunned that I couldn’t speak... the words that would have come out wouldn’t have helped. When I didn’t move, I got “We have to stick to the rules. No exceptions.” Again my inability to respond gave enough time for crabby-pants to flag down the race director who took one look at me, figured there was no chance that I was a ringer, and waved me in. Whew.
Transition area was well organized and roomy. At the appointed time, we all headed down to the beach to start the polar bear experience. It was cold, about 50 degrees, and totally overcast. Due to late registrations and bathroom lines, everything was delayed. Then we had to watch the entire Sprint swim, then 3 waves of Int’l racers go off. Then the Half racers. I was the second to last wave to go. Almost 90 minutes standing around on the cold sand was a tough way to start, but gave a chance to make some new "race friends."
Swim
I love Absegami Lake! Probably 10 degrees warmer than the air. What a relief to get in and warm up. With only about 20 guys in my age group (45-49 men), there wasn’t much turmoil and only kicked or got kicked a few times. The water was so clear that I could see the bottom and occasionally touch the bottom on my downstroke. After the normal race jitters got worked out, I settled into my stroke and felt great. Slow and steady for me. I have a tendency to swallow a tiny bit with each breath, and the wonderful freshwater in the lake left me well hydrated for the bike.
Swim time: 41:44. Still at manatee speed, 1 minute better than my best swim leg to date. Thanks Coach Maureen for the swim lessons.
Bike
After a leisurely T1 putting on layers against the cold, we had to run the gauntlet through the Sprint racers who had finished their entire race and were clogging the sidewalks and carpets. Bike course was three loops through the pine forests. Roads were in great condition, well marked and policed, and not very much traffic.
At the turnaround between Loops 1 and 2, I had to pull a Lance Armstrong when a car stopped in front of me and opened up their door as I was going around them. Had to jump off the road, ride through the gravel and grass, around a few spectators, and get back onto the road. Thankfully, it was at a turn and I wasn’t in aero position. If my hands hadn’t been on my wings, the outcome may have been quite different for me, my bike, and the door of a black Audi A4.
I was hopeful that the heat generated from biking hard would restore the feeling to my toes. But it turns out that I can sweat so much I soak through my headband and still be frozen solid below the ankles. I hate cold weather riding.
The second half of Loop 2 was when I realized that a long race with so few participants could get lonely. There were long stretches on the bike where I couldn’t see another racer or sign. Even though you know you are on course, “race brain” makes me start questioning if I missed a turn and am headed to Philly.
This was the first race on my new Cervelo P2 and it was great. I felt comfy the entire time. No numbness or tingling in the gentleman’s parts, which was a problem on my old bike. My wife and I both send our thanks to Cervelo, ISM for their Adamo saddle, and to Michael at The Peddler for an awesome bike fitting.
And thanks to Joe P and the Tuesday/Thursday evening crew at The Peddler for great off-season bike training. Passed loads of people, and was only passed by a few of the young jocks who started in the wave behind me. Kept cadence in the mid- to high-90s. Relaxed in the bike. Worked on active recovery. Breathed into the stomach. Smiled. And pedaled circles. Thanks Joe.
Here’s the bummer though. My bike split was 2:53:12, a full minute slower than my best split to date. Just shy of 20 mph average. I felt like with the new bike, the training, and a reasonable fitness level, I should have shaved off at least a few minutes and really wanted to average over 20 mph. I attribute part of it to the cold sapping my energy. Mostly though it was in my head – I just couldn’t get the energy up with nobody else in sight to motivate me. Seems much harder to pedal really hard when I’m all by myself with no targets in sight. Should have pushed it harder is all I can say.
Run
The run course was 2 uneven sized loops, partly roads and partly trails through campgrounds surrounding the lake. Not much to look at but pine trees and the occasional other runner. At least it was easy to spot and wave to my new race friends.
The first couple miles felt awkward with feet that had been cold for 4 hours now. Thankfully, they warmed quickly I started to feel pretty good. Running a steady 10 minute/mile pace up to mile 8. That’s when I just ran out of gas. Partly mental when I finished the first loop and went past the finish line to see the fast guys getting their medals, and I still had 5 more miles to go and was hurting. Thanks to the guy in the black TYR tri-suit who commiserated with me as we slogged along past everyone else kicking off their shoes and eating real food.
Slowed down to 11:00 pace and walked the aid stations. Then slowed to 12:00 pace and walked the stations and the mile markers. Lonely again - with so many turns and trails, there were long stretches that I couldn’t see anyone. Wishing I had my iPod and Avril Lavigne. And who was manning the last aid station at mile 11 and 12? The crabby pants from registration. Thankfully the always supportive and energetic Cullen’s were there cheering me over the finish line at 6:09:00.
Post-Race
The legendary home cooked hot food was all gone by the time I got there. But a ham sandwich and cranberry juice tasted great after all that HEED and GU.
All in all, even though I killed my PR, cold and lonely is no way to go through a half-iron distance event. And though I am always in the back half of every race, it makes me feel better about myself when there are loads of people around me. With only 99 half-distance racers registered, it was tough on me to feel so alone and so far behind the pack. Even if the temp was in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, I won’t do Bassman again. Big races with lots of people is better for my ego.
