It wasn't really an A priority event but I was hoping to continue my finish time's 3-year downward trend.
Back in December, my dad signed up with me--this would be his first triathlon ever. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to end up joining which was a really, really big bummer. He had trained really hard (especially on the swim) and I was incredibly proud of him. Hopefully, we'll get to race together sometime soon--maybe even back in Canada.
Given that my dad wasn't going to be there and that this wasn't an A priority, I simply hoped to continue my finish time's 3-year downward trend.
Prep
On Saturday, I met up with my buddy Sean--a recent Princeton grad who was going to be racing NJ State as his first triathlon. We tore our bikes apart and cleaned them completely up like new. I also threw on some race wheels for flare points. My roommate, Nando, required that we take a "sun's out, gun's out" shot before we headed out.
Jumped the train down to Princeton and, for the first time ever, people didn't seem to mind that we took up a bunch of space with our bikes. Sean's brother was a huge help and he picked us up at the train station and loaned us his car for the weekend. Made everything so much easier.
The rest of Saturday was spent with the usual more-time-consuming-than-expected-pre-race protocols: check-in, driving the course, getting nutrition ready and doing an easy spin on the bike. Was fun to head out on the bike and check out some old haunts that Sean and I had ridden back in school. We opened up a few times on the ride and I definitely felt nice and fresh from taper.
Saturday evening, we grabbed dinner in Princeton with Sean's brother and my buddy Ben. Ben's currently training to get back into the NFL and his first comment upon seeing my "gross skinny ass" was that I needed to eat a sandwich. After dinner, Sean and I made a few final preparations at our hotel and passed out.
The Race
We were up at 5AM sharp. At this point, we were both getting a little nervous--Sean for his first race and me for an improved finish on last year. The drive into Mercer County Park was plagued with triathlete traffic (as usual) and we barely had enough time to get into transition. Once we were all setup and had scouted the competition--Sean was there to beat the snot out of his brother's roommate, another first time triathlon--we headed back to the car to relax. Unfortunately, the Sprint waves all leave ahead of the Olympic racers so we had over an hour to kill. As we relaxed, stretched and warmed up, the temperature and humidity started to climb and climb.
The Swim
Usually, NJ State is not a wetsuit legal race (since the temperature is usually in the 80s). This year, with the cold summer we've had, the water was spot on 78F which made is just legal. In retrospect, I made the stupid move of using a wetsuit with the mindset that "if you can wear one, you should." (Wetsuits significantly increase buoyancy and really speed you up.)
As we got into the water, Sean and I wished each other good luck and then we were off. The first part of the swim went well. I opened up hard to avoid getting caught between swimmers like I had at the Jerseyman. I quickly found my rhythm and things seemed solid. I have worked hard on my swim the past two months and was glad that things were going nicely. Halfway through, though, I started to feel really warm... The water wasn't nearly cold enough for a wetsuit and heat was just getting trapped right next to me. Every time I hit a cold pool of water, I would cool down slightly, but in general I just got hotter and hotter. I felt nauseous and a little woozy. I sprinted the final 400m just so that I could get out of the suit. As I exited the water, I was a bit faint, but I just tore the wetsuit off and bolted.
As I ran through transition I checked my watch. I swam a 27:00 which was a great swim for me--check! I also had a heartrate of 182bpm probably due to the intense heat in the wetsuit--check minus....
The Bike
I did transition as fast as possible but my heartrate kept me from flying through. Once I mounted my bike, I threw down some water (knowing I was going to be hurting from the hot swim). I quickly found my cadence and started flying by fellow racers. The bike is always a strong point for me and a good chance to catch up with stronger swimmers. My race wheels felt great and the whooshing noise they make added to my sense of confidence.
There were a lot of turns, but I took them well and pumped a bit out of the saddle to get back up to speed. At one point, I saw a guy take a turn way too fast and bite it. It was gnarly... you could hear his helmet smack the ground. Sucks a lot.
As I wrapped up the bike, I was happy with my pace and was feeling strong. My heartrate had been significantly higher than normal but I figured that this was just due to the heat.
The Run
As I ran through transition, I saw my teammate Nate who had won his age group in the Sprint race. He cheered me on as I took off. The first 3 miles of the run were solid and I held a decent pace. I could tell that the temperature was really starting to climb but felt pretty good.
As I hit mile 4, things started to go bad... and quickly. The temperature climbed and my right quad started to cramp up. As long as I kept moving it was fine, but I could tell I was short on fluids and salt. Of course, the next thing to happen was for my heartrate to skyrocket. By 4 miles, my heartrate was firmly set at 183. (I normally race an Olympic around 172.) I slowed a bit but just couldn't get it to come down. My legs felt fine but I was just dying inside. I doused myself in water at the aid stations and guzzled as much Heed as I could but things just wouldn't get better. I dropped my pace completely and just plodded through miles 4.5-5.5. It was miserable, I was light-headed and of course I was starting to doubt my fitness: "This is just an Olympic.... I'm doing an Ironman in 4 months, get better!" My heartrate came down a bit during this slowdown and I was able to do a decent kick for the finish.
By my watch I finished with a 2:18 which was a course PR for me. Still, I wished that I had gone 2:10.
Sean ended up having a really solid race and finished around 2:45. Not bad at all for a first timer! He had a rough swim, nearly 50 minutes, and was a little bummed out about that. I was pretty impressed because all he has to do now is clean up his swim and he'll have a very solid racing platform.
Lessons Learned
- Wetsuits are meant to keep you warm, not to make you float. So,, wetsuit legal doesn't mean "wear a wetsuit." Temperatures matter a huge amount.
- When it's hot, overhydrate on the bike. I've had minimal heat training this year and have gotten very lazy with my fluids and salt. I need to practice this because it'll be a huge factor in Arizona.
- Olympic races are hard. They may be short, but they hurt.
