Wyckoff Franklin Lakes Triathlon

This was my first real tri of the season. It was a .5 mi swim, 17 mi bike and 5 mi run. Not a sprint, but not quite an oly either. It was a good size race with 805 individual finishers and 78 relay teams.

The race started early, I got there about 5:40 am, my swim wave went off at 6:51 (or something like that). As you may know, I am not a very good swimmer (huge understatement), but I had a couple of decent swim workouts just prior to this race so I had some confidence going into the swim, something I never had before. The confidence was that I would be able to complete the course comfortable, not necessarily quickly.

We were the third wave off. The water was very warm (which I like). It took me a bit to get into a rhythm, but once I got my breathing under control I felt pretty good. I was able to spot the buoys pretty well, and managed to swim in a fairly straight line. I also stayed to my right so that as I was breathing (to my left) I could spot the other swimmers. This was very helpful because on more than one occasion I was able to see another swimmer pop his head up to sight the course, I just then tried to follow him for a while.

Finished the swim without feeling completely drained like all my other prior swims, so I consider it a huge improvement. Total swim time (including approx 150 yard run to the timing mat) 22:46 - a 2:35/100 pace and 637th overall (out of the 805 individuals). I am just surprised i beat 168 people.

My t1 was relatively quick, just got off the wetsuit and threw on my shoes and helmet and I was off. I had the 40th fastest t1.

I felt good on the bike, this is my only "strength" if you want to call it that. I pushed pretty hard right from the beginning. The course was relatively flat with some rollers. I just cranked the best I could the whole way, started to actually feel stronger around mile 10. Finished the course in 48:26 - 21.1 mph, good enough for 58th overall.

T2 was a little slower as I took the time to put socks on, but still pretty quick for me.

The run started a bit rough, felt like I left too much on the bike. It took me a little while to get my legs, the course wasn't really flat at all, just little ups and downs (nothing crazy). Right about the halfway point I started to fell good, got my breathing under control and was feeling strong, right when that happens I hit a pretty steep hill. Maybe the hill wasn't as steep as I think it was but right at that moment it was not something I wanted to see. I just kept grinding, pushing as best i could without blowing up. After that hill the course was mostly downhill or flat. I was hoping to finish with a pace that was sub 9:00, i didn't know the course and didn't really expect the ups and downs (and the one hill). I didnt meet my goal but I finished in 45:33 - a 9:07 pace and 420th overall. A middle of the pack run is something I am actually happy about.

I finished in 2:00:32, which was 33 seconds slower than the goal I had set for myself. But all told I am very happy with that result, it was good enough for 262nd overall, just making it into the top 1/3.