Precursor:
It surely helps to record what happened during a race shortly after you've finished it. I thought I wrote down my thoughts from the Pine Barrens Triathlon, but I can't seem to find any notes.
So, of course, my recollection is going to be pretty bare and without significant detail. I'll try to recall what I can, but it probably won't be very good...
This was the 2nd time doing the Pine Barrens Triathlon. I came back to do this race for many reasons: 1.) It was the first real triathlon I ever competed in, 2) It was a particularly fun course, 3) the attendance was low last time, making for an intimate, low-pressure beginning to my 2nd triathlon season. But I'd say the biggest reason I came back was because it's a race that takes place only a few miles from where I grew up. It was a homecoming. My notes from last year's race are much more detailed since there was so much to take in.
Last year, the race was on a Sunday. This year, it was a Saturday. Presumably because the race director was trying to bump attendance from last year, and Saturday maybe seemed like a better day to have a race. That could be a totally false reason; hopefully it was, because attendance this year wasn't much higher. I think the race director simply isn't that good at marketing his races. It's a great race, and it's fairly well-run. It's just kind of unknown. Oh well, I like it better that way.
I had taken Friday off to drive down to New Jersey. It would be a good rest day. I hadn't been doing crazy training up until that point. In fact, my late-winter training had kind of fallen apart. I had only recently gotten back into a decent routine in early spring. It was all okay, though, since this race was really just a gauge to see where I stood in relation to 1 year ago. I figured I'd be in generally the same arena. My training wasn't as strong, but I had been building a decent level of fitness over the past year and I had a little bit of wisdom with me this time around. I figured those things would cancel out my slight lack of race-day readiness. We would soon find out.
I arrived at the race site about and hour before the start. I knew that it was going to be another low-attendance race, since they publish the participant list on the website. It wouldn't be a huge mess getting everything in order. I parked, unloaded and wandered to the transition area. Plenty of room to pick a spot to start setting up. I grabbed a rack very close to where I had a spot the year prior. It was a sleepy morning, and there was no pressure. Everyone seemed relaxed. It was just a good Saturday morning. Perfect weather.
My parents and my sister arrived and wandered around the area. I was surprised that they were willing to get up early enough and make the drive down.
The pre-race meeting started, and it was just about what I remembered from the past year. Nothing had changed, course-wise, so I didn't have to pay attention to every single detail. I did the last of my preparation, and put my wetsuit on. I believe my pre-race food consisted of an English Muffin (or two), an apple, and some Gatorade. I was ready to go and made my way to the water.
After chatting with some fellow racers and getting a few practice strokes in, it was time to get the race started. I remembered that the start of the race last year had been fairly abrupt, so I made sure to get in the water, ready to go at a moment's notice. It was an in-water start, and I didn't want to waste time running in and swimming up to the first buoy.
As expected, the start was fairly quick. There was some advance notice, but it wasn't the most organized beginning to a race. I decided to stay in a good pace for the swim, and really just try to remain consistent. My swimming had taken some good strides over the past year, but I just wanted to see how well I could manage the swim.
Either it was an uneventful swim, or I just can't remember the details. Either way, I was out of the water after about 16 minutes; very similar to last year's time. I was kind of surprised that I wasn't faster. I had successfully done bi-lateral breathing, though, so I wasn't dizzy from breathing on one side for 16 minutes.
I got to my bike, and was able to quickly pull off the wetsuit and get my bike gear ready. I think I moved pretty quickly headed out. I was going to try a moving mount, with the shoes already clipped into the bike. I honestly can't remember if that went smoothly or not. I have a feeling it didn't since I wasn't able to practice it in the days prior.
I headed out on the bike, and got some good speed going. I hadn't gotten many miles in on the bike in my training, so I think I was preparing to die a little bit by the end. Fortunately, the bike course is pretty flat, so it's not too tough to keep a good pace. I got passed by a couple of guys, and passed a couple others. Pretty uneventful (or I forgot).
I do remember riding by the drag race track (in Atco, NJ), and there were many trailers and cars getting ready for racing. At that point, part of me wished I was tailgating in the parking lot, getting ready to go watch some quality drag racing. I'm sure they were all getting ready to have a pretty fun day (and they were probably also mocking all of the spandex-clad cyclists as we rode by).
There were some slight uphills that I really charged up, and ended up passing a guy. He overtook me a few miles later, but gave me credit for being able to charge up the hills. Apparently, I can attack hills pretty well. Though, I think I pay the price for not being consistent on the ride, which is what is needed to have a fast, successful long ride.
We came around to the final turn, and I tried to hammer it a little harder. We still had a few miles to go, but the end was close, so it was time to get quick. Everyone else had the same idea, because the guys in front of me all picked it up. Everyone was moving pretty well.
I got back to transition and was able to dismount, I think I rolled my ankle a little bit. I was a little too ambitious on the dismount. No serious pain, but I feared i may have damaged it a bit. I got my shoes on and took off for the run.
I hate running. But I love this run course. It's 100% in the woods, and it's got twists and turns and mini hills and white sand. In most parts, you can't see 30 feet down the course and you just have to take all of turns in stride. I should hate it, but I love it. There was one water station (which you visit on the way out and on the way back, and I grabbed some water. I do remember rolling my ankle somewhere on the run course (around a turn, for sure) and thinking that my ankle joint was getting weak and that I needed to be careful. A few people passed me, but not too many.
The run course turned around, and I was on my way back. Some water at the water station, and I was almost home free. I was feeling good, not great. I reached the finish line and had a little bit left in the tank. I stopped my watch and remembered thinking that I got about the same time as last year. I recovered, grabbed some water and food, and called it a day.
My splits for each race:
Swim
2010 - 16:10
2011 - 16:12
T1
2010 - 1:38
2011 - 1:23
Bike
2010 - 1:08:46
2011 - 1:07:33
T2
2010 - :21
2011 - :33
Run
2010 - 31:42
2011 - 31:05
Total:
2010 - 1:58:37
2011 - 1:56:44
Weird, the results posted on the results site don't add up to the total. The totals above are from adding each item. I think they removed transition times from the 2010 race.
I maintained over the past year. My swim was the same, but I'm sure I was much more efficient with it. My bike was faster, which was a little surprising, since I was in better biking shape last year. Perhaps the energy saved on the swim allowed me to crank a little harded. My run was faster, which I kind of expected, since I had done a decent job of maintaining my running fitness, and have gotten faster over the past year.
All in all, a decent race to start off the season. Now to just stick to a training schedule.
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