Confessions of a Beginner: Hudson Valley Triathlon

July 24, 2011

Located in Kingston, the Hudson Valley Tri was pretty local for me. The Saturday before the race, I headed up to Ulster Landing Park with my friend Steph, a volleyball player for Marist, to pick up my packet and scout the course. Boy, am I glad I followed my own advice. Not only was the park a little hard to get to (Steph asked me at one point “where the HECK are we?” and even though I was following the directions, I didn't quite know myself), but the course had some LARGE hills. The worst of these hills headed from transition to the entrance of the park, where the bike and run courses were. Now, experienced triathletes might think that I am exaggerating but for someone who spends most of her time on a regularly flat river, any hill is scary. I was glad I drove the course the day before (and was glad to have company, so thanks to Steph for coming on that mini road-trip with me! If you’re local, come support the Marist volleyball team this fall…they’re awesome!)

I was surprised to wake up the morning of the race to clouds. After a super intense heat wave (with a heat index up to 112 degrees), the break from the sun was a relief. As I set up my transition area, it started to drizzle. I innovatively covered my sneakers and bike shoes with the plastic bag that my race numbers came in – not that it mattered once I started racing!

Swim warm up

Swim start!

My swim was great. Normally swimming is my strongest leg of the tri even if I do poorly, but this swim felt really good. While some of you might be grossed out about swimming in the Hudson, it was not bad. It’s definitely a little weedier than I like (I am an open-water wuss…I hate vegetation). The buoys were really easy to sight and I got to the front of the pack enough so that it wasn’t crowded. I hit my pace easily and just went for it because I knew I was going to need to get ahead to make up for my shoddy biking skills. I was the first woman out of the water and had the 6th fastest swim of the day. Then the hard part started.

T1 is super easy when you don’t wear a wetsuit (it’s not a secret strategy, I just don’t own one) and I hopped on the bike and was up that massive hill. I have no idea how the people who transition into their shoes while riding their bike handled that, I would have fallen for SURE. I didn’t have my bike in the lowest gear, so I had to change gears going up the hill but thankfully nothing happened. I made it up and headed out the park entrance to tackle the 18 mile bike.

Ready to tackle that hill!

So despite my amazing advice for preparing for a race, I did not prepare myself for this bike. Even a semi- prepared racer would have biked at least 18 miles in one ride. A semi-prepared racer might have biked a loop of the course to get used to it. A semi-prepared racer would have spent more than 5 days all summer on the bike. I’d have to say that I was completely unprepared. I have this crippling fear of biking in traffic (so novice, I know) and because of this, I rarely take my bike out. I knew that I had the fitness to complete an 18 mile bike, but there wouldn’t be any kind of competitive goals.

But it wasn’t so bad. The course was two nine-mile loops. There was only one tough, winding hill that I was fairly unprepared for, but other than that it was fine, just slow going. I am more comfortable riding in a harder gear with more power than riding in an easier gear and moving my legs more (which is what you need to be able to do to climb hills). I have been told this is a function of the fact that I am a rower, but this is one thing that I need to work on before I race next time.

I biked into transition and had a moment of panic: where was my race belt with my number on it? The race website had said that anyone running in or out of transition without the number on would be given a two-minute penalty – not what I needed. I frantically searched around the area but I knew that I had put the belt on before the bike and it must have fallen off. Bikeway members Carleen and Justin called out to me to leave it and just yell out my number as I crossed the finish line, so I followed their advice and ran out of transition. As I headed up that giant hill again, a race official grabbed me and handed me my number! I have no idea where he had gotten it, but I guess it must have fallen off somehow. I was stoked: no penalty for me!

A surprising number of people walked up the hill but one of my race goals was to run the whole time. On that hill it might have seemed like I was running in slow-motion but I never stopped running! The run was an out and back, which I like because you can encourage people. Since I had my last article on my mind, I almost tried to adopt the Iron Girl philosophy of saying something positive to anyone who passed me or who I passed. I think some people were definitely confused by this (mostly the guys). For me, triathlons are a way to cross train for rowing and to keep me from getting bored with a lack of competition in the summer, so I’m not a cutthroat competitor. It was worth it to take the time to cheer for people, especially all the Bikeway guys who were headed back as I was headed out. 

All smiles because I'm thinking about going to the diner!

I ran down the giant hill to a finish line with Bikeway members and my parents cheering for me. That’s one of the best parts about finishing behind everyone: you get the most cheers! Overall, I thought NY Tri did a good job running the race: the courses were well marked, the volunteers were encouraging, there were enough safety precautions taken and since it was a smaller race, almost everyone got awards. I ended up first in my age group….out of one – not too many people in the women’s 18-24 age group in most of the races I’ve done – but I was 5^th overall. Not too shabby for a slow biker like me. 

Team Bikeway and our hardware!

I do have some people to thank: my parents, for driving all the way to Kingston for an early start, Steph, for driving the course with me the day before (a job that would have been much less fun without company) and all the Bikeway members, especially Carleen. I’m pretty sure that Carleen cheered for me like she would have cheered for a family member and it definitely made my race a lot better. Even the guys who were super competitive racers took five seconds to yell “Go Bikeway!” when they zoomed by me. And that really means a lot!

Double Trouble: The Other "Princess of Poughkeepsie" Tackles the Jersey Shore

Double Trouble Triathlon: July 9, 2011

The boardwalk at Seaside Heights

There is usually one main factor that determines whether I can go to any specific race: is the race close to where I live or do I know someone that lives close to the race course? I signed up for this race in Seaside Heights, NJ because my friend, Marissa, lives about 25 minutes from the shore. Another thing that drew me to race was how different it was. The name of the race, Double Trouble, comes from the fact that triathletes had to do the course (.2 mile swim, 5 mile bike and 1.5 mile run) twice. I thought that was super cool and signed right up. Beaching with my bff and racing a different kind of triathlon seemed like a great way to spend the weekend.

I arrived at Marissa’s house on Friday to find that no one was home. After going for a quick bike ride around their lovely development, Marissa’s sister, Samantha, texted me instructions to get into their house. Unfortunately, I don’t follow directions well and didn’t turn their house alarm off all the way. That led to an extensive conversation with the nice lady at the alarm company where I did my best to convince her I was not actually a criminal and she didn’t need to send the police. Whoops!

Marissa and I then drove to pick up my packet in the pouring rain. I think there is something about me driving to a race that makes it rain…it has happened every single race this summer! I was race #13, which meant that I was placed in a rack closest to the run/swim entrance/exit of transition. This was good because it would give me a few seconds advantage when I was transitioning from the first run to my second swim. 

Pre-race deliciousness made by Marissa's mom: penne w/ veggies, salad and garlic bread

Marissa and I woke up at 4:45 in order to get ready and drive 45 minutes to Seaside Heights, most (in)famously known as the setting of the MTV reality TV show, Jersey Shore. The race started at 6:45 a.m. There were some pre-race explanations of the course, which was I thought was fairly straightforward.

Setting up transition

Swim start!

The swim start was a running start into the ocean. We had to swim out to one buoy, then parallel with shore to another buoy, then swim to shore and run out to transition. I had never done a race swim in an ocean before and the first swim was definitely a little nerve wracking. The waves weren’t huge, probably four feet high, but for someone used to swimming in a pool by myself, they seemed huge. I was lucky to get a good spot at the front of the pack and ran quickly enough to the ocean so that I wasn’t super crowded. Like all races, the turns around the buoy were crowded, but I was ready for that. Even though the swim did not feel as strong as my swims normally feel, I came out of the water ahead of a large number of women and a majority of the men. 

Running to the water

At least we scared away all the sharks....

Exit from swim #1

The race directors had nicely placed a kiddie pool in between the boardwalk and transition so that swimmers running from the beach could jump in and wash their feet off. I thought this was awesome because I was that five-year-old who threw fits when sand got in my shoes. I ditched my swim cap, threw on my helmet, sunglasses and bike shoes and ran with the bike out of transition.

Bike #1

Biking is by far my worst leg of the triathlon. I am still getting over my fear of biking on the same road as cars so I only bike in the morning, which usually conflicts with rowing. Needless to say, biking doesn’t happen nearly as much as it should for me. But five miles, even at race pace, is not impossible. My cardio was completely fine, it was just my legs that hurt a lot. I got passed by a few women and a lot of men on the bike. The bike course was a completely flat out and back. It was cool to ride along the beach and the view was a nice distraction from my screaming leg muscles.

T2: Bike to Run

As I pulled into transition, I heard someone else cheering for me. My old roommate, Jamie, had driven all the way from Cape May to Seaside to watch my race! Between her and Marissa, I felt like I had my own fan club. Having someone cheering for me really means so much to me, and I think it’s something that, as a member of a very supportive team, I almost took for granted. 

Heading out of T2 with my cap and goggles

As I transitioned from the bike to the run, I had a sudden idea: I grabbed my swim cap and goggles and shoved them in my tank top. The race director had said that people had to come back to transition in between the run and the second swim, but if I ran into transition with my cap already on, I could save some time. 

The run course start

My temptation...could I resist??

The run took place on the boardwalk, so I got to pass many of the Jersey Shore (the TV Show) landmarks. There was the Shore Store, where the cast worked in Season 1. There was the beach where Snooki got arrested for public intoxication. There were the rides where my boss at Hudson Valley Magazine director saw Snooki and Deena go on the dizzy swings…three times in a row. And then there were TWO Dunkin’ Donuts. Since the run was an out and back, I passed each Dunkin’ twice. And since I did the run twice, I passed coffee a total of EIGHT times without getting any. I almost contemplated DNF-ing so that I could enjoy my favorite, medium iced coffee with milk and sugar, but sheer willpower (and the thought of bagels at the finish line) kept me going.

I ran into transition from the run with my swim cap on my head, kicked off my sneakers and ran out. The run to the water was probably about 150 meters and involved climbing up and down some slippery stairs to the boardwalk and back down to the beach. I thought the volunteers here did a really good job of telling people to slow down, especially since triathletes will try to cut time any way possible. We must be a frustrating group to keep safe. 

Exit from swim #2

My second swim was uneventful, and it was nice to give my legs a little break. The waves were definitely bigger at this point. It was a little nerve wracking to not even be able to see the buoys at some points, but I knew that swimming was my strongest leg and I was never in any kind of danger (except from inhaling seaweed, perhaps). The coolest part of the swim was that, once I was headed into shore, I used the waves to my advantage and body surfed my way in. 

T4: swim to bike

Heading out of transition to the bike mount area

Going back to the bike was hard, as my legs definitely did not want to cooperate. But I knew it was time to “drop the hammer” and try to make up some time. Doing the course the second time around was nice because I remembered some of the landmarks, which made it mentally easier. After all, it was only five miles.

Running out of T5

  

Run #2...almost there

 My second run was similar. Once I got on the course, I knew I had less than 12 minutes of racing left. At that point, there were tourists as well as people from the other race, Everybody Tris, on the course so it was a little harder to navigate. As soon as I passed the run turnaround, I was passed by a guy who had been tailing me for a little while. I decided that I needed to hang with him, so I picked up the pace and ran with him. He would pull away, and then I would pull back. About .2 away from the finish, he really picked it up but he couldn’t shake me yet. I sprinted my heart out and we crossed the finish within a second of each other. In other sports, a competitor might be upset that I used his pace to help myself, but we high-fived and congratulated each other as soon as we crossed the line. 

All smiles as it's finally over

Posing at the finish line with my medal

Marissa and Jamie were waiting for a sweaty hug at the finish line. We grabbed some bagels and bananas and waited for the awards to start. I think my only complaint about this race was with the awards. The race director basically just guessed who had placed Top 5, and most of those people had already left the venue. At that time, I wasn’t sure how I had placed and I would have been a bit upset if I had placed and hadn’t gotten recognized. However, I was 6^thoverall (and 1^st in my age group) so no complaints here. And after I had gotten changed and Marissa and I were ready to hit the beach, I thanked the race director for a great event and he invited us for beers….at 8:30 a.m. Completely understandable, since he and his crew had probably been up since 3 a.m. setting up. 

Taking apart my transition area with Jamie's help

Overall I thought this was a really good race. The course was well marked and the volunteers were well trained, so I felt safe the entire time. The course was in a neat town. It was fast course and beautifully flat. The concept of doing the course twice was really interesting and I think it played to my strengths. Even though everyone in charge kept saying that it was a low-budget operation and a first year event, it didn’t feel like it was lacking anything. I thought they did a very good job and I would definitely recommend this to someone who is looking for a different kind of race or looking to turn a race weekend into a vacation weekend too. After the race, I spent the day on the beach getting rid of my unisuit tan! What’s not to love?

Post race snack...and I finally got my ice coffee!

Post race and beach meal....pizza at Pete and Elda's

Marissa's cat, Tigerlily, watching me write my race report the morning after the race

 

I’d like to thank Marissa and her family for giving me a place to sleep and food to eat for two days and, along with Jamie, their moral support and enthusiasm about my racing. A race is way more fun when you have a cheering section, and Marissa and Jamie have been to three of the four triathlons in my triathlon career. That is dedication on their part and I really, really appreciate it.

Coming soon: video from Putnam Tri’n’Du, interviews with race directors of the SheRox, IronGirl and Danskin triathlon series, and my race report from the Hudson Valley Triathlon in Kingston! Don't hesitate to email or comment with any questions, suggestions or problems! Happy racing!