Little throw back to completing the New York City Triathlon in 2015, which is actually the last time I crossed a finish line in a triathlon as Alcatraz swim was cancelled, pulled out of the Snowdonia Slateman and DNF in Alpe D’Huez.
Let me just let that sink in a minute, the LAST time I ran over a finish line and received a medal for a Triathlon was 2015! Wow!
When I first started competing (entering/participating) in triathlons I was happy with the first time at London, the little races at Dorney lake and then nice scenery of Blenheim Palace.
As years have gone by I like to venture a little further a field. This started with my learning of the NYC Triathlon. I thought why not incorporate a little travel with a race. I researched the NYC tri as this was also a location that I like to go to for a weekend break. I entered the ballot for the first time some 5 years before I finally got in. I had actually thought I was done with visiting this city as I had been out there a few times from my first ballot entry to the race. Year 4 I had forgotten to enter, so 3 years on the spin with no success, just $33 down. Each ballot entry costs $11 (quick little maths there for some of you), this gets you in the hat. If successful in the ballot then they automatically charge your card with the entry fee. That’s another thing about triathlons in general, they cost! Think the NYC tri was around £300 for entry.
I remember being at work and receiving the email confirming that I had a place in the 2015 NYC triathlon! At first I had forgotten that I had entered the ballot, I had also been working in an office for a few years and put on a little timber so clearly wasn’t training much. If I was training, it was not related or triathlon specific. At first I didn’t know what to do, do I leave it, do I go, do I defer…
I decided to look at flights.
By this time I had spent soo many years trying to get in, that my cousin was now working in New York, just out side of Manhattan. I messaged him and asked if he had a spare pillow for me to rest my head and save some cost of a hotel. Think the hotel that the triathlon were trying to get you to stay in was working out about $200-300 a night! Thanks to Ian I was able to save a small fortune crashing at his.
Looking back, I did no way near the amount of training that I needed to. The amount of exercise I am now getting through makes me feel a little ashamed about how little I did for NYC. I mean cycling doesn’t really need training if you just want to complete it, and ill get to the easiness of the swim a little later. It was my running that I came up short with, again you’ll hear more a little later on.
The weekend itself started off with a little touch! Cheeky upgrade to world traveller plus with BA, it’s not what you know, but who you know for sure! So much leg room wasted, but I wasn’t to complain. I didn’t manage to make the most of the free alcohol though, I was meant to be good for the days leading up to the race, however did take the complimentary glass of Prosecco off the flight attendants hands not to be rude.
The days leading up to the race were full of thunder storms, like anything, the Americans sure do things bigger than us. This was some serious storm, we had a little bit of it on the flight on the way out, but that first night was horrendous.
The day before most triathlons is when you have to register for the event, they typically also put on an expo to show off new gear and provide discounts on clothing, accessories etc. This is where I saw the first #seeyouinthehudson sign! This sign was massive, and the first indicator that the Americans go made for these type of events!
Ian had given me a lift into town this day with my bike so that I could get it racked and leave it overnight ready for the race. I got dropped off by the expo, but still had to do some walking to get to the bike drop off and transition area. The weather by this point was starting to get full of sun and temperatures that were making me go through t-shirts like hot dinners! I think in dropping my bike off I went through 3 t-shirts! They were just soaked from sweat! It was sooooo hot!
Again similar to the days before Alcatraz and Alpe D’Huez, I was doing a lot of walking. I need to start learning from this and really relax in the days leading up to a race! Especially as I have 3 on the cards this season and would be nice to finish them all!
Race Day
Well I had to set an alarm at stupid o’clock! I had an awful sleep, mainly worrying about missing an alarm, I mean there’s missing a race back home, but when you’ve paid out to race abroad and all the added costs, could you even imagine missing it!
I jumped on the metro and made my way into the city!
The race itself was an early start, think I had a wave that was starting around 7am, this is how every triathlon should be. Not like France where you get a lay in and then end up racing through the hottest part of the day. Ill get onto how hot it was in a bit…
I saw many a dead fish in the walk down to the start, the Hudson River is known for being a river that has a lot of soil in it, hence the brown colour. They gave out a few tips at the expo and race briefing, couple of these stuck,
1. Wipe your mouth when you exit the swim as you will have a brown moustache.
2. A pack of Cheetos can finish the swim in around 20 minutes due to the current. (I was a sure thing for a swim PB)
Whilst waiting for wave after wave of triathletes starting their day, I found myself dishing out tips like a seasoned pro! I mean they must have thought who’s this overweight guy looking like a seal think he is telling us what to do. To be fair, most of the people I helped were first time racers that wanted to know a few things, I’d like to think I helped some of them out at least.
The swim was indeed a PB! Barely had to move my arms, I genuinely think I could have laid on my back and let the current take me to the end in just as quick time as I swam it! Although not fit enough, or should I say not as fit as I would have liked to be. I didn’t do much breast stroke during the 1.5km swim. I think it was over so quickly that I didn’t really have to worry about getting tired.
My transitions were slower than normal, this was due to a couple of reasons. Firstly I wasn’t too bothered about the time it took me to finish, more about the enjoyment factor. So therefore had decided to put socks on for the bike and spend time taking on additional liquid during transition.
The bike ride was nice, travelling up the Hudson highway north of Manhattan and then back again. It was nice taking my own bike, I didn’t like the thought of hiring one and spending time on a unfamiliar bike.
Let’s talk about the weather…
It just so happened to be the hottest day of the year so far! Yep, 35 degree heat, which does seem cold since I rode in the Alpes and 40 degree’s. However this was humid and like nothing else! I could not keep my core body temperature down during the race, especially the run. This equated to me running the slowest 10k ever! I finished the 10k 30 minutes longer than my PB for a 10k within a triathlon. I was walking large sections of the run and spending time in front of the hoses to cool myself. I think at every water station I was taking 3 cups, drink one, pour one over the head, drink another!
The run around Central Park was pretty cool, it had a lot more undulation than I was expecting. So gradual hills throughout but pretty special.
I finished 2212 out of 3218 people in a time of 3:16 (and that’s the bottom line…you’ll get it if you ever watched WWF)
Completing the triathlon, not feeling very fit, slightly overweight and with strapping on a knee. Now that I’am fitter I wonder what damage I could do to that time! Guess ill have to settle for seeing how much time I can knock off the Windsor tri this year!
I Just Felt Like Cycling 