RACE REPORT: Jersey Girl Tri - Long Branch, NJ

Was it a good race? Hard to say.

(For a bullet point synopsis scroll to the bottom.)

My friend Julia and I arrived at 5:30am and set up in transition in pouring rain with my other workout pal Maria. The atmosphere was good; it was an all women race and there were lots of first-timers who were really excited.

Unfortunately after five minutes in the cold rain I was shaking like a leaf, walking around in my bare feet and soaked sweatshirt (forgot my flipflops, though they wouldn't have helped anyway).

I got in the ocean for a warm up swim, but mostly I was rolled around in the big breakers like I was in a laundry machine. I got sand under all my clothes which was not pleasant, but the water temperature was fine and the course was short so I knew I didn't need a wet suit.

The race was supposed to have close to 1,300+ participants. I think if you count relays, duathlon and aquavelo sections, along with the primary sprint racers, it came out to more like 1,000. The sprint itself had 875 finishers. I suspect some people stayed home because of the rain.

Jersey Girl Sprint Triathlon
Long Branch, NJ - Aug 3, 2014

Heading into the water I felt prepared. I haven't been at masters swim the last month, and didn't get much chance to swim on the Cape (seems odd, but true). Swimming is my natural element, however, and today proved a good day for me in the water. I started at my favorite spot at the front on the inside corner of the pack. I like to be as close as possible to the straight line out the first buoy, and I made a slight adjustment to compensate for the current and wave patterns.

The one thing I did get to practice in terms of swimming while we were on the Cape was open water starts in the ocean. That came in mighty handy. I made it through the breakers quickly and only saw a few people in my wave ahead of me (green caps). By the time we got to the first buoy I felt strong and saw only one other green cap near me. I stayed right on her hip to draft until we got to the second buoy and turned to head in, at which point I lost sight of her. We had to ride the breakers to shore, so I was concentrating on that. In the end I was third in my age group out of the water.

It was a short swim but a long run up the sand. I pushed hard and my heart was pounding going through transition, but I did it exactly like I'd practiced with my coach, Chris, on Friday. I ran through the puddles heading into the transition area and that got the sand off my feet. Sock. Shoe. Sock. Shoe. Belt. Helmet. Water. GO!! I was satisfied with my speed on that and it was good enough for 5th fastest in my age group. It is infuriating to lose time in transition, something I have struggled with before, so I was glad to see improvement.

Out on the bike course the rain was pelting down, but I had a huge advantage from having ridden the course with Maria the previous week. The first 2.5 miles had a lot of turns and I knew I couldn't easily get up to the speeds I wanted there, but I did much better than I'd anticipated. I hit the turn onto the straightaway and felt strong. I was passing people continuously, watching as my spedometer made it up into the 20mph range for a good portion of the first half of the ride. In the end I averaged a 18.5 mph for the 11 miles, which was good enough for third in my age group. Considering a year ago I was clunking along at 14-15mph, I would say I am making solid gains in this area.

At the turn around we had the wind in our faces and on the second half of the bike course it was much harder to keep my speed where I wanted it. Seemed like everyone else was dealing with the same thing though. I pushed and pushed, but realized as I came into my second transition that my stomach was hurting and I felt kind of gross. I took a few extra seconds to get some fluids in me. Thus my second transition time was a bit slower than it could have been.

Out on the run course, things wouldn't go my way. I had my Garmin on and wanted to hit those 9:15 miles like I have been in practice, but either I spent too much energy on the bike or a stressful week full of sleepless nights caught up with me. I was doing 10 minute miles and watching people in my age group fly by me. It was hard to keep my spirits up. In the final mile I pushed with all my might, thought about Valentine and all the love people have shown me this week, but there wasn't anything left in the tank. I had a stitch in my side, my lungs were wheezing.

To top it all off, just as I was two feet away from the finishing mats, some chick in my age group blasted by me, exactly like what happened at Jersey Shore.

That was a real low point.

I tried to remind myself that at Jersey Shore I knew I hadn't left it all out on the course where the run was concerned, whereas today I definitely had. Still, it is precious little comfort to realize I left it all out there and yet it was not up to what I knew I was capable of. I knew part way into the run that I didn't have a prayer of hitting the podium in my age group, and I had known it was a long shot in a race of this size, but still, I had hoped, particularly because I knew I posted a solid bike time. So there was some disappointment.

In the end, I came in 61st out of 875 (good enough for the top 8% -- I'll take that) and 13th in my age group, which was 160 people deep. I have never done that well before, so I should be happy with it but I have adjusted my perception of what I can do this year and so I can't help thinking about what I could have improved.

Looking backward for a minute, however, I realize that this time last year I would never have believed I'd be averaging 18.5 on the bike. I was doing 14-16mph in races and that right there was a struggle. I have made real gains with the biking, despite lingering fears following last year's accident. I still love the water and now just need to pull the running together and be able to put all the pieces together at the olympic distance. I've got my work cut out for me.

Additional stats: in my age group I came in 3rd on both the swim and the bike, and was 5th fastest coming through T1. Just as I thought, I lost time in T2 and nose dived on the run. But it was a solid effort.

I look forward to ramping back up for the rest of this month, ready to power through TriRock Asbury Park on the 24th and then do my first olympic distance at Six Flags on the 31st.

Today's big take away: I am capable of so much more and because I truly love triathlon and have so many great friends who train along side me, I knew I will do better in the future.

IN BRIEF: 

Good things about this sprint triathlon:

• came in 13th in my age group out of 160, and 61st overall out of 875
• plenty of good energy on the course, lots of cheerers and spectators despite the rain
• I got to rack next to (and hang out with) my new friend Julia and my workout teammate Maria
• people cheered for me because I was wearing my Jersey Girls Multisport team jersey
• I felt strong on the swim and bike sections and maybe improved my transitions a tiny bit
• there were a lot of first timers at the race and they were very enthusiastic; it was nice to be able to help out and to be encouraging
• I like the finishers' medal 

Things about this tri that could have gone better:

• I couldn't get much sleep the night before
• It was raining hard (though, I grant you, that's better than heat) and I got very cold
• the ocean waves left sand all in my kit so it was grinding and chafing me all race
• my run didn't go as well as I wanted, and I got passed by someone in my age group right at the finish line...again
• I really wanted a bagel afterward and there were turkey sandwiches instead; I can't get with a turkey sandwich at 9am