RACE REPORT - NJ State Triathlon 2015

OVERVIEW

NJ State Olympic triathlon, July 19, 2015 had more than 1,700 participants.

NJ State is the largest race in New Jersey and it is the mid-Atlantic qualifier for Nationals. It comprises a two day race weekend, with sprint distance racing on Saturday, and olympic on Sunday. More than 1,700 people participate in each distance.

Sadly, disaster struck the sprint race. It had to be cancelled part way through due to thunder and lightning (some people were finishing, the last wave of swimmers hadn't yet started). Many of my friends were thoroughly disappointed, particularly people who were doing their first tri, but I think CGI Racing made the right call. Safety first. I live ten minutes from the race venue and heard great crashes of lightning.

Friends on my multisport team reported that the race coordinators and USAT officials worked hard to get everyone to safety quickly. Though the storm passed in forty-five minutes or so, it was impossible to restart the race at that point. CGI sent out a letter and posted it to social media later in the day, explaining their reasoning and their plan for handling awards. It would have been nice if they had guaranteed everyone who didn't finish spots for next year, but I suspect that wasn't financially viable.

As for me, I wasn't racing until the next day, so I wasn't directly affected. I had signed up to do the olympic tri months ago, but as race date neared it was clear we'd be in the middle of a massive heatwave. I didn't want to bail on the race altogether, so I emailed the coordinators about five days before hand and asked if I could switch my registration to aquavelo (also called "aquabike" -- basically just the swim and bike portion of the triathlon). They responded within 24 hours and let me change without question.

I do not regret my decision at all. 

Mercer Lake is calm after the triathlon swim was over.
Photo courtesy of Julie Leung.

Although aquavelo seemed like a bit of a cop out, the reality is that the heat was off the charts. By the time I would have been starting the 6.2 mile run, it was already 89 degrees with humidity pushing it to feel like mid 90s. Even if I had been running a lot in recent weeks, I would never have wanted to run in those conditions. My friend, Kathy, managed it, but she's got a stronger training base and many more years of racing under her belt.

My decision was based on the principle that I want to follow through on my goals, but it's self sabotaging to race when there is no joy in it. Aquavelo was a good way to balance those two things. I was able to complete a race I had prepared for, but did it in a way that energized me for more events in the future rather than leaving me demoralized.

Another perk: choosing the aquavelo freed me up to push hard on the bike, knowing I didn't have to save anything in my legs for the run. I loved that.

My bike is a heavy, Bianchi cyclocross with flat pedals and I averaged 18.5mph in high heat. That's my best showing at the 20 mile distance (they had to cut 3 miles off the course at the last minute due to a downed utility pole).

I was lucky to have trained the bike course in high heat and I spent the last month training in high humidity on hills in Cape Cod. These factors provided a major psychological boost that yielded results on race day. As they say: triathlon is 90% physical and the other 50% is mental.

My swim time was mid pack and nothing to get excited over, but I haven't done serious swim training since May. I'll take what I can get.

Julia and me after the NJ State olympic aquavelo, a wise choice.

I was happy to do aquavelo along side my friend and teammate, Julia, who was signed up for it from the beginning. She's a smart one.

RACE REVIEW

This was one of the best organized races I have ever attended. I participated two years ago (also in a heat wave), but it was only the second triathlon I'd ever done, so I didn't realize then how good the race organization was.

They didn't miss a detail. There were plenty of volunteers making sure everything went smoothly from packet pickup to body marking, from parking (for 1,700 participants and their families and friends) to water stations, from getting people through transition to handing out medals. I think this race has more and better volunteers than any other in the region. Considering the heat, I was amazed by how many people came out to cheer the racers on.

THE SWIM

Water temperature in Mercer Lake was 83.7* according to race officials. A few people still opted to wear wetsuits, which meant they were out of medal contention automatically. I didn't get to talk to any of them, but I have to believe they were overheating in the water. Still, people need to race in gear they are comfortable with.

There were 14 waves of swimmers in all, and all of them started on time, which was huge. The waves start five minutes apart, so later waves face higher heat at the temperatures climb on the course. Being in wave 9, I was setting out 45 minutes after the first group. The water temperature wasn't as oppressive as I thought it might be, and things proceeded smoothly.

There was some body contact in the water, but it could have been worse. I did get sklonked in the head at one point, and felt a lot of toe tickling, but I was on an aggressive line and that's the price of doing business.

There was plenty of support on the water and the course was well marked, making sighting straightforward. There were buoys that indicated every 100 meters you had completed, which was a great feature. That made it feel like I was moving forward, making real progress, instead of just paddling into oblivion, which is how longer courses sometimes feel.

*Note: This post has been edited to correct the race temperature originally posted. It was 83.7, not 84.7. 

Leonardo in transition at NJ State, 2015.

TRANSITION

The transition area was on grass this year (different from two years ago) which is generally better. There were assigned spots, organized by bib number, which felt fair and kept chaos at bay. USAT officials were checking that handle bars were sealed and equipment was racked properly. There is a long run out to the road before you get to the bike mount line, but there's no way around it; there's no way to put transition closer to the road because there are trees in the way.

THE BIKE

The bike course is totally flat. When they had to make the last minute change, eliminating the Clarksville Rd. section of the route because of a downed power pole, they cut out the only real hill (heading up to the intersection at Meadow Road).

When you've been training on hills, flat feels fantastic. I was overtaking people on snazzier bikes and taking the turns like I meant business. It was pure fun, really. I can't say the route is all that scenic, and there wasn't much shade, but for central New Jersey it is as good as it gets.

THE RUN

I didn't run, but my friend, Kath, did. I've run the course many times and she and I agree that it is much hillier than the race packet would have you believe. Kath says there were plenty of hydration stations, but that many people had to walk some or even all of it.

From my view at the finish line, cheering people in, it was clear runners were coming off a death march. Again, I recommend aquavelo to anyone who isn't 100% confident about their run training and is facing a race with high heat.

POST RACE

CGI is the only race group I've seen so far that provides a cooling tent after the finish line. You can take off your shoes, leave them outside and walk through jets of ice cold water. This is an awesome feature.

By contrast, the post race food spread is probably the only disappointing thing about the race. It doesn't hold a candle to the food offerings at Delmo Sports events. There were salty pretzels, watermelon and orange slices, but the main items were grilled chicken and veggies in chafing dishes. My friend, Julia, said the chicken was good. I guess everyone is different, but I missed those bagels, danish, scrambled eggs and sausage from Delmo events...CGI could really step it up on the food.

The medals are large and well made, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the competition. But the race shirts run small and are see-through. The design is okay, but I can't see myself ever wearing mine. Also, there was no actual swag in the swag bags. It would have been nice to get a packet of sun screen or a GU or something, but whatever. 

I didn't attend the awards ceremony because I had to get out of the heat and get home, but I heard it went fine.

OTHER NOTES

• There was plenty of water and other hydration at the race. That is no small task with a race this size. 
• There were ample port-o-potties and plenty of tents to sit under for shade. 
• The fitness expo (a place where a lot of races seem to be lackluster these days) had a good showing of vendors.
• I live locally, so can't comment on what it's like for those coming from out of town, but we do have a lot of local hotels to choose from, and I heard rates were decent.
• On a random note, I was puzzled by how swim waves were assigned. It's hard to see why you'd put 25 and under women with the 55 and older women in the same wave. Maybe the idea is to ensure each group has roughly the same number of people in it and that they will then spread out along the course due to differences in ability. Not sure if this helps reduce traffic jams that are bound to happen with 1,700+ racers in the water at once, but if that's the goal, it seems reasonable.
• Although it was good, I may skip this race in years to come, just because it always seems to take place during a heat wave. Weather is a major factor here.

EVALUATION OF THE EVENT = A 

Thanks to my wife who gave me time to train and looked after the kids while Kath and I raced. 

I'm a "Taste Agent" for Skratch Labs this year. 
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in triathlon and multisport. 
I wouldn't have applied for sponsorship if 
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