Okay, I may or may not have signed up for this race only about two weeks before it, but I had spent the entire summer training for the two triathlons I have coming up in September, and I felt I was well prepared for this tri. I had never done a triathlon before, so I really had no idea what to expect, or what my time might be.
TriRock New York was a .5 mile lake swim, a 15 mile bike, and a 5k trail run. Going into the race, I had never swam in a lake, or in any type of open water...and had never done a trail run, so the race was going to basically be a completely new experience for me. In my training, I had normally kept a speed of 15 mph on the bike and a pace of 11 min/mile running, so I had believed I could finish the bike in 1 hour, run in about 33-35 minutes, and swim in about 15 minutes...Giving an optimall goal time of 1:45:00, but I knew that I would be upset if I finished in over 2 hours.
Swim -- As I said, the swim was a half mile out and back lake swim. The water was a nice 74 degrees, and felt really warm as we warmed up. The warm up swim was my first inI got sight into the fact that lakes have plants in them, and you sometimes swim right through those plants. As we lined up to get started, my heart began to race...I had no idea what to expect and was anxious to get started. I lined up off to the side and near the back of my wave hoping not to get trampled, and I didn't (little victory). Only at one time did I find myself drifting off a nice straight path, but overall felt the swim went very well.
Swim Time: 15:43 1:47/100 yds
T1 Time: 2:45
Bike -- This was probably the toughest bike course I have ever ridden. It started with a pretty steep uphill climb which was followed by a crazy downhill. The course was set on the roads of Harriman State Park, and I happened to notice several road signs warning cars of the steepness of the hill, yet here I was riding a bike down it. At top speed, my bike's computer read over 51 mph, which if you have never ridden a bike that fast, it can be very scary. Here is where the course got difficult...At the bottom of this hill, there is a little rotary where you made a 180 degree turn around and headed straight back up that insane hill. It was a pretty miserable climb. Some of the other racers were walking their bikes up the hill, and actually moving faster than some of the people trying to ride their bikes up. Overall, the bike course was really tough, but a lot of fun flying down that hill at over 50 mph.
Bike Time: 1:04:44 13.9 mph
T2 Time: 1:22
Run -- Getting off the bike, my legs were pretty tired. I had never experienced hills like those I had just climbed. The run was an out and back trail run, and like the bike course, started out uphill. It was definitely tough, and I did find myself walking some of the hills. I got my legs back under me after about a mile, and began running at my regular pace. I wound up finishing the run with a pace just below my goal pace, but for my first triathlon I was not going to complain. I crossed the finish line, and was overcome with joy. It is a great feeling crossing that finish line and receiving the finisher's medal.
Run Time: 35:09 11:20/mile
Overall Time: 1:59:33
Okay, so I didn't meet my 1:45:00 goal, but I did break the 2 hour mark, and had a great time. I can't wait for my next tri!
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