My write up is below. If you're interested in seeing more pictures and reading about my training, there is a longer write-up here.
Pre Race
This was the most nerve wracking build-up that I’ve experienced. A week out from the race the weather forecasts began to look very grim. A tropical storm off the East Coast was threatening to dump 2–3 inches of rain on race day and bring 20–30 mph winds with 40 mph gusts. I tend to get very cold on the bike and the thought of a 56 mile ride in those conditions had me extremely nervous. I was also worried that they would cancel the swim and that the dozens of hours of swim training I had done in the past four months would have been a complete waste.
I obsessively tracked the forecasts for Saturday and tried visualizing the race with and without the swim. The night before the race I had a dream that the race went off as normal but was quickly flooded, leading to mass panic. I woke up Saturday morning to good news: while there would be rain and winds, it wouldn’t be quite as bad as predicted.
Swim
After a race morning traffic jam, my brother Chris and I arrived to transition about 6:30, which gave me 30 minutes to get everything set up and make the half-mile walk over to the swim start. This was a chaotic rush, and I showed up to the swim start as they were finishing up the National Anthem. This was when I learned that the swim had been shortened from 1900 meters to 750 meters. Although the conditions were better than expected, the water was choppy and the visibility was low. I think the front of the pack would have been fine, but this was probably the right choice for the weaker swimmers.
The start of the swim was shallow, so I was able to run for the first 50 yards or so. After that I started swimming and found the feet of someone that seemed to be swimming the right pace. I was generally able to swim a clean line, but I was surrounded by people that were struggling. At one point I was surrounded by someone doing breast stroke and another person doing backstroke.
Because the swim was short, I was able to push the pace and was swimming much closer to my threshold pace than I would have on the full 1900 meter distance.
I struggled a bit with visibility — my goggles are old and easily fog up, and I only have tinted lenses. But the buoys were gigantic and there were enough people in the water that I never got far off course. Heading back to shore, there was a giant obelisk that was perfectly aligned with the swim exit, so I was able to use that for sighting.
Overall, I performed well on the swim. My average pace was significantly faster than I’ve ever done a HIM swim, although this was aided by the short distance and the run start. I do wish that we had a full swim, so that I could have seen what I was capable of at that distance (and so that I could have gotten a proper PR for the whole race), but I understand the decision.
I was able to put over two minutes into Chris, which was good news heading into my weakest leg.
Stats for the swim:
Although the rain was lighter than expected, the wind wasn’t. For the entire bike ride, we were dealing with 20+ mph winds coming from the North. This meant that the first and third legs of the double out-and-back would be into the wind.
The good news is that the road conditions on the course were very good and I was feeling very strong for the first 15 miles of the ride. I was able to hold 190 watts for the first 20 minutes of the ride as I worked to warm up (in both senses of the word). I felt very comfortable in aero position and was able to stay on the aerobars for 99% of the day, which was a big improvement over previous races.
In training, 190 watts on a flat road would have put me at about 22 mph, but with the headwind, I was struggling to hit 20 mph. The good news is that when I turned around, things got significantly faster. I pulled back slightly on the effort (180 watts) but averaged 24 mph coming back.
Bike stats (Pink = watts, Red = HR, Green = mph)
On the second loop, two things happened. First it started to get windier and rainier. This meant that I got much colder while riding into the wind got harder. The cold really got into my head. I wasn’t shivering, but I wasn’t able to focus as much as holding my power targets. I had planned to wear sleeves and gloves, but I struggled to get them on in transition and so I ended up doing the whole ride in a sleeveless tri suit. Going forward, I would take the time to get the sleeves and gloves on, as I think my coldness ended up costing me a couple of minutes.
The second half of the ride was also more crowded as we began to lap athletes that were still on the first lap of the race. Thankfully we had 2–3 full lanes of closed road to work with, as sometimes all three lanes were being used to make multiple passes.
After Atlantic City, I vowed to push harder on flat bike courses, having felt like I left some time on the table in that race. However, this didn’t happen at Jones Beach. I only averaged 177 watts for the ride, and my average heart rate was 143. I should have been able to hold 190 watts and an average heart rate of about 150. I hope that in future races with better weather I can focus more on holding onto my target power.
One final note, as I mentioned earlier I did raise my aerobars in this race, and I do think that cost me slightly in terms of speed:power. However, I think it was probably worth it given that I was able to stay in the bars for the entire race with almost no back pain.
As for the race with Chris, I put another three minutes into him on the ride. He would need a miracle on the run to pull back.
Stats for the full ride:
I made the biggest mistake of the day in my transition from bike to run. During my rushed setup earlier that day I put my race belt into my transition bag, afraid that it would fly away in the wind. In the process of putting on my running shoes, I forgot to put on the race belt and ran about 200 yards from transition to the run start. When I got there, the race officials told me that I couldn’t start my run without it, so I ended up wasting 1–2 minutes running back to get my race belt.
This had me rattled, but I started to feel very fast as soon as I got on the race course. I quickly realized that this was due to a massive tailwind at our backs that was going to turn into a massive headwind as soon as we turned around. I enjoyed it while I could and ran the first four miles at 6:55 pace with a relatively low HR of 155.
And then I turned around. It was bad. My pace dropped by about 35 seconds per mile and my heart rate started to climb. I did my best to tuck in behind some other runners and draft but I was passing almost everyone and didn’t get much of a chance to draft.
At this point I had my favorite experience of the race. I noticed that the third place woman was in front of me and went to go draft off her for a bit. She was going slower than I wanted, though, so I decided to pass and keep going. But she was able to go with me and proceeded to run with me for the next 3–4 miles. Over that time, we managed to pass both the second and first place females. What a thrill! I almost felt like I was racing for the win. At some point, the woman that had been running with me dropped her pace, but I learned later that she ended up winning the race.
For the entire run, I was staying within myself. I also managed to avoid taking any caffeinated gels until mile 7. This let me finish strong. For the first time ever in a 70.3 distance race, I accelerated in the last two miles. I was able to pass about 5 men and got into a foot race in the final 100 yards that I was able to win. I finished the last two miles at 7:00 min/mile pace which was about 30 seconds faster than I had been running into the wind.
Overall, this was my best 70.3 run by far, and it felt really good to finish so strong, especially given the conditions. The course itself was beautiful, and on a nice day it would have made for a great run. As it was, I was happy to perform well in some of the worst conditions I’ve ever run in. And, of course, I was happy to beat Chris.
Stats for the full run:
The Course
Swim: The swim course has a ton of potential. The beach is perfect for staging a triathlon, and on a calm day I think this could be on par with the Lake Placid swim course. Of course, we didn’t get that, and having the swim cut short sucks, even if the race organizers had no other choice. I would be interested to do this swim again on a nice day. (Score: 6/10)
Bike: The road conditions for this course were as good as I’ve ever had in a triathlon. The road was smooth and fast and had very few potholes or road furniture. And the full road closures helped supported safer racing with less drafting. The conditions on the day were a unique challenge, but one that will provide a lifetime of stories. The biggest drawback of the bike course is that it’s just not that pretty. Lots of highway road with trees on either side. If you’re looking for a fast, safe course, though, this is probably as good as it gets. (Score: 7/10)
Run: Again, on a good day, the run course would have been wonderful. There were lots of unique ecosystems to look at, and the beach itself was visible for most of the run. Unfortunately pouring rain meant that much of the run course was covered in deeper and deeper puddles. By the time I finished, there were sections that were completely under water — I can only imagine what it was like 8 hours into the race. The tailwind/headwind made for an interesting experience that I hope to never repeat. (Score: 7/10)
Logistics: Apparently the race director for this race is a local legend, and I can understand why. Communication and organization for the race were excellent throughout. There were hundreds of volunteers and the aid stations were run very well. My only complaint was that, at the start of the day, the local police did not handle traffic well. This meant that I had less time to set up, and I saw many athletes that missed the 7 am swim start altogether (Score: 9/10)
Overall Score: 29/40
My Race
Swim: This was the most I ever trained for a triathlon swim, and I think I was ready to do some real damage if we had been allowed to swim the full distance. As it was, I finished in the top 4% of swimmers for the day and had my fastest swim pace ever. (Score: 8/10)
Bike: Despite a strong start, my bike was lackluster again. I averaged 13 watts less than I wanted to, which probably cost me 4–5 minutes of time, and I got passed by over 50 athletes. If I want to move up towards the top of my age group, it’s clear that I need to (1) spend more time on the bike, doing harder workouts (2) focus more on holding my goal power, (3) get the outfit right on the day so that I’m able to comfortably pedal. (Score: 6/10)
Run: Easily my best leg of the day. I was able to pass back more people than had passed me on the bike. I paced well through a horrible headwind. And I finished the race stronger than I have ever done before. (Score: 9/10)
Execution: A couple of major mental lapses cost me. First, not getting the sleeves and gloves on hurt me on the bike. Second, forgetting my race belt cost me almost two minutes on the run. It’s worth pointing out that neither of things would have likely happened in different weather, but that’s not an excuse. (Score: 6/10)
Overall Score: 29/40
Pre Race
This was the most nerve wracking build-up that I’ve experienced. A week out from the race the weather forecasts began to look very grim. A tropical storm off the East Coast was threatening to dump 2–3 inches of rain on race day and bring 20–30 mph winds with 40 mph gusts. I tend to get very cold on the bike and the thought of a 56 mile ride in those conditions had me extremely nervous. I was also worried that they would cancel the swim and that the dozens of hours of swim training I had done in the past four months would have been a complete waste.
I obsessively tracked the forecasts for Saturday and tried visualizing the race with and without the swim. The night before the race I had a dream that the race went off as normal but was quickly flooded, leading to mass panic. I woke up Saturday morning to good news: while there would be rain and winds, it wouldn’t be quite as bad as predicted.
Swim
After a race morning traffic jam, my brother Chris and I arrived to transition about 6:30, which gave me 30 minutes to get everything set up and make the half-mile walk over to the swim start. This was a chaotic rush, and I showed up to the swim start as they were finishing up the National Anthem. This was when I learned that the swim had been shortened from 1900 meters to 750 meters. Although the conditions were better than expected, the water was choppy and the visibility was low. I think the front of the pack would have been fine, but this was probably the right choice for the weaker swimmers.
The start of the swim was shallow, so I was able to run for the first 50 yards or so. After that I started swimming and found the feet of someone that seemed to be swimming the right pace. I was generally able to swim a clean line, but I was surrounded by people that were struggling. At one point I was surrounded by someone doing breast stroke and another person doing backstroke.
Because the swim was short, I was able to push the pace and was swimming much closer to my threshold pace than I would have on the full 1900 meter distance.
I struggled a bit with visibility — my goggles are old and easily fog up, and I only have tinted lenses. But the buoys were gigantic and there were enough people in the water that I never got far off course. Heading back to shore, there was a giant obelisk that was perfectly aligned with the swim exit, so I was able to use that for sighting.
Overall, I performed well on the swim. My average pace was significantly faster than I’ve ever done a HIM swim, although this was aided by the short distance and the run start. I do wish that we had a full swim, so that I could have seen what I was capable of at that distance (and so that I could have gotten a proper PR for the whole race), but I understand the decision.
I was able to put over two minutes into Chris, which was good news heading into my weakest leg.
Stats for the swim:
- Average pace: 1:22/100 yards
- TSS: 26
- Tom: 12:55 (101/2,496)
- Chris: 15:01 (220/2,496)
Although the rain was lighter than expected, the wind wasn’t. For the entire bike ride, we were dealing with 20+ mph winds coming from the North. This meant that the first and third legs of the double out-and-back would be into the wind.
The good news is that the road conditions on the course were very good and I was feeling very strong for the first 15 miles of the ride. I was able to hold 190 watts for the first 20 minutes of the ride as I worked to warm up (in both senses of the word). I felt very comfortable in aero position and was able to stay on the aerobars for 99% of the day, which was a big improvement over previous races.
In training, 190 watts on a flat road would have put me at about 22 mph, but with the headwind, I was struggling to hit 20 mph. The good news is that when I turned around, things got significantly faster. I pulled back slightly on the effort (180 watts) but averaged 24 mph coming back.
Bike stats (Pink = watts, Red = HR, Green = mph)
On the second loop, two things happened. First it started to get windier and rainier. This meant that I got much colder while riding into the wind got harder. The cold really got into my head. I wasn’t shivering, but I wasn’t able to focus as much as holding my power targets. I had planned to wear sleeves and gloves, but I struggled to get them on in transition and so I ended up doing the whole ride in a sleeveless tri suit. Going forward, I would take the time to get the sleeves and gloves on, as I think my coldness ended up costing me a couple of minutes.
The second half of the ride was also more crowded as we began to lap athletes that were still on the first lap of the race. Thankfully we had 2–3 full lanes of closed road to work with, as sometimes all three lanes were being used to make multiple passes.
After Atlantic City, I vowed to push harder on flat bike courses, having felt like I left some time on the table in that race. However, this didn’t happen at Jones Beach. I only averaged 177 watts for the ride, and my average heart rate was 143. I should have been able to hold 190 watts and an average heart rate of about 150. I hope that in future races with better weather I can focus more on holding onto my target power.
One final note, as I mentioned earlier I did raise my aerobars in this race, and I do think that cost me slightly in terms of speed:power. However, I think it was probably worth it given that I was able to stay in the bars for the entire race with almost no back pain.
As for the race with Chris, I put another three minutes into him on the ride. He would need a miracle on the run to pull back.
Stats for the full ride:
- Speed: 21.4 mph
- Average power: 177 watts (190 goal)
- Normalized power: 182 watts (190 goal)
- Average cadence: 85
- Average heart rate: 143
- TSS: 150
- Tom: 2:37:33 (169/2,496)
- Chris: 2:40:29 (257/2,496)
I made the biggest mistake of the day in my transition from bike to run. During my rushed setup earlier that day I put my race belt into my transition bag, afraid that it would fly away in the wind. In the process of putting on my running shoes, I forgot to put on the race belt and ran about 200 yards from transition to the run start. When I got there, the race officials told me that I couldn’t start my run without it, so I ended up wasting 1–2 minutes running back to get my race belt.
This had me rattled, but I started to feel very fast as soon as I got on the race course. I quickly realized that this was due to a massive tailwind at our backs that was going to turn into a massive headwind as soon as we turned around. I enjoyed it while I could and ran the first four miles at 6:55 pace with a relatively low HR of 155.
And then I turned around. It was bad. My pace dropped by about 35 seconds per mile and my heart rate started to climb. I did my best to tuck in behind some other runners and draft but I was passing almost everyone and didn’t get much of a chance to draft.
At this point I had my favorite experience of the race. I noticed that the third place woman was in front of me and went to go draft off her for a bit. She was going slower than I wanted, though, so I decided to pass and keep going. But she was able to go with me and proceeded to run with me for the next 3–4 miles. Over that time, we managed to pass both the second and first place females. What a thrill! I almost felt like I was racing for the win. At some point, the woman that had been running with me dropped her pace, but I learned later that she ended up winning the race.
For the entire run, I was staying within myself. I also managed to avoid taking any caffeinated gels until mile 7. This let me finish strong. For the first time ever in a 70.3 distance race, I accelerated in the last two miles. I was able to pass about 5 men and got into a foot race in the final 100 yards that I was able to win. I finished the last two miles at 7:00 min/mile pace which was about 30 seconds faster than I had been running into the wind.
Overall, this was my best 70.3 run by far, and it felt really good to finish so strong, especially given the conditions. The course itself was beautiful, and on a nice day it would have made for a great run. As it was, I was happy to perform well in some of the worst conditions I’ve ever run in. And, of course, I was happy to beat Chris.
Stats for the full run:
- Pace: 7:08/mile
- Average heart rate: 159
- TSS: 136
- Tom: 1:34:44 (111/2,496)
- Chris: 1:42:15 (220/2,496)
- Tom: 4:32:19 (111/2,496)
- Chris: 4:46:31 (220/2,496)
The Course
Swim: The swim course has a ton of potential. The beach is perfect for staging a triathlon, and on a calm day I think this could be on par with the Lake Placid swim course. Of course, we didn’t get that, and having the swim cut short sucks, even if the race organizers had no other choice. I would be interested to do this swim again on a nice day. (Score: 6/10)
Bike: The road conditions for this course were as good as I’ve ever had in a triathlon. The road was smooth and fast and had very few potholes or road furniture. And the full road closures helped supported safer racing with less drafting. The conditions on the day were a unique challenge, but one that will provide a lifetime of stories. The biggest drawback of the bike course is that it’s just not that pretty. Lots of highway road with trees on either side. If you’re looking for a fast, safe course, though, this is probably as good as it gets. (Score: 7/10)
Run: Again, on a good day, the run course would have been wonderful. There were lots of unique ecosystems to look at, and the beach itself was visible for most of the run. Unfortunately pouring rain meant that much of the run course was covered in deeper and deeper puddles. By the time I finished, there were sections that were completely under water — I can only imagine what it was like 8 hours into the race. The tailwind/headwind made for an interesting experience that I hope to never repeat. (Score: 7/10)
Logistics: Apparently the race director for this race is a local legend, and I can understand why. Communication and organization for the race were excellent throughout. There were hundreds of volunteers and the aid stations were run very well. My only complaint was that, at the start of the day, the local police did not handle traffic well. This meant that I had less time to set up, and I saw many athletes that missed the 7 am swim start altogether (Score: 9/10)
Overall Score: 29/40
My Race
Swim: This was the most I ever trained for a triathlon swim, and I think I was ready to do some real damage if we had been allowed to swim the full distance. As it was, I finished in the top 4% of swimmers for the day and had my fastest swim pace ever. (Score: 8/10)
Bike: Despite a strong start, my bike was lackluster again. I averaged 13 watts less than I wanted to, which probably cost me 4–5 minutes of time, and I got passed by over 50 athletes. If I want to move up towards the top of my age group, it’s clear that I need to (1) spend more time on the bike, doing harder workouts (2) focus more on holding my goal power, (3) get the outfit right on the day so that I’m able to comfortably pedal. (Score: 6/10)
Run: Easily my best leg of the day. I was able to pass back more people than had passed me on the bike. I paced well through a horrible headwind. And I finished the race stronger than I have ever done before. (Score: 9/10)
Execution: A couple of major mental lapses cost me. First, not getting the sleeves and gloves on hurt me on the bike. Second, forgetting my race belt cost me almost two minutes on the run. It’s worth pointing out that neither of things would have likely happened in different weather, but that’s not an excuse. (Score: 6/10)
Overall Score: 29/40