I wrapped up my season last week at the NY Triathlon. I was shooting for a top 10 finish in the 30-34 AG and hoping to go under 2:15. I had done a lot of amount of racing over the previous 6 weeks, including Eagleman, so I wasn’t really sure of my form coming into the race. My swim and run felt fine in training, but my power on the bike was down. I hoped that I’d rebound during a 5 day taper and put down one more reasonable bike performance.
The race started badly. The current was very strong and I couldn’t position myself comfortably behind the rope to hold us back before the start. My heart rate started racing and my arms were pumping. Not the ideal way to start a race. Once the horn went off, I couldn’t get a good position in the crowd and I couldn’t get a rhythm. Still, the current was forgiving and I was able to get out of the water in 19 minutes. I was about a minute slower than I wanted, but still reasonable.
Onto the bike. From the get go, I knew it wasn’t going to be a great day in the saddle. My legs just didn’t have any spring and I felt like I was pedaling in squares. The only positive was that I felt comfortable staying in the aero position on the hills. No need to stand on the pedals or feel tempted to ride out on the bullhorns.
T2 was where things got interesting. I thought if I put together a good run, I thought I still had a shot at top 10. I pulled my feet out of my shoes with about ¼ of a mile to go. Right before the line, I swung my leg around and positioned myself for a running dismount. Hopped off and started to run into transition. However, as I crossed the dismount line, one of my dangling bike shoes caught a ripple in the mat laid down in the transition area. My bike jumped on me and fell over. As I picked it up, someone said, “Hey watch out for your toe…” I looked down and saw a pretty bad cut on my foot and a good amount of blood. My bioke must’ve caught my foot on the way down. Great.
No time to worry, though. HTFU and go catch some more people on the run. Despite a terrible bike, I felt good on the run. My foot hurt but the pain was manageable. I could see blood soaking through my sneaker which I’ll admit was disconcerting. Central Park is my backyard so I knew how to pace myself up and down the hills.
Finished strong – 2:18. Four minutes better than last year. Slower than my goal – the bike cost me – but I thought there was still a shot that my time was good enough for top 10 (I know NY doesn’t have a very strong AG field). After crossing the line, I went straight to the med tent to have them look at my foot. The race doc took one look at it and said, “You’re going to the hospital, I can see the tendon.” Next thing I know I’m on a gurney and transported to the ER via ambulance (no flashing lights, much to my disappointment). About six doctors looked at me. Everytime I told them what happened, they’d shake their heads and say, “You ran a 10K with your foot like that?” After lots of waiting and doctors discussing amongst themselves, I finally got my foot stitched up. Seventeen stitches in all and I’m on for now crutches. Fortunately, the tendon suffered only surface damage. Got home and was disappointed to learn that I missed top 10 in my AG, coming in 14th. I did finish 6th on the run – not bad since I did it on a foot that needed 17 stitches! I was also happy to see that I had some of the best transition times (T1 & T2) in the race despite my accident. I find out tomorrow if I’ll need a skin graft. Perhaps a little disappointed about missing top 10, but I’m happy I finished the race despite the cut and even had a decent time. Now I can’t wait to get back to training so I can make sure that I go top 10 next year.
Foot in the ER before the stitches