or, NJ State Race Report
Somehow, going into this race I tried to pretend like the oppressive heat we've been having would not effect my day. I thought I could just gut it out and be fine and have a great race. And to some extend I did, I finished in one healthy piece, which makes a race great - but the heat definitely took its toll. I pretty much switched from go go go race mode to survival mode when I felt the first bead of sweat drip down my bike as I walked to the porta potty.
Of course, when I stepped into the water for my warm up and realized that the water was maybe warmer than the air, survival mode took on a whole knew meaning. The water was 85 degrees and it kind of made me gag - it was like swimming in pee (not that I've ever swam in pee, but you know). You just knew that there was some nasty stuff growing in there and you weren't even afforded a wet suit for protection!
Now that we've established that both air and water were HOT ...
SWIM
The only thing I regret about this race is my swim position. This race has had some bad experiences with weak swimmers so the RD was seemingly trying his hardest to discourage people from even getting in the water (I do see his point, but it was extreme to the point that I thought about bagging the swim and I'm a good swimmer) - in light of this and the fact that it was an in water start, I thought that to the outside and a bit back from the first buoy was a great place for me - right up until with barely 30 seconds left I realized that there were hardly any people behind me. I tried to reposition a bit but when the gun went off I had ALOT and I mean ALOT of breast strokers to get through and while I've become more aggressive with my own swimming and less afraid of getting man handled, I refuse to be the man handler. So it was slow going at first but I eventually found clear water and then went for it - I think that in the end my fear of what was growing in the water and the awful ear (or worse) infection I could get from it counter acted my fear of spontaneously combusting because of the heat! I was :20 seconds slower but given my starting position, I'm not complaining.
Ts
I won't bore you with details, but both Ts were faster than last year and both were 2:27. What are the odds??
BIKE
I somehow failed to notice that the one loop bike course was made into two - I noticed before the race, thankfully, but not say before I signed up. All of the turning took away any advantage I may gain from a flat course. I'm a wimp, I slow down when I turn, its ok. Other the turning (and the head wind, I didn't like that either and if I'm going to complain I might as well complain) the bike felt good. My pace was .1 faster than last year but my time was 8 minutes slower?? So apparently they made the course longer in addition to more technical. Good to know.
RUN
Did I mention it was hot? And they ran out of cold towels at the cold towel stop and I thought about re-using a used cold towel (no worries, I didn't)? I was glad that I had the experience of that crazy hot half marathon earlier this May because I knew that if I just went at my pace I'd be fine and the miles would tick off. What was my pace you ask? Well, there were three options: walking, running and not moving. There was only one pace that I could run and it was SLOW but it was running and it got me to the finish even if it took 7 minutes longer than last year.
In the end, the race took 15 minutes longer than the year before but I left knowing I did the best I could with what I was given and knowing that the elusive sub 3 hour oly is still out there somewhere. I also left thinking that with the change in this race course, I might be done with NJ state because ... its just not that pretty.
Between Pat G. being over my brother's wedding weekend and being maybe done with NJ state next year could be a whole new adventure! But first, some epic training stories and epic shopping at lulu (yikes!) and then ... Timber ... man!
Stay cool out there kids ...
