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Race Report: NYC Tri

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
So my first tri was this past Sunday, and overall it went pretty well.

My swim wasn't the best. After getting jostled at the start and swallowing a generous amount of Hudson water (which was surprisingly not gross!!), I just had a really hard time getting in the groove. Plus, 1500m swim looks REALLY FAR when you're going point to point (hehe, who knew? ;) ), and seeing the finish barge as a tiny speck in the distance when I was already winded kind of messed with my head. Oh well. Thanks to the current I still made it out of the water in 28 minutes. The winning guy did the swim in TWELVE MINUTES. Unreal.

My bike went pretty much as I expected, and the course was suuuuuper fun and fast. It was an out-and-back on a closed-to-traffic West Side Highway, with lots of rolling hills. I easily went faster on my bike on Sunday than I've ever biked before -- it's hard to find places around here where you can really let it rip, with traffic and pedestrians in the park and everything. Just a really really fun ride, which I managed in 1:38.

My run was ok. I wasn't expecting anything great here given that running is my weakest of the 3, and I was pretty exhausted going into it. Plus the run was just through the loop in the park, so there wasn't the "oh fun I'm on a closed road!!!" novelty factor. Thankfully the course was a little short -- 6.12 miles according to my GPS, counting 1 or 2 minutes before the course running out of transition -- and I finished in 1:04.

Overall I was happy with how I did -- 3:17 total. Nothing spectacular, but a pretty solid first effort, I think. Also, lots of room for improvement!! :smile: I will definitely being doing more tris, and I will definitely be doing this race again. It was a great course and I love NYC, so it's kind of a no brainer.

Some pics:
One of the two transition areas:
3767415587_0d42b3f0bc.jpg

There were just over 4000 athletes this year.

Looking north up the swim course towards the GW bridge before there were any swimmers in it:
3767324555_52a380a8eb.jpg


My friend and I showing off our tri numbers post-race:
3767390555_78ab01d6fa.jpg

Note the Ski Diva visor! ;)

The 3 of us at the bar afterwards:
3768236958_ddf7912ac8.jpg


If you're interested, here's the full set of pics my friend's boyfriend took:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckenrpe/sets/72157621755405477/
And here are the photos of me from the race photographers:
https://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=47511&BIB=1369
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for posting about this, Rachel! I was wondering how you did!

I think that swimming in the Hudson takes a considerable amount of bravery. And biking on a closed West Side Highway sounds like a blast!

Way to go, Rachel! :thumbsup:
 

itri

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Awesome, Rachel! :thumbsup: What a great race, especially for your first one. I'm a little in awe of the swim, but then again I've never gotten to swim with a current, so who knows how fast I might go?! :p And 4000?!? Holy moly, that's a lot of people! And here I thought that Danskin my first year (with around 2600) was huge!

I totally think you should come out here and do a race with the Colorado Divas! :becky:
 

Shannon D

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yay Rachel!!! That is awesome!! When I flew into Newark on Sunday afternoon I gazed out at the Hudson and thought of you.

I second itri's comment. Skiing with you is fun, so doing a tri with you would probably be fun too!!
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
I'm a little in awe of the swim, but then again I've never gotten to swim with a current, so who knows how fast I might go?! :p

Seriously, the current was insane. The way the swim start works is everyone jumps off a temporary dock and you hold a rope until they blow the whistle for your wave. Here's a pic I found from last year:
1034890991_bec64a2d19.jpg


When you're in the water holding the rope, your legs are literally getting pulled forward almost up to waist level by the current. Last year one of the pros dove off the dock and was going to swim back as a quick warm up, and he couldn't make it -- he had to get kayak'ed back to the start. If I ever do an Olympic distance race not in the Hudson, I will need to do *way* more swim prep.

I totally think you should come out here and do a race with the Colorado Divas! :becky:

I totally think you guys should come out here and do NYC! :becky:

When I flew into Newark on Sunday afternoon I gazed out at the Hudson and thought of you.

Oh, cool, I didn't know you were going to be out this way. PM me if you're still around and have time for a drink.
 

Slidergirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Way to go, Rachel! You're a braver woman than I for getting in the Hudson. I know it's MUCH cleaner than it used to be, but that current is huge! It must be why all those criminals we see on TV and in the movies dump the bodies in there - the current takes them far, far away :fear:
 

Robyn

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Congratulations Rachel! I'm with itri though, so jealous of swimming with a current!
 

SnowHot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Rachel, I am always amazed at the incredible women I'm surrounded by on this forum. You are most definitely among those I'd consider inspirational!
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Now with GPS data! I thought you ladies out west might get a kick out of what counts as a hilly ride over here. :smile: Check out the "Elevation" tab under the map and prepared to be inspired and amazed by climbs of UP TO 200 FEET:
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/10905448

That's how we roll in NYC. Hardcore. ;)
 

itri

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
LOL, Rachel. I'll link you the map for Saturday's race when I'm done...no BIG hills, but lots and lots of rollers! :becky:
 

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