As I ran off the beach towards T1, I grabbed a quick cup of water. I was desperate to get the taste of ocean water out of my mouth. There were volunteers ready to hose the sand off your feet, but I would have NONE of that. I was focused on T1 and nothing else.
I ripped my swim gear off and threw it down. The idea of having a neat, well organized transition area was not going to happen today. Plus, my transition area was tiny and everyone was throwing stuff around, so I decided to join in the fun.
In an attempt to keep my bicycle seat dry, Tom secured a plastic bag over it. I snapped my helmet on and struggled to get my soggy feet into my soggy socks. I slipped my wet cycling shoes on and took off running for the transition exit. As I was ready to get on my bike I realized I had forgotten to remove the plastic bag from my seat. Idiot! What to do, what to do??? Screw it! I got on my bike and didn't give the wet bag a second thought. It was what it was.
The bike course was 11 miles, out and back. The roads were open to traffic, so you had to remain vigilant of what was going on around you. And let me tell you, there were a lot of women completely unaware of where they were on the road at any given moment. One woman in particular was cycling in front of me at a decent pace. She stayed to the left the entire time, as if her decent pace justified her to hog the left side of the road. Finally, I seized my opportunity, peddled as fast as I could and got around her. She seemed somewhat surprised that anyone would want to pass her. From that point on I made sure to yell "on your left" as loudly as possible at every single cyclist hogging the left side of the road. I no longer cared if someone thought I was being obnoxious. Hogging the left side of the road and refusing to move over IS obnoxious!!!
I passed a decent amount of people on the bike, so I had a renewed sense of hope that maybe I could finish in top 10 for my age group. It started raining harder again and it felt as if I was being pelted with tiny pebbles. I noticed a lot of cyclists getting flat tires on the course as well. I don't know why there were so many flats, but I noticed several along the route (and they didn't look like they took the course on how to change a flat tire). Jersey Girl Triathlon did have 2 bike mechanics on the road, however you had to wait your turn for help. Every now and then a side wind would randomly kick up and make you feel as if you were being pushed off your bike from the side. It took me by surprise until another cyclist said "nice side wind", so I knew it wasn't my imagination.
I was happy when I saw the Ocean Place Hotel in the distance. This was where the bicycle phase ended. Several race directors were standing in the street yelling at the cyclists to slow down and dismount carefully. As I was dismounting my bike, another cyclist came flying up behind me and hit her bike into the back of my legs. We both nearly fell down. She threw out some lame apology and hurried into transition. I was so pissed considering the race director was screaming at her to slow down.
Back in transition I racked my bike and threw my helmet aside. I slipped my running sneakers on (I leave them pre-tied), grabbed my baseball cap and race belt. I was out of T2 as quickly as possible. It was time to run!
RUN:
It was a 3 mile out and back run. I didn't wear my running watch so I had absolutely no idea how fast or slow I was going. I just ran at a pace that I could handle, huffing and puffing along the way. I think my huffing and puffing scared a few of the ladies on the course, but at least they moved over and let me go by. They probably thought I was going to have a heart attack. This was my last chance to make up for any lost time, especially the swim.
The run felt tough, but running after swimming and biking always feels tough. I tried to keep myself upright as much as possible because it makes breathing so much easier. Since I wasn't listening to music, I was able to hear (and control) my breathing rhythm. I am a firm believer of controlled breathing, especially while racing.
I passed a lot of women during the run. I kept a steady but tough pace throughout the entire course. A massive crowd was gathered near the finish line. I could hear cheering and chanting off in the distance. "500 yards to go" someone yelled out to me. "Looking strong" someone else commented. Towards the end, I passed one more competitor in my age group.
I picked up my pace as I approached the finish line, knowing that I had done the best that I could. I high fived the line of cheerleader as I approached the finish line. The race was done and I was thrilled to receive my finisher medal. My first triathlon finisher medal!
I wasn't immediately sure what my finish time was or how well I had done. Obviously, I would need to wait for the official results to find out. Results were posted pretty quickly.
Tom and I hung around and chatted with some friends and even made new friends. The Jersey Girl Triathlon was absolutely WONDERFUL!!! It really was a beginner friendly triathlon and the race organizers did a fantastic job coordinating everything. The cheering squad was the BEST and they motivated each of us to the very end!
WHY I BELIEVE THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON:
Jersey Girl was the first triathlon I signed up for in early January. I chose this race because everyone who experienced it in the past promised me that it was a beginner friendly race and that I would have a positive experience, with a lot of female friendly support. It was all that and more!
Had I known in advance that I would be dealing with such difficult surf, swim and bicycling conditions, I would have NEVER signed up for this race! I would have never believed I would be capable of handling those waves, especially as a beginner triathlete.
But race day is race day and conditions are what conditions are. You have to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws your way and cry on the inside...as Coach Tom says. And let me tell you that as a beginner triathlete, there were some challenging conditions to contend with. Having said that, I am SO GRATEFUL to have experienced every challenge that day. I overcame something much, much bigger than the ocean at the Jersey Girl Triathlon 2014!
My total finish time was 1:14:32
Swim 300 yards: 8:33
T1: 3:15
Bike 11 Miles: 39:13
T2: 1:27
3 Mile Run: 22:32
10th place finish for my age group (45-49) out of 136 competitors
and 71 out of 886 total Jersey Girl competitors
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