What did I do last weekend? Well, let’s start off with Friday. My training partner drove for over 90 minutes so that we could do a track workout together…talk about dedication! We set ourselves up for 10 repeats of 1km (2.5 laps). Did we finish them all? Of course…having someone to train with not only motivates you but it keeps you accountable for your end of the bargain. Thanks for pushing me along Tim!
On Saturday, I set out to Newark, New Jersey for the Branchbrook Park Spring series. This included two back to back, 45-minute bike races, where we circle the 2 mile loop inside the park, then finish as fast as we can. The first race was going well, right until a couple of guys went down in front of me, causing me to DNF. I quickly made my way back to the car and prepped for the second race. Things went a little better the second time around, where I managed to stay up front; and more importantly, upright. With two laps to go in the second race, I worked with 3-4 other guys to push the pace up front. I knew better than to look back so by the time we lined up for the sprint, I picked the outside and sprinted to finish 9th out of 52.
In a way, staying away from crashes, and finishing is a victory in itself. And surprisingly, 9th place also earns me 1 USA Cycling upgrade point. Woohoo!
Sunday’s event was the New York Triathlon’s 31st Annual Central Park duathlon – 2.2 run, 13 mile bike, 2.2 run. Here’s a little something you probably didn’t know – before Sunday, I had never participated in a duathlon!
Check-in and transition setup was smooth. Since it was 25 degrees out, I tried to keep my warmup clothes on as long as possible. At 7:30, we started. The field bursted out super fast, and within the first 800 meters, I was probably in 10th position. After the turn around at mile 1.1, I had made up some ground. I went into T1 in either 5th or 6th position, and left T1 in 4th. On the bike, I had trouble getting my feet into my shoes after mounting the bike – I guess I should have practiced my transition…
The 2-loop, 13-mile bike course in Central Park was challenging, especially in the dense cold air. I was able to pass one person about 3 miles in, then rode solo until the approach into T2. As I was dismounting, my friend Pawel blasts right by me and enters T2 right before me. I left transition before Pawel and knew that I had a couple of guys very close behind, so the closing 2.2 miles were crucial. At the turn around, I saw 3-4 guys within 10-15 seconds behind, but luckily, I was able to hold onto 3rd place overall with a time of 1:02:36. The two other guys in front were way ahead, both of which broke the hour mark.
I was able to walk away with 3 consecutive days of training and racing!
Thanks for the memories!
See you next week!