After racing Ironman 70.3 Steelhead just two weeks ago and taking FIVE days off the bike, I needed an event to help jump start my next training block for the IRONMAN World Championships on October 8. Since coming back to NYC, I was able to knock out two 108-mile training rides and load up on a respectable amount of training stress. And then on Wednesday, Andrew and I spoke about the upcoming Tobay Triathlon and how much fun we had back in 2014 when we both raced and won our respective age groups. On Thursday, I rode the Gran Fondo New Jersey course, covering 8,000 feet of climbing over 108-miles. By Friday afternoon, I had decided to give the Tobay triathlon another go around and signed up on Saturday afternoon.

Race Day – Sunday, August 28, 2016

I arrived at Oyster Bay around 6am. The race didn’t start until 7:30, so I had plenty of time to get my transition area set up, body-marked, and warmed up. By 6:30, I was all set so I did a quick 2-mile jog around the Main Street area; and of course, a post run selfie!

Swim: 800m, Actual: ~1100m

The swim course, historically, has been either very long or very short. The course this time around was about 300 meters longer than advertised. No big deal – racers get their money’s worth and I got more time to thrash around in my Zone3 Vanquish wetsuit. I exited the water between 16-17 minutes and since this year’s race used disposable timing chips, your time would not be recorded if you covered the timing chip with your wetsuit. Not wanting to lose my ankle timing chip, I covered it with my wetsuit. Would you cover the timing chip?

Bike: 15km

If I had to estimate, I was probably between 15th to 20th-place entering and exiting transition. I quickly boarded my CEEPO Viper and went to town on my legs, pedaling as hard as I could manage. The best part of the bike course was the approach and climb up Moore’s hill where I could feel the fatigue of this week’s [23-hour] training catching up to me. Between 10-11km of the bike, I had caught Brendan Offer – his Felt IA is easy to recognize. I made the pass on a slight incline and when I eased off at the crest of the hill, Brendan zipped right by me. I kept my distance and knowing that the last portion of the bike course was a bit bumpy, I let Brendan go ahead so I could best avoid the potholes. 24:10, race-best bike split.

Run: 5km

As I dismounted my bike, Andrew spotted me and let me know that I was in 4th-position. I racked my bike and got my run gear on, and then forgot where the run exit was…ha!

I could see Brendan pretty much the entire time on the run as he was only 30-40 seconds ahead. As much I would love to reel him in, our run speed are very comparable. Luckily, we both passed one guy along the run course, putting me in 3rd position. At the halfway turnaround near Planting Fields, Tom’s lead was about 3 minutes on me, with Brendan about 30 seconds ahead.

After the turn, it was mostly downhill towards the finishing-line. I don’t remember if I sprinted towards the finishing-line, but I was able to clock an 18:11 run-split; good enough to hang onto 3rd place overall.

Total Time: 60 minutes 37 seconds

Thank you Runner’s Edge, Jose Lopez, Long Island Tri Club and GLIRC for a fun racing experience. This race was exactly what I needed to boost my morale to keep up my IRONMAN training. Congrats to all the finishers!

Next race will be TOUGHMAN Championships in Harriman State Park, NY.