1st AG and 2nd OA at the Lake George Triathlon

and PR on the Olympic distance with a 2'04'22!

What a terrific race, which was conveniently scheduled on Saturday, thanks to the half ironman distance that was organized on Sunday. Carsten, Nicole and I stayed at the camping ground right by the transition area. We left on Friday night after work and got up there at around 11pm, leaving us in the dark to set up our tents. The advantage is that we were right by the transition area, and it was cheap!

Cloudy / rainy morning after a rainy and stormy night! The transition was a bit wet. I liked it already. It should be a fun race!

And indeed, it was! The swim was great. I had my best performance so far with 24ish min.  I can do better and will put more time in the water this winter to try to bring my time down, but for now, I'm happy with it! One step at the time!

I entered T1 in good form but without a watch as it died on me. 

At least I had my computer to help me with my wattage and to see my time spent on the bike! Rolling hills, fast sections in a 75 degree weather (and prob 90% humidity!), I felt strong and easy on the bike, covering the 25 miles in 1 hour sharp, and averaging 256 watts. Thanks David for letting me use your Flos wheels, a 90 mil deep rim in the back and 50 mil deep rim in the front made for a very fast bike.

The run was 2 loops with some serious climbs right off T2 - I had no clue how fast I was running and decided to go almost all out (90%) on the flats and downhills, and decided to hold back (75%) on the climbs. I had breathing cramps right off T2, and decided to slow down. I picked up the pace after a few minutes, and got back into the rythm fairly quickly. I had 1 guy as my main target and kept him as such until 300 yards to the finish where I passed him and picked up my pace again to make sure that he wouldn't tag along. 2'04'22, 1st AG and 2nd OA, only 1+min short of taking the overall, but knowing that the winner swam in 18 minutes, I know that with more practice I will get there!

We'll be riding on these beautiful roads tomorrow! Great weekend so far! I'll be back next year!

1st AG and 2nd OA at the 24th Annual West Point Triathlon

Back to West Point after last year's fun race, I'm looking forward to competing again here and improve my overall time...

And I wrapped up the 800m swim, 22km bike ride, and 5k run in 1hr08min, 6 minutes faster than last year! And yes, I got crushed by a pro triathlete who put me 5 min behind to take the W.

The race, as you can imagine, is incredibly well organized, and always gives you the chill when you see the wounded veterans lining up at the start line. This year people started applauding and cheering on a man who "jumped" in the water without arms nor legs. He only had a finn to help him go forward...what a humbling experience!

This year's swim was wetsuit legal, making it a much faster and comfortable swim overall. As I run into T1 to get to my bike, I couldn't remember where it was racked! I lost 30 seconds there trying to find it, but off I was onto the bike leg.

The rolling hills are an advantage for me I think. I love this bike course and did the 22 km in 35 minutes, granting me the fastest bike split prize! I take it!

The run is awesome! hilly but covered by the trees for the most part! I managed to get a strong finish and sprinted the last 200 yards or so!

I'll surely come back with Sarah, Tony, Wael, Ashling and hopefully Mariesa in 2014 to challenge the OA win

and of course, great time at Ashling's parents with some delicious bbq and mac 'nd cheese after the race!

NYC triathlon: 30th OA and 15th Elite athlete

2:05:17....PR on the Olympic distance!

I couldn't have asked more on this race after the heavy crash I suffered on the bike on Thursday, July 11th (3 days before the race)

It was great to start the race at 6:10 and take advantage of the strong current and the open bike course! 

The swim was fast, I believe 14' to swim the 0.93 miles.

I expected more than the 1:05 on the bike, but whitout race wheels and still being shaken up by the crash, I was still happy to partake in the race (I still had headaches the night before the race!) 

The run is never easy in Central Park, but always awesome! I managed to run 6 minutes faster than last year, and seeing the crowd on 72nd street cheer you on gave me te goosebumps and the extra boost of energy to rally the finish line!

Now I cannot wait to be one of them and cheer on my gf @mariesacarrow for her first NYC tri and first ever Olympic distance event! Rendezvous on August 3rd, 2014, NYC! 

1st OA at the Patanella's Doc & Sok sprint Triathlon

FIRST OVERALL WIN!

I didn't expect it to happen today as I am recovering from a cold (yes, in June!), and given the field, I thought I could probably get in Top 5, but the race proved me wrong...in a good way!

Time: 54'44

The swim was hard. I quickly burned myself out trying to keep up with Jesse. I had to slow down, did some breast strokes, and finished it completely exhausted.
But the hilly bike course saved me and helped me get back into the rythm and pace of the race. I started passing more and more athletes and felt stronger. I got into T2 in 3rd position, with Jamie right in front of me.
I knew his run was going to be affected by an injury he hasn't been able to get rid of, so I paced my run off of his, and to my surprise, I saw Jessee not too far ahead. I passed Jamie after 3/4 of a mile, and I knew the U turn would help me gauge Jesse's overall condition. As we approached the U-turn, I was only 50 yards behind, and felt like he probably wouldn't be able to push much harder today. I caught up with him in the downhill section and as I pushed harder as soon as I passed him and maintained the pace for a mile. I maintained pressure on the last climb before the finish line and cross the finish line in first position!

Great surprise, great feeling to finish first! I hope that will lead to other successes either this season or next year!

13th AG and 143rd OA at Eagleman 70.3

My first Ironman-organized 70.3 in the books, and my 3rd of the year (and of my "career"!)

Time: 4:40:25

I suffered a great deal on the run after having a good but slow swim and a rather good bike leg...

I'm excited to have had the chance to measure myself against a strong field and looking forward to redeem myself next year! 

Race report to be posted shortly! 

1st AG and 4th OA at the Black Bear Triathlon-Half

I'm only 2 weeks until Eagleman, the race I have been training for the past 8 months! My preparation involved 1 open half marathon (PR at 1'22'53 - 20th overall) in Queens, NY, and 2 half ironman!

My first half ironman was in Bass River State Park on May 5th - the Bassman race - there I finished 7th overall and won my age group. It took me 4'26'48 to complete 1.2MS, 56MB, and 13.1MR! Very stoked about this result as it came as a surprise that I could race that fast...on a pancake flat course, though! 

My second Half Iron was in PA - the black Bear half ironman - despite the hilly course (bike and run) and inclement weather, I came out of T2 (bike to run) in 1st place, and managed to finish 4th overall and 1st in my age group. It took me 4'51'27 to finish it. Only 5 of us finished under the 5 hr mark! 

I can't wait for Eagleman, and now hope to stay injury-free until June 9th!! 

1st AG and 7th OA at the Bassman Half Distance Triathlon

My first race of the season with Aidan as my coach, and first ever half ironman distance...and my first age group win ever!
The swim was probably the hardest of all! I panicked after 5 minutes but managed to collect myself and get back into it. It could have been because of the chill water temperature (I believe 55-56 degrees) and the anxiety, excitement, and adrenaline of participating in my first half distance that got the best of me 5 minutes into the swim. It took me about 30 minutes (hell yeah!) to swim the 1.2 miles and off I am on the bike for 56 miles.
The bike course is pancake flat, and the chill temperatures didn't affect me 1 bit. I covered the 56 miles in about 2hr23min with no flat and no injuries to notice. I wondered how I'd react to the half marathon leg I still had to deal with!
I started the run roughly 3 hours after the gun went off and the 60F weather only helped me col down and maintain a low HR. I knew that if I maintained a steady pace in the first 6.5 miles, I'd be able to keep it up through the finish. 1'27 to cover the roughly 13.1 miles and only 6 athletes crossed the finish before me! SUCCESS!

Thrilled about the race, and looking forward to Black bear in 2 weeks!

7th AG and 20th OA at the Queens Allstate Life Insurance Half marathon

First test race with a 13.1 run in Queens, NY in the bitter cold NY weather.

and a PR @ 1:22:53 or 6:17min/mile pace.

Great start of the season! looking forward to adding 1.2M swim and 56M bike ride before running the 13.1M of the half distance triathlon in Bassman River, NJ on May 5th!