Old Forge Tri

{Please excuse my very belated race report... from 8/18/13}

Location: Old Forge, NY
Distance: Intermediate (1000m s, 22mi b, 4mi r)
Time: 8am
Weather: low 50s at the start (cloudy)
Total Participants: 219

Going into the race, I would be remiss not to mention that I was nervous for the swim.  I could count on one hand the number of times I had gotten into water during the summer.  Nevertheless, I jumped at the chance to spend a weekend with some of my favorite people (my family) and do some of my favorite things (swimming, biking, and running) in the Adirondacks!

Even though this race takes place in August, I had failed to recognize that by the third weekend in August, nights have already started to cool off up there.  I got to the race site early that morning so I could get a good parking spot and spend as long as I could in my car.  Brr.

Swim
Given the air temperature, it actually felt great to be in my wetsuit, and even to jump in the water.  It definitely took me awhile to calm myself down and settle my breathing (see above).  There were very few buouys, making it a little tough to sight on the angular course. I'm sure I didn't take the most direct route on the way out, I must've gotten into some sort of groove as I started passing people towards the halfway point.  It wasn't my fastest swim, but I had finished in 20:14 at 2nd in my AG.

Bike
There are some decent rollers in the front half of the course, but no crazy hills.  I got a boost as I was passing the all the tri bikes and aero bars.  And then I dropped my chain and they all passed me back.  Sigh.  I tried to be quick as I put it back on and pedaled along, distracted by the smell of breakfast being cooked in nearby homes (namely: bacon).  You're pretty much in the woods for the back half of the course, and it's pretty flat.  After enjoying the scenery, I pulled into transition in 1:18:37 (17mph).

must've been enjoying myself!

Run
I got off the bike with my legs feeling great, but quickly realized that I had to slow down.  I'm guessing I had an asthma attack (it's only happened once before in my life so it took me awhile to realize what was happening).  I walked a lot trying to get my breathing under control, and as frustrated as I was I tried to keep things in perspective and just enjoy where I was.  The turnaround had a great view, on a bridge over a river, and I started to jog slowly again.  I was able to keep it up for awhile longer and by the end of the race was able to pick it up, finishing in 36:35 (9:06 pace).

My focus on the beauty of the course paid off, as I wasn't complaining even after finishing with gas left in the tank.  It probably helped that I finished 3rd in my age group...  an unexpected end to the morning!

Me, Dad, Sweets

Clock Time: 2:18:50
AG 4/10
Overall 135/219

Mom & I