Riverhead Rocks Race Report

I was very excited when I signed up for this year's Riverhead Rocks Olympic Distance Triathlon.  I would be revisiting the site of my first Olympic distance race.  At last year's race, I established myself as a solid "middle-of-the-packer" at this distance.  My hopes for this year were to greatly improve in all four disciplines (I consider transitions one of them) and as a result, I set a somewhat unrealistic time goal for myself.

Over the years, some wise people have taught me three very important things about goals:

1. Your goals should be "Specifficult", concatenated from Specific and Difficult.
2. Be weary of setting your goals too low, you might just achieve them!
3. A goal is a dream with a deadline.

For this race, I had set a goal finish time of 2:15:00.  Just for reference, I finished this race last year in 2:41:39.  Yes, I thought I would beat my time by more than 25 minutes!  As it turned out, that was a bit of a stretch.

Prior to the race, I developed time benchmarks, start the bike at 30 minutes, start the run at 1:35, run a 40 minute 10K and finish at 2:15.  Here is how it panned out:

Swim

The swim has always been my weakest discipline.  I am sure that if I took a survey, 90% of all triathletes would say the same thing, so I wasn't putting too much pressure on myself for the swim.  Since February, my coach has had me in the pool at least 3 times per week for one hour sessions.  In addition, he has come up with these torture sessions he calls intervals.  I have basically water-boarded myself every Wednesday for the last few months.  Well to my surprise, it worked.  I was out of the water in 24 minutes with a below-threshold effort.  This swim gave me a ton of confidence for the rest of the season.

T1

I have been practicing with my shoes clipped in to the pedals and a "flying mount", but I have never done it in a race.  Although I was nervous about a possible face plant, I went full throttle and nailed it.  Out of T1 in 0:1:31.  I beat my benchmark by almost 5 minutes heading out on the bike.  So far, so good.

Bike

A near flawless T1 had me riding high as I started the bike leg.  I went at a comfortable level, but maybe pushed a little hard in the first 15 minutes.  Once I settled down, I found my rhythm.  I fueled on the bike with Amrita Bars and hydrated with Nuun.  My speed was right around where I thought it would be, but it turns out that the bike segment in this race was about 1.5K longer than the 40K listed.  I had the benefit of almost 5 minutes, so my 1:10 bike time only put me behind my benchmark by about 5 minutes.  At that point, I was satisfied with a possible 2:20:00.

T2

I took my feet out of my bike shoes with about a mile to go on the bike.  This allowed me to incorporate my flying dismount going into T2.  Bike on rack, helmet off, shoes on and I was on my way.  Got out of T2 in 0:0:45.  Nailed this one also.

Run

This is the discipline that I have been putting the most effort in to.  A few years ago, I HATED running.  Running a mile was nothing less than 15 minutes of hell.  Over the last 2 years, I have actually come to love running and I had all the confidence that I could tap out 7-minute miles for this race.  That is where it all went wrong.  No matter how hard I tried, I just could not get my legs to go any faster.  My Garmin chimed in with 1-mile splits: 7:45, 8:05, 8:15 and so on.  This was not the plan.  Maybe the humidity?  Under fueled?  Dehydrated?  Over trained?  Who knows.  I finished the run in 51 minutes, almost 10 minutes longer than expected.  I still don't know why I couldn't get the turnover I was seeking, but I hope I can figure it out before my next race at the NYC Triathlon.

The final result was pretty good.  2:29:11, 35th overall and 4th in my age group.  I discovered that I missed the podium by about a minute and a half.  That was also how much I missed qualifying for the Age Group Nationals this year.  Something I have to strive for next year.

It was great to have Tara at the race cheering me on.  It was also nice to meet some followers of this blog and your positive feedback was greatly appreciated.  Off to the next training session.

John

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Weekend Recap: Sagamore Hill, Junior Triathlon Training, and Riverhead Rocks Triathlon

Hi All! First, I -- Tara-- want to thank those of you following our little family blog! It has been a lot of fun hearing from you that something posted piqued your interest.

I am going to give a not so brief recap of a weekend that was excessively busy but super fun.  When I got into bed last night at 7:55, I felt like I had not stopped moving for 48 hours!

Friday started the kids first day at camp and it was a great day for them! They both hopped on the bus at 8:45 and neither looked back to even say goodbye to me.  I love how independent and confident they are, very unlike the way I was at their ages.  They were all smiles getting off the bus, had plenty of adventures to recount and couldn't wait to go back.  Little A's big success was her attempt a Sky Trail which is a high ropes course with a zip line (she made it halfway).  Big A who is a naturally gifted athlete but NOT sporty didn't sit out during any of the sports! This is a big deal...he usually needs a break (mentally).

First Day of Camp
The A Team

Big A loves reading non-fiction and has recently been reading a lot about Theodore Roosevelt.  Whenever we can we reinforce the kids learning with a trip.  The Newman motto is "we value EXPERIENCES not things".  We are lucky enough to live near Teddy Roosevelt's summer home, Sagamore Hill.  The kids were overly excited to visit this historical site.  Big A is at an age where he can understand things in the past which has him on the edge of his seat when we see old homes.  Unfortunately, Teddy Roosevelt's home is under construction but the museum and grounds left plenty for his active imagination.  If you have boys, the museum has a lot of military artifacts (guns, swords, medals, etc).  We didn't have enough time to explore the nature trails but are definitely heading back there.  It was a really nice day adventure for families or people who like nature/hiking/trail running. Although its location in Oyster Bay, Long Island makes it a little off the beaten path.

Sagamore Hill Museum

Walking the grounds we saw
this guy.

We were slightly rushed at Sagamore Hill because it was Big A's first Junior Triathlon Training at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park put on by a local running club called the Greater Long Island Running Club.  This is an eight week program focusing on all three disciplines of Triathlon culling the expertise of numerous coaches from Long Island.  It finishes with the kids participating in the Tobay Junior Triathlon on August 25.  This triathlon is sponsored by Runner's Edge, a local running store located in Farmingdale.

Saturday's run seemed to focus on pace, stretching, and having fun.  The bike session was meant to get the kids comfortable on their bikes and fine tuning their set ups.  The swim focused on high knees and dives for entering the water.

John and I believe programs like this are important to get kids active, learning/trying new things, and building self-confidence.  I will give more details on our experience with this program in subsequent posts.  Maybe I can get Big A to do a race recap of the Tobay Junior Tri!

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park
This is a GORGEOUS park in Oyster Bay

Getting Swim Instruction
He LOVES his new swim cap!

Coming out of the water
feeling CONFIDENT!

Saturday night we dropped the kids with my dad and step mom because we had to be out of the house by 4:30 Sunday morning for the Riverhead Rocks Triathlon put on by Event Power Long Island.  I know I am getting a little ahead of myself but I have to say these guys put on a GREAT race!  It is nice to race local, support the community and save some $ on travel.

John is going to give a detailed race recap in the next day or two.  However, I (of course) have a few things to say. While John has been racing for a few years this is only the second race I have been able to attend.  The kids have previously been too young and getting a baby sitter at 4:30 am is a bit of a unicorn.  In the past, John would always thank me for my support and I would roll my eyes.  I figured he was just buttering me up to approve the next race entry fee, gadget, or extended training session.  After attending the last two races I can tell you it brings a whole new meaning to my support for him and how his successes are very much my successes.  To see him achieve his goals and succeed in a way he never thought he could is a feeling beyond words.  Knowing that my "Sherpa Wife" skills have helped him get there...there is no greater high and I am not even the one racing.  As a matter of fact, my 'race stomach' yesterday was worse than his!!

Here are some of THIS Iron Widow's highlights from the Riverhead Rocks Triathlon:

John's organizational skills on race morning are mind blowingly epic. Everyone always describes John as 'very serious'.  He is and it works for him in these settings.  John treats Triathlon like it is his job and races are just another day in the office (maybe a day with a big meeting).

Heading in to the office

Total GIRL moment...I like looking at him in his spandex with his tattoos.  I think he is pretty dreamy.      Considering this isn't the guy I married.  This is the guy I married...right here.

Amrita Ambassador John Newman
getting marked

Event Power races have tremendous energy, have been spectator friendly, have the nicest staff, and Corey's Australian accent gives a certain level of authenticity.  Another aspect I like is their data crunching or speed in which they get athletes their results.  The Newmans are data people so we love this!  Their results are brought to the athletes by EmPower Solar and they do a really nice job.

Corey giving orders
Like a BOSS

Timing in hand within
a half hour of finishing

John didn't have the race he wanted (it happens) but he had a fast swim, blistering transitions, a flawless flying mount, and set not only a course PR but an overall PR!  He struggled on the run but a lot of people in the lead were complaining about their run (mostly cramping).

"Embracing the SUCK"

Oh, and I got to hang out with S for a good part of race which was nice having fun company.  I got some tremendous pictures and video of the flying mount that he has been working hard to practice.

Unfortunately, we had to leave a little early from the race to get the kids.  We felt guilty inflicting their rambunctious-ness on anyone for too long.  One of the nice things about Event Power is they pride themselves on everyone staying until the end to welcome in the last finisher.

Since John and I had been up since 3:30 am and John's legs were blown we were hoping to have a quiet day with the littles.  Somehow John thought bribing them with family swim at 5:30 pm was smart!  SO, that's how we ended this already BANANAS weekend...swimming with the kids.

What did you do over the weekend? Anyone race? Share your experiences below.  We would love to hear from you!