Race Recap – Iron Girl Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook

Iron Girl Sandy Hook was my second triathlon ever and it was a great race. After a number of races this summer that were not so great, for various reasons, like my health and the organization, it was fun to participate in a race where everything came together.  It was a 1/3 mile swim, 15 mile bike ride and 5k run. My overall time was 1:56:08. I was 68/125 in my age group and 412/836 overall.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and sunny, without being too hot or humid and the layout of the course was great. It was a very straightforward and flat course and it was well staffed and organized. I would highly recommend this event to other women, whether new or seasoned triathletes. It was simply a very fun race.

Point Pleasant

Because this race was a bit further from home than usual, and because bike check in was permitted the day before, my race weekend actually started on Saturday afternoon. My husband and I drove down to Sandy Hook and stayed at a local hotel for the night, leaving my son with his Nana for the day. It was a nice little mini-vacation for us and we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach and then went for a dip in the (very small) hotel pool.

The race started very early on Sunday morning, with transition closing at 6:30am. This was a bit of a pain, since we were only permitted to park in the lots that the Park Rangers directed you to and there was a long walk from the parking lot to the transition area. I was very nervous we would not make it in time, but fortunately, they kept the transition area open past the cutoff. Once I got to the transition area and set up, there was about an hour before I raced and so I had plenty of time to get settled.

Swim: 17:33

Prepared to Swim

The entire course was conducted with chip times, rather than gun times, and the swim waves were sent off into the water by age and last name. As an older woman with a name at the end of the alphabet, I was in a later wave and started racing at 7:35am. Before starting, we are permitted to wade into the water to warm up. It was nice to have the chance to get used to the water immediately before swimming. It really makes a big difference, in my opinion.

The swim course was a straight line in the bay side of Sandy Hook from one end to the other, with buoys set up every 100 yards. The water was a bit choppy, but without a strong current. It was not too difficult a swim. I was surprised at the number of sheer beginners and was alarmed to hear one women telling another that she hadn't been swimming in years and didn't really swim. I appreciate bravery, but I do think it's a little crazy to attempt open water swimming without some preparation.

Swim Course

Unlike my first triathlon, instead of pushing to the front, I hung out in the back and tried to enter last. However, I regretted this decision at the start because I immediately got caught behind some beginning swimmers who were barely moving. It was too clustered together to push past them and I had to keep stopping and waiting for them to move forward before I could go again. Eventually, the crowd broke up and I was able to pull ahead of them and gain some speed. I ended up finishing in the top 1/3 of my wave of swimmers (36/125). I think I could have done slightly better had I been able to get past the beginners and into a rhythm sooner.  If I had to do it again, I still think I would stay at the back, since it was a chip time race after all, but I would have stayed to the perimeter more.

Bike: 1:00:50

The transition out of the swim was a straight line into the bike racks and went fairly smoothly. The only slow down was that the bike racks were very close together and I had to keep stopping removing my wetsuit to let other racers past.

Bike Course

The bike leg was two loops of a straight course. It was a great ride and I really had a lot of fun with it. Because the field of racers were both new and experienced I ended up both passing people and being passed. There were racers on bikes with aero bars and water tubes and racers on comfort bikes with baskets. I really enjoyed not being the slowest racer out there and it really gave me some confidence. At one point a very fast racer passed me and yelled out “You go girl, you’re a bad ass!” and this really inspired me. I thought to myself “Yes, yes, I am.”, then I made a game of trying to catch up with her and pass her. I never did, but I enjoyed trying!

I had grabbed a few gels at transition and ate some on the bike and was left holding the package for a mile or so before I realized I could shove it in my back pocket. That was a bit of a “duh” moment. Also, every time I wanted to drink I had to slow down. I have such terrible balance putting the water bottle back in the cage that I weave like a drunk when I do. I became really jealous of the people with water tubes and now I want one.

Riding in the direction of the entrance gate was fast, but turning around to head back, we rode into a mad headwind. I had forgotten about that from my prior runs at Sandy Hook, so it was a surprise the first loop. It was nice and cooling and fun to fight against it. On the second loop, I made a point of trying to ride fast against it and pass people. I finished near the middle of my age group. (73/125)

At the transition, I tried to do a flying dismount and caught my leg, because it was more jello-y than expected. It was a disaster of a dismount and I almost crashed into the poor woman next to me.  I laughed a bit when the volunteer quipped “Very graceful!” But, after that I was fine. I racked my bike, removed my helmet and set off on the run.

Run:  32:24

Run Course

My whole mantra on the run was “have fun” and “push it”. I tried really hard to walk as little as possible. At the start, however, I had a really bad pain my back from leaning over the bike and had to stop a few times to stretch it out. Once I got the pain to ease up, I had a fairly good run. I do feel I can improve quite a bit on the run, if I can just put my mind to it. I seem to have energy left at the end, which means I am not pushing as hard as I can. I plan to work primarily on running over the winter. Given that I have been running for several years now, I think I should be faster than I am and have not been training smart enough. I finished 90/125 in my age group, which shows there is a lot of room for improvement.

At the finish line they announced my name as I crossed and “You are an Iron Girl!” I found this a tad cheesy, but was happy they pronounced my name right. After this, I wandered around for about a half hour trying to find my husband. We really should have planned out where to meet a little better. I was proud of my race and, most of all, how much fun I had. I have had a tough time staying positive lately and for me it was just a great and joyful day. I enjoyed every minute of it and can’t wait to do it again next year.

Finisher Medal

This was my last triathlon for the season, so the next few months coming up it will be pool swimming and running mostly as well as more trips to the gym as the weather gets colder. I miss summer already.