Monday, July 14, 2008

Hudson Valley Triathlon

I remember reading somewhere (I think it was the Iron Kahuna on the "Get Your Geek On" podcast) that you cannot call yourself a triathlete unless you do at least one tri a year. Thankfully I got that minimum requirement out of the way last Sunday by completing the Hudson Valley Triathlon hosted by the New York Triathlon Club.

My race performance was acceptable despite a really pathetic training schedule - I'm running, at most, 20 miles a week, I've been in the water 4 times this year and have spent even less time on the bike. Despite this I somehow managed to run a decent race.

I'm actually rather pleased with my swim. I was as comfortable as I've ever been in open water and I swam within my untrained ability; though my heart rate was well higher that it should have been.

I finished the 0.3 mile swim in 8:04.

Heart ready to explode, I jumped onto the bike and immediately faced the most difficult climb of the course - a quarter mile climb at a 45 degree angle. Augh!

The rest of the course was great... Rolling hills and speedy descents! I finished the 18 mile course in 59:02, averaging a little over 18 miles per hour.

Unfortunately the run starts up the same murderous hill as the bike and I was feeling some fatigue. I turned in a disappointing time for the 3.5 mile run - 29:10 a pace of 9:43.

I finished in 30th place overall and just a few places out of an age group award. Race results are here.

The real up side of this race is twofold. First I am all fired up about triathlons again. Second, is that I am now confident enough to tackle the Nautica New York City Triathlon this weekend.

"Just do it."
-Nike

6 comments:

Deene said...

good job with no training! it took me that long to ride 13 miles on mtn bike on paved course.

Beanie said...

wow good job josh. a 45 degree angle! holy moly! that's insane!

me wanna do a tri now...

Beanie said...

congrats on your event today! looking forward to the race report. Did you hear the awful news about that young guy dying during the swim? Dreadful!

Anonymous said...

Nicely done! That has to feel good coming in without at training plan!

Laura said...

Congratulations, and hope Nautica went well!

JustRun said...

You so had better be calling yourself a triathlete now.