2008 - Central Park Duathlon

Central Park Duathlon; New York City – Sunday October 5, 2008

After the Eagleman in June I had a summer of ups and downs. An unfortunate cycling accident on the streets of NYC sidelined me for a few weeks and caused me to miss a favorite sprint distance race on the Jersey shore. Luckily I recovered to successfully take on a 170 mile backpacking trip through California’s High Sierras in late August / early September. Coming back from two weeks of steady state efforts at altitude I was excited to get back on the bike and squeeze in one last race before officially hibernating for the winter. When planning the weekend’s festivities on Friday I was torn between racing the Chain-Stretcher mountain bike race in Peekskill (would have been my first) or NYTC’s Central Park Biathlon (I’m a fan of their spring event). After sustaining multiple cuts and bruises on my pre-ride of the Chain-Stretcher course on Saturday I decided my body may not be able to handle two consecutive days on the trail. Luckily GWB traffic cooperated with me and I was able to reach Central Park to register for the Biathlon by the 6pm cutoff. After a quick dinner I was off to bed dreaming about the beautiful fall weather. Unfortunately the weather man got it all wrong. Sunday morning brought hard rain and cool temps (low 50s). 20 minutes before the start the transition area was a river clogged with gear and shivering athletes. Off the start it felt good to get moving and I tried to keep the fastest guys in sight. Although nowhere near as fast as the leaders I was able to keep a consistent pace and was excited to see that my bike hadn’t washed away from the transition area. Fortunately the first lap of the bike course wasn’t crowded and I was able to go at my own pace and safely negotiate my way through the rainstorm. The second lap became sketchy as the slick roads were packed with competitors. At this point my legs began to burn but with only a few minutes to go I kept the effort strong. Overall the bike was lonely as I wasn’t really passed or passing many people. I thought I had a good position but wasn’t entirely sure where I stood. Either way I needed to pull out a solid performance on the run to end my season on a high note. After a slow transition I began the run. It felt great to race again after my long hiatus. I began to focus on people one at a time and slowly work my way up through the pack. By the last half mile of the run everyone was pretty spread out and I realized my place was set. I enjoyed the last stretch down Cat’s Paw hill and cruised through the finish. The hardest part of the day may have been waiting for the award ceremony soaking wet in 50 degree temps. After almost cracking during the never-ending raffle and running home my patience was rewarded when I found out I earned 2nd place in the 25-29 age group (19th overall) with a time of 1:07. It was the perfect ending to a great season – now it’s time to rest before ’09 and Ironman Lake Placid!