0.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run
The Stamford race was a nice addition to the calendar and a way for me to cap off my abbreviated 2010 triathlon racing season. After the REV3 half three weeks ago I was excited to try something shorter distance and see what all I could do. The day started with a 4AM wake-up at Cliff’s house and caravan down to Stamford for the 6:30 start. The setup was a bit different than other races I’ve done as there were two separate transition areas. After picking up my packet and setting up my running gear Cliff and I rode a few minutes down the road to the swim start. As we approached I noticed the tide in the Long Island Sound was really low but had no idea the various implications that would have on the race.
My usual plan is to do at least a 5-10 minute swim warm-up to get comfortable in the water and relax a bit. As I walked down to the beach I saw people standing for the first 150 yards or so out to the first buoy. My first thought of “this is great, I can run instead of swim” was quickly replaced with absolute dread as I realized the bottom was mud covered rocks, barnacles, and shells which were razor sharp. I walked about 10 feet before I cut my foot and decided to skip the warm-up and head back to the beach where I found my foot was bleeding. I was considering ditching the race entirely and then hoping for a change to a duathlon format but no such luck. As the elite wave started and they ran through the water I figured my day was going to be a slow one and my goal was no longer a fast finish but simply an ambulatory one.
When the gun went off I carefully picked my way to the first buoy. I was literally the last person to hit the deeper water and start the swim (only after cutting my other foot – sweet). I was relieved to be swimming for a while before I again had to walk another 50 yards over the rocks to exit the water. Again I took my time and worked my way up to the beach and into the transition area. The ground in the transition area was littered with red blood stains from all of the athletes. It was disgusting. At this point I was extremely frustrated with the whole situation and decided to sit down for a bit, clean my feet, and decide if I could continue on without hurting myself further. After a 4 minute timeout where I thoroughly cleaned my feet and got most of the sand out of the cuts I hopped on the bike.
Normally I’m ecstatic to get on the bike and to be racing but today this wasn’t the case. All of my excitement was gone with my damaged feet and the poor road conditions/ traffic on the course. As I spoke with other athletes I realized many were hurt as well (and some much more badly). Trying to get over my frustrations I turned my energy to the bike. The course basically climbed for the first 16 miles or so then was mostly downhill with some rollers for the second half. I felt pretty strong and rode with an average speed of 21.8mph across the course to finish in 1:08.
By the time I hit the run I was feeling better and more engaged in the race. At this point I figured I might as well look on the bright side of things and enjoy the timed run. I felt very good on the run and steadily increased my pace at the race progressed. As I came into the finish I was proud of my run effort and extremely happy to post the 6th fastest run on the day 37:41 (6:05min/mile pace) and negative split the effort with a 5:24 final mile. My total race time came to 2:18 despite the 27:35 “swim” and 4 minute transition.
After the event I caught up with my friends and enjoyed some post race bagels. Cliff took the 3rd place overall award and I ended up placing 3rd in my age group which was pretty cool as I got a nice award. The post race celebration was muted by the large number of athletes with blood stained running shoes courtesy of deep cuts on their feet. Many people went to the hospital for stitches and the finish line area was turned into a triage. It was disturbing to see so much blood and so many injured athletes. While I think otherwise the race was well run the swim should have been cancelled or rerouted. Since the race was done for charity I don’t want to be overly critical of the organization but I don’t plan to return to Stamford again or do any races that don’t have safe entry/exits from the water as the injuries are simply not worth it.
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