Crystal Lake Triathlon 2009

Location: Averill Park, NY
Distance: Sprint (800m s, 18mi b, 5k r)
Time: 8am (in waves 4min apart)
Weather: 60deg, raining
Participants: 241

Apparently fall has arrived in Upstate NY! Let's just say when I threw some clothes into my bag for the weekend, I wasn't expecting temperatures to drop below 60. The past two mornings, however, have been quite chilly!

I knew it was inevitable--that at some point, I would have to race in the rain. Today was definitely the day (good weather from now on??)! On the drive to the race there was the lightest drizzle, which stopped as I was setting up my bike and transition area. The break didn't last long, and drops began to fall as go-time got closer :(

Fog draped the lake, creating quite the backdrop for the scene of the swim...

Crystal Lake in the fog

Swim
With such a small race, there were 4 waves of swimmers, and I was in the 2nd wave with most of the females, 4min after the start. Time couldn't pass quickly enough, as I was freezing! Luckily the water was like bath water, although my feet never warmed up :/

about to lose my cap!

I felt pretty comfortable in the swim, actually getting in between people and not getting thrown off by an occasional kick or bump. The fog wasn't too much of a problem, as I used the buoys to sight. Despite this, I finished with a time of 18:56... not sure if it was a little longer than 800m or I went a little off course on the way back in??

Bike
Much like the Webster course, this course was described as "challenging." Indeed, on a good day it would be a challenging ride. Rolling hills, with 4 (I think) good-size ones thrown in. What was I thinking signing up for this race??

The weather, a light rain up until this point, took a turn for the worse and we experienced quite the downpour on this leg. My feet were completely soaked (as was the rest of me, but the squishy socks made it worse), and at one point the rain felt like hail. Not my idea of fun, but the heaviest downpour was relatively short... could've been worse, right? I did take it a bit conservative on turns and around traffic, but I felt pretty good until the last big hill. I managed to finish the ride in 1:06.54, an average of 16.1mph. I was hoping to do a bit better than my last race, but given the conditions and length I feel pretty good about it. Still need to work on my climbing outside!

this time i'm in the blue/white top

Run
After prying off my gloves and giving my socks a squeeze (still on my feet) and grabbing my race belt, I tied my shoes and was off on the run. My feet? Still cold, felt kinda like bricks. Did I mention there was a nice little hill right out of the transition? That was... nice. There were some small hills on the course, and my left ankle felt pretty inflexible, but I passed the two women who had passed me at the end of the bike (hehehe). There was one woman who passed me, and as much as I wanted to keep up, it wasn't happening. I took it out on some guys in my path :)

Approaching the final turn

I finished pretty strong, mud and all ;) Although I didn't feel fast, somehow I finished in 23:05 (an 8:09 pace)--not too shabby! My parents didn't listen to me and came out to support despite the weather, which I can't thank them enough for!! It's always awesome to see them and have people you know cheering you on <3

My final time was 1:54:43, which put me 4th in Females 20-29. Which I'd be thrilled with... except that if I had been one minute faster, I would've been 2nd. One stinkin minute- doh! Ah well, it was a good race and I'm happy with how I did. And that I finished despite the weather. Plus, there's always next year!!!