The Get to the Point 5K was super fun, even though I was sick all week and didn't want to run, I guess I carried some fitness from tri season into the getting fat, beer drinking season and Pr'ed with a 17:56, and got 8th overall, 3rd in AG (tough AG!). Johanna did awesome! see her blog for details. Glo and amigos Kara and Mirm did good as well. Photos here.
One highlight (or lowlight depending on your perspective) was the Billie Jean Danceoff, which resulted in a 6 pack for me, and I was too embarrassed to post, but I was finally convinced to do so, edited for brevity:
New friend Ryan rocked it even harder on his danceoff, but I wasn't quick enough to video it.
My knee bothered me all week from my accident at the Mighty Hamptons race, so I ran on it only once during that week. At least I was well-rested for the Westchester Triathlon. The weather was gorgeous again, just like last year. The course had some changes: the swim was considerably longer this year, in response to complaints about last year's short swim, and the run was slightly different as well, and also seemed longer to me. Those two things conspired to make my overall time about 10 minutes slower than last year, but I improved my overall place to 16th. My AG placing was second again. I felt good on the swim and the bike, but couldn't muster any "oomf" on the run, perhaps due to the long racing season or my knee injury. The Post race was cool again- with my favorite thing being the beer tent, its been a long season and I am looking forward to some unstructured workouts. Yan P took the attached photo.
Light rain turned into pounding downpour by the time Glo and I arrived at transition for the Mighty Hamptons olympic distance triathlon . By the time I had put down my mat, it was already filled with puddles. Glo and I set up and then took refuge in the car until the rain let up. People did not seem to be scared off by the weather, and the race started on time in between showers. The swim seemed to be longer then 1500M, just like last year, and was super chaotic, with lots of contact and jostling. A downpour in the middle of the swim made sighting difficult as well. Glo says she was kicked in the face a few times and I was actually grabbed on the arm mid swim by someone who seemed to come out of nowhere, which freaked me out.
The ride started well, but on the first hill, my chain slipped as I was coming out of the saddle and I (POW!) bashed my knee into a sharp edge of my aerobars. OUCH! I continued to ride, but thought I was going to have to drop out for a few minutes, however the adrenaline seemed to dull the pain and there didn't seem to be any fracture or permanent damage other than a cut and a big bruise/swelling. I didn't know if I would be able to do the run after that, so I concentrated on a good bike split, despite having less use of my right leg than usual due to the knee-bashing. I was hoping to come in under an hour, and I got close, coming in at 1:01 on a wet, windy and hilly course, so I was happy with that (2 min faster than last year). The run seemed long and slow, but ran down and I took last years 2nd place finisher in a final 2 up sprint to the line by a fraction of a second. I finished 5th overall, 2 spots better than last year, and about 2 minutes faster, so I was pretty happy, especially given the quality and size of the field. Now we'll see if my knee mends enough to do Westchester, as I could barely walk after the race ended and it stiffened up.
Glo and Alyse Courtines also did great, handling the wet conditions on the bike with aplomb, but Glo's wet running shoes ended up giving her several blisters per foot. I might have gained another convert to the Zoot shoes I have loved all season, as they handle wet conditions very well. The wet and rainy conditions continued through the morning, so we didn't stay for the awards, which I regretted, as they gave great prizes last year. Next time I will def. stay.