NYC Triathlon 2017

July 16th, 2017, what a day!  This event will be told mostly through pictures, as I've written about the NYC tri on my blog before, and to describe the various elements of the course - the swim in the Hudson (1500m), biking up to the Bronx and back (40k), and finishing along the crowds of 72nd street and in the heat of Central Park (10k), again, may get too boring.

with my beautiful handler Alexis!

But I will say..I remember about 8 years ago trying to get into the Achilles triathlon team.  At the time, they were training at the swimming pool at Asphalt Green in the Upper East Side; I went along for a session and the feedback after was that I was basically too slow and should come back when I'd learnt to swim properly.  Then Heidi Chadwick got involved with the team and was really a game changer for me.  She helped me get my head in the water, and all the swim practice I needed, and fast forward to 2017, I find myself standing on a podium with a 3rd place finish in the para category.    I have gone from swimming about 27 minutes in 400 metres in my first sprint tri (in a swimming pool in Flushing Meadows) in 2009, to a 20 min swim (albeit tide assisted) over 1500 metres in the Hudson.  Heidi, I can't thank you enough!

Transition in Riverside Park

So, if there is anything to by learnt by my experience yesterday, without getting too mawkish and sentimental, it is that with a bit of will power and much persistence, and by surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people (in my case Achilles athletes and amazing guides), you CAN really overcome your fears - I have been genuinely afraid of getting in open water, and even some swimming pools to be honest - and achieve what you previously thought was impossible.

The day as usual involved an obscenely early start but was helped by being with Alexis, my handler extraordinaire for the day, who was also very understanding when I was quieter than usual before the swim due to a bit of low level anxiety.

As always it was nice to finally be off in the water, at around 6.50 am.  As I can no longer panic about my nose clip falling off (as I no longer wear a nose clip to swim), the demons inside my head had decided instead they'd develop an irrational fear of my googles steaming up.  For a few seconds, about a minute into the swim, a kind of panic mode set in, but as usual it passed, and before long the distance markers were passing by at an encouraging clip.  I was out of the water in 20 minutes, which was one of my fastest swim times but probably a reflection of the speed of the current rather than how much swim practice I've done in 2017.  I definitely managed to avoid the zig zagging all over the place though!  

Oh, the elation of exiting the Hudson!

Out of the water and was met by Alexis with my running leg for the little trot back to transition.  The bike felt really good.  Once I'd made it up the steep section out of Riverside park and on to the West Side Highway, I felt in great shape, with lots of energy, and kept up a steady clip (around 16.5 mph average).  At one point a motorbike with cameraman pulled alongside me and stayed with me for about 5 minutes, so I had a chance to adopt my serious, focussed 'I really should be in the Tour de France' face.  Not to sound self absorbed or anything, but I hope to find that footage one day!

I came into T2 still feeling great, and when I set off for the run definitely felt I had more beans than in previous years.  As I ran past the cheering spectators on 72nd street, began to think I may be able to get through the run more by actually running it than walking it, as I have done in the last couple of years.  The only thing I can attribute this to is having done a marathon about 6 weeks prior. I hadn't done that much running since - only once or twice or week, and no more than 5 miles - but my right leg still felt really strong, and I only needed to stop once, at the very top of Central Park, for some water.  Words of encouragement by the other athletes also definitely helped.  

Finish line!

It was also a huge boost seeing people I knew along the course - Marty from Achilles (who had hosted the entire Achilles crew in his beautiful apartment near transition the night before the race) at Eleanor Roosevelt statue in Riverside Park, Alexis on the entrance to Central Park, my old friend Carol on the West side of the park around mile 2, and Megan and Larry from Achilles on the East.   Such an incentive to keep on going and look strong!  

I made my way down the East side of the park in a slow and steady fashion and finally crossed the finish line in a total of 3.17, and then had the excitement of meeting up with other members of the team to swap stories of our race.  As a very happy finale, I was told by Travis from the CAF that I should probably stick around for the awards ceremony as there is now a prize purse for the top 3 males and females in the para category.  Sure enough, I got the bronze spot and a $750 prize, and was very proud to share the podium with Charles, a very strong visually impaired runner from France who claimed gold and who is now leading the Achilles tri programme in New York.  

After the long schlep back to transition to pick up our stuff to head home for a much needed shower, Alexis and I headed down to Blondies for a couple of beers and a celebratory veggie burger with some of our friends from the Achilles tri team and Challenged Athletes Foundation.  As usual, the tri was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to do it all over again!

For the first time in my life..made it on to a podium!