I was really eager to get the the USA to show off my form, but it turns out I didn't really have anything to show at all.
NYC is a tough race. Even though it's the easiest swim in triathlon, the bike and run are quite tough. I swam 13.25 for the 1500m, which knocks Sun Yang's world record straight out of Manhattan. The only difference between his swim and my swim was we were swimming with the outgoing tide in the Hudson. Essentially, this race is not for swimmers, because all the weaker guys get a free ride.
I honestly thought I would be able to ride off the front in the bike, but just had no legs at all. I'm not sure what it was, but I just got worse and worse as the ride went on. I averaged 89 cadence for the ride, which just doesn't cut a fast time over a 40km TT. 110 average cadence gets you a quick time! The course was full of rolling hills, and I got caught and dropped by 4 guys (Collins, Bennett, Yoder, Thompson), and just had nothing to give. I ended up getting caught right at the end by a bunch of 6 or so, so it would have been smart to drop back to that bunch after the 20km turnaround, but who would actually let themselves do that in a race! Here's my file, note the shitty HR decline!
NYC is a tough race. Even though it's the easiest swim in triathlon, the bike and run are quite tough. I swam 13.25 for the 1500m, which knocks Sun Yang's world record straight out of Manhattan. The only difference between his swim and my swim was we were swimming with the outgoing tide in the Hudson. Essentially, this race is not for swimmers, because all the weaker guys get a free ride.
I honestly thought I would be able to ride off the front in the bike, but just had no legs at all. I'm not sure what it was, but I just got worse and worse as the ride went on. I averaged 89 cadence for the ride, which just doesn't cut a fast time over a 40km TT. 110 average cadence gets you a quick time! The course was full of rolling hills, and I got caught and dropped by 4 guys (Collins, Bennett, Yoder, Thompson), and just had nothing to give. I ended up getting caught right at the end by a bunch of 6 or so, so it would have been smart to drop back to that bunch after the 20km turnaround, but who would actually let themselves do that in a race! Here's my file, note the shitty HR decline!
^^^ Sympathise with that grimace!!
The run was pretty cool. We ran down 72nd, and then into Central Park for a stroll around before the finish line on Dead Road. I started the run in 5th, but already 3minutes down on Collins. Only 2 guys from the bunch that caught me at the end outran me, and I picked up one place from the athletes ahead of me on the bike. The run was also full or rollers, and it was a reallt battle to keep a high turnover. I ran a 34.30, which I guess is okay after the disaster on the bike. I was just really happy to finish the race and get it over with!
Looking back, I've done 4 races over 5 weeks, and this has probably affected my ability to hold good form throughout. I knew this would probably be the case, so I've learnt more about my ability to race until certain pressures. Now I can really focus on 4 good weeks of training ahead of Des Moines on September 4. The course and my prepartion will be very different to here in NYC, so I think I can expect a different result, hopefully an improved result where it really counts!
I'm off to Austin Texas now. I'll be checking in next time from there :)
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