The NYC Triathlon was a great race and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try something unique.  Unfortunately, it lost some of its uniqueness this year when the swim had to be canceled because of very high bacteria counts in the Hudson River.  As a result, the course was changed to a 5K run /40K bike / 10 K run.  The first 5K run (it was actually longer than 5K) was on a portion of the Hudson Parkway and was completely closed to traffic.  The 40K bike was also on the Parkway and went from 79th street up into Yonkers and back.  Very, very cool.  There were hills along the way and I used a handful of gears between 39x17 and 53x11.  The last 10K run was really something.  There was a very steep hill out of transition and on to 79th street that made the quads happy.  Running down a closed 79th street was my favorite part of the race.  That was a lot of fun as there were loads of cheering spectators.  The run finished with three loops around south Central Park which was packed with more cheering spectators.  I've run in Central Park a number of times and was familiar with this part of the course but somehow forgot about those little energy-sapping hills along the route.  One final note:  Believe it or not,  New Yorkers can be a very friendly bunch and I was reminded of that almost everywhere we went.  Especially with the race volunteers.  Great people.  Now, if you are so inclined, please bore yourself with my race report below.

Saturday, Aug 9

4:00 am - The alarm rings and I crawl out of bed in a dazed stupor.  What the hell am I doing?  Took a hot shower then roused Donna and the kids.  Off to the airport for a 6:15 am flight to JFK.  This was the beginning of Rookie Travel Mistake #1.  If you can't check into your hotel until 3 pm, then you certainly don't need to arrive at 9:30 am.

9:30 am - We arrive at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and foolishly attempt to check in early - as do hoards of other triathletes, tourists and conventioneers.  No dice.  We were told to check back around 1 pm.  I decide to make a dash to the race check-in on the 5th floor and get it over with in about 20 minutes.

Famished, we decide to grab breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  Seventy eight dollars and thirty two cents later, we look at each other and ponder what to do next.  As we are all still very tired, we decide to hang out in the lobby lounge and rest.  I find a comfortable sofa and take a nap for about an hour.

12:30 pm - At last, we are able to check into our room.  We are placed on the 35th floor with a great view of Times Square and a gigantic BuyMusic.com ad using a Godzilla-sized and naked Tommy Lee covering the entire side of an adjacent building.  My kids were in awe. 

2:00 pm - I put my bike together and decide to brave the 35 blocks from hotel to transition by riding up 8th Ave and Broadway.  Let me tell you, that was exhilarating.  Flying around Columbus Circle, dodging buses and taxis was infinitely more exciting than any race.  I take a cab back to the hotel and get back up to the room at about 3:45.  Now, I am starving.

4:00 pm - We are really hungry now, but don't feel like going out to eat.  Rookie Travel Mistake #2:  I went against my better judgment with the decision to stay at the Marriott on Times Square.  This is the last place you want to be in NYC.  Really. (Times Square is to NYC as Disney World is to Florida.  If your idea of a nice vacation is hanging out at the Best Western off of I-4 in Orlando then, by all means, stay in Times Square.)  Otherwise, be smart.  Stay in the Upper West Side, Central Park South or even the Gramercy area.  There are so many wonderful hotels in quiet areas with spectacular restaurants in NYC.  Even though we knew better we screwed up.  Shame on us.  Anyhow, Donna and I ran out and grabbed a pizza and brought it up to the room for dinner.  We really didn't want to eat at any of the places in the immediate vicinity.  Tourist traps.

8:00 pm - Lights out. 

Sunday, Aug 10

4:30 am - There is just something about seeing a "4" on the time clock that causes me so much mental anguish.  I hate waking up early.  Two days in a row is really rough.  No time for breakfast, so I pound a few gu's and Donna and I head out the door.  The one bonus about staying at race headquarters was that they had a shuttle bus that took us to the race.  We get there at around 5:15.  We bump into Robert Pozo who was helping out with the race.  It was nice to see a familiar face.

6:33 am - The 35-39 male wave goes off 3 minutes after the 30-34 males.  I take it out hard and find myself in the lead with one other guy.  Two thirds into the 5K, we start blowing by crowds of 30-34 age groupers.  We hit T1 about 17.5 minutes after the start.

6:50ish am - I'm on my bike hauling up the Henry Hudson.  My legs feel good and I start passing a number of 30-34 age groupers.  No 35-39ers in sight.  Looks like I'm in the lead.  It is not long before I am in the 4th position - only three 30-34 guys in front.  As we get near the turn-around I calculate that I am less than 3 minutes behind the leader (the guy that ultimately won the overall).  Now I feel great because I know I am reeling these last four guys in.

7:25ish am - I am hammering hard but am starting to feel a little tired too.  I really want to catch these guys.  With my head down, I accidentally blow through some cones and head off course.  This is becoming a ritual for me.  Just as I get that sinking feeling in my gut that something is wrong, a cop flies up behind me with his siren blaring.  I stop and turn around and get back on course.  By now, the number two and three guys are out of my sight and gone.  I refocus and start re-passing people I passed earlier.  Near the end, I finally pass the number three guy but I have lost a lot of time to the first two guys.

7:55ish am - I head out of T2 and up that hill on to 79th street.  It is really a cool feeling as I'm the 3rd person on the course and people are out cheering us on.  I can barely see the second guy up ahead.  I suspect that the first guy is more than three minutes up on me.  By now, I am running as hard as I can and am not feeling too bad.  The three of us are all alone on that first loop around Central Park which is really neat.  By the second loop the course is getting crowded.  I start to bonk on the third loop and developed the thousand yard stare. 

8:32ish am - Man, I'm getting worried because I get an uneasy feeling that people are creeping up on me.  The finish couldn't come soon enough.  About twenty seconds or so after I cross the line, the next 35-39er comes through and there are a couple of guys right after him.  I am spent and my achilles hurts like hell.  So, I cruise over to the medical tent and get iced down and then wrapped with an ace bandage.  I was helped by a very friendly and helpful podiatry student volunteer.  She seemed excited to have a foot patient.

A bit later - Donna and I meet up with her mom and our kids at a breakfast spot and chow down.  Afterwards, we go back to the race site to hang out for the results.  I ended up 3rd overall by 8 seconds.  I am usually the guy that's on the wrong end of the time differential, so I am very happy this time!

And they lived happily ever after.  The end.