Central Park Biathlon

Yesterday I did nothing except work.  Not overly happy about this, but I can't go back in time and get up earlier and go running before work, so I'm over it.  I always knew that this time would be rough with work and I can't stretch myself too thin otherwise I'll never make it through with my sanity in check, so I'm doing the best I can for now.

Today Drew and I had signed up for the 26th Annual Central Park Biathlon.  Just to be clear, I did not ski or shoot.  I would have classified what I did as a duathlon, consisting of running and biking, but I didn't title this race, and I think it's a bit confusing.  Unfortunately, I ended up having to do the race by myself since Drew had to be on a plane to D.C. this morning and couldn't do the race as well.

This morning was a bit cooler than it has been recently, so I wore tri shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and my Terrier bike vest to keep myself warm on the bike.  As soon as I got on my bike to ride to the Park, I felt pretty cold, but knew I'd warm up as time went on.  I got to the race site and racked my bike and then went to check in.  Funnily enough, the person checking me was Krista!  Both her and her husband were volunteering at the race. I only got to say a quick hello since there were other people waiting to get their race numbers also.

I put my number on my bike and on my race belt and still had plenty of time to kill before the race started, so I decided to go for a quick warm-up run.  I decided that I'd run for 8 minutes out and then run back.  It actually worked out perfectly, because right when I got back, the race director had just started giving out instructions about the race and the race course.  He also mentioned that if anyone was seen using headphones, they'd be disqualified.  This fact was also in the official rules listed on the website.

As we were lining up for the start, I saw my friend Lisa.  We chatted for a couple minutes before the gun went off.  It was definitely nice to see a friendly face.  The race started pretty much on time, which was nice.  The running course was from the Central Park Boathouse up to 96th Street and back again.  Pretty uneventful.

Of course, I ended up seeing two people wearing headphones.  Both people only had one earbud in their ears, but I don't really think that makes a difference.  I told both people that they were breaking the rules and if they didn't take them out, they would be disqualified.  Even if that meant that I had to tell an official myself.  Maybe that's mean of me, but it was in the rules and the race director had told us about 10 minutes before that it was against the rules.  I don't think I was out of line.  Especially since everyone else was following the rules.  I don't think they should get a free pass.

I had told Drew yesterday that my only goal was to finish this race in under two hours.  Even with my normal slow pace, that was more than doable, so I wasn't in any sort of rush on the run.  I was a little bit warm with the biking vest on while I was running, but I knew it'd be good to have on the bike.

When I got back to transition, I changed shoes and grabbed my bike and headed out.  The course was to do two loops of the Park.  I have to say, I would have been happier only doing one loop, but of course I did both.  During the first loop, I had a near accident with a guy walking his dogs.  I actually was a bit upset with both the guy (for not looking) and the volunteer who was standing next to him (for not saying anything).  I know the volunteers have a hard job, but it was really close call!

The second loop wasn't quite as eventful.  I was really glad the whole time that I was wearing the biking vest.  Every time there was a big gust of wind, it was really nice to have on.  There was a girl in front of me on a mountain bike and was wearing tennis shoes.  I was bound and determined not to let her beat me in on the bike.  Even though I only came in about 1 second before her, somehow that made me feel better.  When I went into the second transition, I took off my bike vest for the second run. 

When I was on the bike, I noticed that the run course was a bit longer than a mile.  I even came home and checked Gmap Pedometer, and it also says that the run course was long, so I actually feel pretty awesome about my run times now.  It turned out to be a good thing because as I was finishing, Lisa and her other Asphalt Green teammates were cheering for me, but they had mixed emotions about cheering for someone wearing Terrier gear, which I wasn't wearing when they were cheering for me!  I have to say that it was really, really nice to have someone cheering for me at the finish!

After the race, I chatted with Lisa for a few minutes, grabbed half a bagel and an orange slice and headed home.  I had to work again today, which was probably the only reason that I actually got dressed in real clothes today!  Otherwise I would have been quite content to stay in pajamas.  I also had been thinking that perhaps I would be able to get a few more running miles in before heading to work, but it wasn't in the cards for today.  All I can say is that tomorrow is a new week and I'm going to start fresh then. 

Running (pre-race)
Time: 15:54
Distance: 1.60 miles
Pace: 9:56/mile
Calories: 138
Maximum HR: 175 (83%)
Average HR: 163 (77%)

Biathlon
Run 1: 21:30
T1: 1:10
Bike: 51:05
T2: 2:26
Run 2: 21:34
Total Time:1:36:31
Calories: 894
Maximum HR: 191 (90%)
Average HR:170 (80%)

I measured the runs as 2.25 miles each and the bike as 12.18 miles.  That gives me a total of 6.10 miles running for the day. 


Saturday, Day 13: Wore jeans,  black v-neck sweater and gray Converse.  We thought that the cat needed a redeeming photo after her alien eyes from before, so she's making an appearance again.  Not that you can see it, but I started out wearing a silver necklace and ended up changing it in the evening for dinner to a new one.  I'll be wearing the new one again, so will take a photo later.

Sunday, Day 14: Wore jeans and green turtleneck with gray Converse.  Jewelry consists of pearl stud earrings from my grandma.  My grandma didn't have pierced ears, so I actually had the earrings changed from clip-ons to studs.