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 Swim
Comments: I'll caveat with I started swim training May 5th, so with only two months back in the water, and no wetsuit, I had a good swim. The pre-start was good too because I finally found Wynn and Susan. Was good to hang with my training homey's :-) *Kudos to Susan who finished 3rd in her AG!* The water was very salty which helped with buoyancy but there were just crazy currents at various points. The worst was a 'slack current' at the furthest buoy by the furthest bridge. It was like there was a black hole under the water and a bunch of us got trapped and couldn't swim around the buoy. Kind of frightening. This swim took forever. What would you do differently?: I felt good physically the whole swim, with lots of energy and thought my form was good. Unfortunately my navigating was terrible and I either found myself swimming way outside the mainstream of swimmers, and when I was with the mainstream of swimmers I was dodging breastrokers and elbows. Obviously I would have liked more swim fitness. I did do a non-wetsuit swim at Ironman Louisville and finished with a 1:22, but that was a point-to-point straight course. I liked that course, much-much better. MY SUGGESTION TO THE RACE DIRECTOR: Bader Field was a good location for T1 & T1, but the Swim is way too crammed. Make this a 2-loop 1.2 mile swim.  Transition 1
Comments: Forgot this was an Ironman-type event and ran past the transition tent and then realized, oh, I can go inside and sit down. Went in the back door.  Bike
Comments: The bike course for me was gladly uneventful. In the first 15 miles I saw two athletes crash into the guardrails on the Atlantic City Expwy. Not sure how as it's flat and straight. My only guess is they were dizzy from the swim still, or not used to eating and drinking on the bike? The first 30 miles were pretty much tailwind, the next two loops to mile 60 and 80 are a mix of crosswinds, head and tailwinds. Mirandae Carfrae ("Rinny" on her tri-suit) passed me at mile 60 - her mile 80. It was actually very cool to be passed by a Kona Champion. The last 30 miles of this bike were HORRIBLE. My neck was aching. My head was aching from the hot sun beating on it for 5+ hours. And it was a straight shot into non-stop headwinds. It was the very definition of torture. Not too mention, my left IT band/ knee was in considerable pain and was offering almost no power from my left leg. So basically I 'pulled the plug' around mile 100 and just limped home. With two miles to go, I got back into aero position and started putting in some power again. What would you do differently?: Not much I would or could do differently. Despite a two-minute pee break and phoning it in 10 of the last miles, I'll never complain about a 6 hours 112-mile ride. My longest bike ride was 66 miles this year so I'm thrilled with the fact my endurance held up for 90% of the distance. Although I did do a lot of power work on my Wahoo Kickr over the winter which helped tremendously. Post race
Warm down: I had a bit of heat stroke. I was dizzy, wobbly, yawning and bordering on passing out. No way I could have run a marathon. A volunteer suggested I got to he Med Tent -- not the first or last time that will be suggested to me. I just don't do well in the heat. Was nice to see Wynn a the finish line, but he looked like I was feeling -- wrecked. What limited your ability to perform faster: Too much traveling and late nights working; not enough tri -specific training. This is my first time racing in the 40-44 AG and I got my ASS KICKED. I am so Not used to being in the BOP for my AG. The good news is I'm 39 still; not 40, and I have time to redeem myself. Coming in 7/9 was a wake-up call for me. Event comments: Challenge threw down a successful, high class inagural event. What stood out for me the most was refreshing, grass roots kind of vibe. I chatted with a lot of racers before, during and after the event, and everyone had a pleasant non-competitive attitude. At many Ironman races I've encountered the 'win and beat everyone at all costs" "Type-A" tri-snob attitudes. I did not experience any of this at Challenge. The whole experience was welcoming and refreshing. Last updated: 2014-06-11 12:00 AM
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United States
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 38/95
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 7/9
Ride down to AC from Long Island was 3.5 hours on my navigation. With traffic, leaving 10:30 AM on Saturday it took 6 HOURS! Mental Note: Leave earlier.
Stayed at Caesars on the boardwalk which ran me $360 bucks for Saturday night alone! I was told it had to do with Lady GaGa performing that night next door. And believe me, her fans were out in full force. Half dressed and crazily "decorated" women everywhere.
Up at 4 AM and drove over solo to Bader Field. Let the wife and kids sleep in. I've gotten them up at the crack of stupid and dragged them to way too many events in the past 7 years.
Challenge event was extremely well staffed, from parking attendants to volunteers in every area. Porta-potty's were a plenty and I never had to wait on line more than 15 mins, and didn't have to wait at all early on. With 1,000 racers total (or so the announcer said, between Aquabike, Relay and Full) it was a packed event but low-key and kinda grass-roots at the same time. More like a high class grass roots race, if that makes sense.
High Class references: Three Navy Seals jumped out of a plane at 6:20 AM, at 16,000 feet, and synched parachutes, and then a larger-than-life American Flag streamed out 10,000 feet above us and The Star Spangled Banner played. (Are you kidding me!! This was the most awesome thing ever!!)
Other high class bullet points: Full name and number stickered on transition pole; floating swim dock was brand new plastic (unlike plywood ramp at Ironman Poconos); race bag goodies included tire levers, clean bottle (screws off both sides) and a few other original items; full carpeting in and out of transition; Police at every intersection of the bike; plenty of big name Pro's racing; well-marked bike course - including neon tape in front of every bump and crevice.
Negatives: Honestly, the negatives were very few. Yes you signed up for a race in Atlantic City, so YES you're gonna see seedy neighborhoods on the outskirts. If this is a surprise to you, well, it shouldn't be. So for me, this was not a negative, just a reality.
Other legit negatives: The swim buoys were a mess. There were Red and Orange Triangle buoys and Orange Cylinders, and some were placed with no rhyme or reason. This swim was more like a triangle attached to a trapezoid. Very bizarre and not enjoyable. There were also a few parts so shallow, my hand hit the bottom and I had to walk, especially around 1.7 miles.
Now on to the RR.