Whirl Pool, Dancing Bikes and Brick Legs

June 6, 2010 Pawling Triathlon - Michelle Stathers Race Report
3rd Overall, Female
As Justin said... this past weekend was the Pawling Triathlon, which involved 500 competitors, 14 of which were members of TeamBikeway.com! The distances were: 550 yard swim, 11.5 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. We really lucked out with the weather... the forecast had called for thunderstorms and rain. It turned out to be a beautiful day, but a little on the hot and humid side.
Many of the issues we discussed during the tri clinic on Sunday have been my experiences during these events. To explain my title a bit... There were 11 waves/start times at this tri and it was based on when each person registered. There were about 40-50 people per wave. However, it never ends up being only those 50 people with you in the water. It tends to be the slower people from the wave before you and the super fast people from the waves starting after you. At this event I experienced the stereotypical mishaps during my swim. There were feet, arms, buoys and rope in my face throughout the whole swim. At one point I even had one side of my goggles knocked off. If you can't tell, my swim tends to be a bit of a struggle and you really do feel like you are in a whirl pool (I am not a very strong swimmer to top this).
Just as Justin explained in the clinic, you get out of the water, trying to pull your swim cap and goggles off while attempting to get both feet moving forward. Then it's a matter of actually locating your bike in the sea of people and equipment. Thankfully, my transition spot was almost a straight shot out of the water. Next it's a matter of getting your wetsuit off and throwing on your bike gear. Taking off the wetsuit presents its own challenges because not only are you trying to do this as quickly as possible, but you are trying to not fall over or hit anything/anyone.
As you run your bike through the transition area and to the bike mounting area, there are plenty of tree roots and chaotic people to dodge along the way. Once you get past the "mount area" everyone hops on their bikes to head off on the 11.5 mile course. I was lucky to be behind a man who had left his shoes clipped in so that all he had to do was run barefoot and then jump on his bike. The challenge with that, though, is you have a very shaky 1/8th of a mile to get out of the park which involves speed bumps and gravel. This man was dancing all over the road as he struggled to get his feet in his already clipped in shoes. I figured it was better to wait until the open road to pass him.
One of the best parts of the whole race was seeing other Bikeway teammates out on the course. It brought me back to high school and college running and rowing races, where you have your teammates' support. It was one of the most motivating triathlons I have competed in. AND it was also very cool to see Justin heading in the opposite direction finishing his bike as I was starting it. He was clearly moving at super speed and had a very big lead on the rest of the field!
Coming off of the bike I threw on my newly-purchased-never-worn-before-racing-shoes and headed off on the (not what I remembered from last year) hilly 3.1 mile run. I’m not going to lie - my legs felt like bricks and my new shoes very like cardboard slabs.
Coming across the finish line to friends and teammates was amazing to see. I was able to finish in 1:08.09 - a 6 minute improvement on my time from last year. I placed as the 3rd overall female. As every athlete reflects on each race there are improvements to be made for the next race and I look forward to competing with TeamBikeway.com in the next event!