Jersey Genesis Triathlon - 2012 Edition

June in the Mid Atlantic welcomes the return of cocky Yankees Fans, outdoor drinking, and of course triathlon season.  June 2nd was my first official race of the season - the 'Jersey Genesis'.  This was a Sprint Distance Triathlon; .5 mile swim, 16 mile bike, 4 mile run.

It's best to start off small, as I'm building toward the motherload in early August.

I'd ran this same race last year, and came in this year with the goal of beating my 2011 time.  All signs in training showed that I could, just needed to execute.

I got beat up a bit on the swim, as I decided I'd dive right into the main pack and make a go of it.  Bit of a mistake, as I gassed myself pretty quick - and took two or three swift kicks to the face.  Better to stick to my usual strategy which is to lay back 10 seconds, and have clear water to race my own race.

Bike I hammered hard, averaging 22.6 mph.  I had the 37th fastest bike split out of 233 competitors.

Run I also hit pretty quick (for me), averaging 8:46 per mile over the 4 miles.

That gimp looking guy behind me, running barefoot, would eventually pass me.

Embrace the suck.

In the end, I finished with a time of 1:35:14, which topped my 2011 time of 1:39:09.

For the most part, this race was remarkable for how unremarkable it was.  Everything went well, no hiccups, nothing to fret about, and a good early (albeit short) test of where my fitness is at.

Next up:  HITS Half Ironman Hunter Mountain on June 10th...about 4 times longer distance.