Endless Summer Triathlon 2008

This was, in a sense, the most challenging triathlon I've done. A dry nor'easter blew across LBI for the past three days, creating huge surf and rough waters. As late as Saturday afternoon, no one was sure if the swim would be able to happen for the 2nd running of the Endless Summer Tri. Overnight, the winds calmed and the ocean settled. Sort of.

The swim would happen, but with a revised, triangle course (replacing an out and back). The water was MUCH calmer than yesterday, but the waves were HUGE, and the current (running south) was STRONG.

The elite wave (about 9 racers) went first, and before the men 30-39ers could even start, officials had to move the buoy because it had drifted off course. Wave 2 started and it was immediately clear this was going to be tough. These men were swept south of the buoy before most of them were even close.

An announcement was made for my wave (women 30-39) to move to the north side of the jetty to start while the buoy was again moved and reset (making our course, to those of us on the shore, look waaay longer than the original marking). As we entered the water, I was thankful for the warm temps. No wetsuit needed today! I thought, this is going to be tough, but keep your head about you and do your best.

I would take, no joke, three strokes and have to dive under a wave. These were 5 or 6 footers, and powerful. I was tossed and rolled and sucked under again and again. Three strokes forward, just to get pushed back. I told myself my goal for today was to feel good about my swim. This was going to be harder than I thought. Swimmers were getting rolled and tossed on top of me, my goggles kept filling with water or getting knocked off, and although we started north of the buoy, the strong current had us swept past the bubble in no time.

About halfway to the buoy, a woman behind me panicked and yelled, "I can't do this! I can't!" and her friend stayed with her until the lifeguard got her on his paddleboard. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently MANY of the swimmers in my wave never swam to the bubble. They turned in to shore and didn't swim the whole leg.

I did. I wasn't going to quit. Wasn't going to go on to do the rest of the race without finishing the first leg. An Ironman friend of mine had reminded me to breathe out completely -- and I thought about that as I fought my way to the buoy. I rolled on my back a couple times to fix my goggles, but I kept moving. Besides, as weird as this sounds, I felt more comfortable swimming in/fighting this ocean than in the bay and lake my previous tri's had been in.

After what seemed like forever, I finally did round the buoy, and headed for shore. It was quite a bit easier now that the waves were behind me, and I immediately found my stroke a bit better and soon enough I could feel the sand beneath my feet.

I can't go on without mentioning HUGE appreciation for the lifeguards. They were out in that water, on boards and swimming, helping countless numbers of racers and keeping a diligent watch. I am happy to say that I heard that all racers who entered the water, made it out ok. Thank you to the Beach Haven guards!!!

The water glistening behind me in the picture above doesn't show just how big those waves really were. This was a tough swim, but I did it. The whole quarter mile, around the buoy.

When I made it onto the beach, there was an old friend -- a lifeguard and triathlete himself -- yelling, "Go Lora! Looking good! Did you make it all the way around the buoy?!"

"Hell, yeah, I did!" I responded, with a smile on my face. He high-fived me and cheered me on my way. Next I saw my family (yay!) and started my way up the dunes. Swim time in the water was (according to my watch) 9:36. The official time is much longer, though, because we didn't time out of the swim and into transition until we ran up the dunes, onto the street, and down two and a half blocks to the bikes. My watch tells me my T1 time (from the beach to the bike out) was 6:47ish. This is consistent with the official timing when I break it down.

There was nothing remarkable about the bike ride. I rode well, although I was feeling pretty beat from the swim. I think my avg was about 18mph. Not great, but I'll take it. I passed a bunch of people, and only got passed by two women -- who were laid out on their aero bars.

I made it back to transition, again hearing my family and friends yelling for me, and got off my bike without a hitch. (This is important, because my feet got tangled in my last tri and I ended up falling as I was dismounting. Duh.)

Transition time for T2 was 1:05. I dropped my helmet, racked my bike, and grabbed my visor.

The run went pretty well, except for my aching left arch/ankle -- not sure what that's about. First mile was a 8:24, I think, and I settled in and ran most of the way bunny-hopping another woman (lower age group). We ticked off the miles and soon we were rounding the corner for the homestretch.

Once again, there's my friend, this time with his wife (who placed second for women overall!!!), cheering me on. Just before the finish I hear and see my sister and her boys on the left, yelling and cheering for me. I crossed the line (run time 25:06), and there were my parents and my other friend (my official, personal race photog! Aren't her pics here great!). Finish time 1:11:16.

After catching up with everyone and getting some water and food, I packed up my stuff in my backpack and rode my bike home (about 5 miles). As I rode, I thought about how pleased I was with today's race. My goal was to feel good about my swim, and I honestly do. I did the best I could in that water, and knowing that I did the whole leg while lots of other racers did not, makes me happy with my race. Turns out after my wave, they removed the buoy and basically had people go into the water, swim parallel to the shore to the north side of the other jetty and get out. No swimming out through those waves to get to the bubble, and not a full .25 mile.

Whatever. I did it, and I'm glad I did. Lots of thanks to my family and friends for their awesome support and cheering! Next up -- LBI 18 mile race in a few weeks!