Westchester Triathlon 2014: Season Closer

Westchester Triathlon – Rye, New York - September 21, 2014 (Olympic distance)

We returned from South America two weeks prior to the race. We both jumped right back into training upon our return. My body felt “slow” and I had mentally prepared myself that this may be a “throw away” race for me. I felt 2.5 weeks without consistent training was a bad thing, and I had probably lost some of my strength, speed, and endurance.

Zach was still without a race bike. His bike was totaled in July after being rear-ended. He continued to deal with the woes of insurance and getting a check for a replacement bike.

Neither of us was really “feeling” this race, other than that it was the “home court” advantage – which was nice. Nothing beats the convenience of racing two miles from your house!

Race memories:

• Katie was calm (!) pre-race. In fact, the calmest she has ever been. Perhaps because she had deemed this a “no pressure, let’s just have fun” race.
• Zach swam wide to avoid a crowd of people, thinking that the kayakers would move for him, only to discover that they would not. They were protecting swimmers from the rocks.
• Zach was side-by-side in T1 with 3 other guys – all who arrived before him. He was in & out before any of them left. His transitions are getting faster! Yes!
• Zach raced on the hybrid bike....the one that Katie raced on for her first triathlon. It's much harder to go from a race bike to the "steed" - as we call it - versus the other way around. You don't know what you're missing if the steed is all you know!
• Katie dropped her chain 2 times on the bike….once right before Claire’s Climb. So much for getting any momentum for that hill….
• While on the run, Zach passed a house that was playing “House of Pain.” Katie passed two different houses (miles apart) who were each playing Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Katie now associates that song with the Westchester Triathlon....unfortunately.
• On the run, Zach was passed by a woman like he was standing still. We later discovered that the woman who passed him was the 1st place woman AND she went on to win her age group at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October. She’s the real deal.
• With 1.5 miles of the run to go, Katie was gaining on a man who was walking, who appeared to have fallen?...or rolled?...in the mud. After getting closer, she realized that was NOT mud. Poor guy.

In this last race of the season, Katie finally podiumed. She placed 1^st in the female 25-29 age group.

Yeah Team B!