Escape the Cape
On an early June 8th summer morning, I participated in the Escape the Cape triathlon in Cape May, NJ. After a disappointing race in Columbia, I was looking to get back on track. Would this race be able to reignite my passion for triathlon as the season kicked into full gear?
The answer was a definite YES for two reasons:
1. Delmo Sports delivers unique and quality events. The unique aspect of this race is the opportunity to jump off the Cape May Lewes Ferry. Even though there were some delays due to positioning the ferry at the start of the race, I didn’t mind the extra wait time since the ferry was pretty luxurious inside. The boat had leather reclining seats with huge flat screen TVs to help pass the time in style. Advice for future participants: bring a drink and light snack in case there are any delays. Thankfully, I grabbed a Gatorade bottle, which helped keep me hydrated with the extended wait. Ultimately, Delmo sports came through on their promise as jumping of the ferry was awesome!
In terms of quality, this race had a great venue. Riding and running along Beach Avenue was pretty cool as the crowds were loudly cheering. Another piece of advice for future participants: prepare for a hard run. While it was very scenic running on the sand during two portions of the run, the deep sand added a little extra difficulty in running. You are able to get closer to water where the sand is a bit firmer; however, getting back to the road you cannot avoid the deep sand at the start of the beach. The only improvement needed was a few more volunteers marking the run course out on the beach. It was tough to spot the run turn-around, but thankfully, we figured it out.
2. The second reason was the family and friends we got to spend time with at this race. As usual my parents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousin came out to support me and my sister at the race. It makes a huge difference having family come cheer you on during the race. Also, it was good seeing friends like Tim and Laura Pappas (congratulations on the baby!), Jason Kilderrry (thanks for the coaching advice to really help my training!), Jordan Verdeu (congratulations on the Olympic victory!), and Greg Wilkenson (congratulations on the Sprint race victory!).
If anyone is interested in this race, I would definitely recommend it. I ended up getting back on the winning track by taking overall first place, and my sister won her age-group (5th place overall).
PS: Having the extra time on the ferry, I got to pick the brain of Coach Jason. We talked about the importance of frequency to improve on the run, and I am excited to incorporate his advice into my training following the race. How would this advice pay off at my next race the J&J TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon?
TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon
Two years ago at the J&J Philadelphia Triathlon, I met Alex Gorsky (CEO of J&J) and David Silver (Product Director for Zytiga). Since I was a consultant working on a project at J&J, they invited me to be part of their J&J Triathlon team. This year, I asked if I could invite a few of my interested Quintiles colleagues to create a sub-team to help raise funds for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Our Quintiles sub-team was able to raise over $7k for CHOP, which is a special cause for me as I was a patient at CHOP in my early childhood. Overall, it was very inspiring to be part of a great team like J&J, and I look forward to raising funds next year for CHOP at this race again.
In terms of the race, my sister and I competed in the Sprint race on Saturday, June 21st. TriRock does a good job organizing. The race start was in the time trial format, which I’ve noticed is becoming more popular among races. The start and swim went fine; however, the transition lanes heading out to the bike course should be wider to help with some congestion that was caused as participants funneled together.
Since there is no amateur elite wave in the Sprint wave, I expected a crowded bike course. It was indeed crowded, but not too bad. Instead of yelling on your left, I would initially yell ‘good job’ as I passed people. Most racers got the hint and moved over to the right. Only when participants didn’t get the hint did I yell ‘on your left.’ With the constant talking, I found myself not pushing as hard as I usually do on the bike leg, which may have played a part in helping my run.
Keeping Coach Jason’s advice about running frequency in mind, the couple of weeks heading into the race I changed my run training to make a concerted effort to increase the number of run sessions in my weekly training. The advice paid huge dividends as I felt great on the run. Similar to bike, I liked yelling ‘good job’ as I could see it really encouraged the people I was passing so I kept up the effort on the run. After crossing the finish line, I wasn’t expecting a fast run with the constant encouraging of other racers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see I posted my fastest 5k run split (17:44).
Following the race, my family enjoyed the J&J Hospitality tent with great food and the awards ceremony where my sister earned 2nd place in her age group and 7th overall. Two years ago, I finished the sprint race in a time of 1:09, but a two minute penalty knocked me back into 2nd place with a time of 1:11. This year, I finished again with a time of 1:09. Thankfully, no penalty, so I got to keep the 1st place overall. After seeing Alex and David compete in both races last year, I thought I would try my luck in the Olympic the following day. Unfortunately, the Olympic race did not have the same results. I was involved in a bike crash, but thankfully, no broken bones. The same was not true for my bike as both aero bars had snapped into two pieces. With my next race NJ States coming up in a couple of weeks, would my bike be fixed in time to race?
NJ State Sprint
First, a big thank you to Knapps Cyclery! They were able to repair my bike in time for the NJ State race on Saturday, July 19th. The expertise and customer service is excellent at Knapps. If anyone has any bike needs in the Lawrenceville/Trenton, NJ area, I would highly recommend them. We’ve been able to work out a partnership with store owner Pete and store manager Bill and, after a great bike fitting utilizing the Retul system, I felt strong and ready to go.
Second, CGI does a great job with their races. They are very professional and provide excellent customer service as well. Their staff is very knowledgeable and helpful in addition to having a ton of volunteers for extra support. Also, the food was very good at this race, which is a nice perk.
Unlike Philadelphia, it was nice having an elite amateur wave. I was able to get out in front on the swim, and had a completely clear course for the bike. With the fixed bike and proper fitting, I felt pretty good and was happy to see I rode 40 seconds faster than two years ago when I competed in this race.
The run is on a nice shaded course, but has some undulations to navigate on the path which is why I prefer the Sprint distance over the Olympic at this venue. Similar to Philadelphia, I felt pretty good on the run thanks to the improved training I’ve incorporated based on Coach Jason’s advice.
Being a local race, it’s always exciting to see familiar faces. I was able to catch up with a lot of friends who were also doing the race (e.g., Brett Jenner, Tyler Ems, Brady Gibney, Vince, Michael Fromuth, and Ryan Matheson).
With my current best 5k of 17:32 from this race , I finished at 52:39 for overall 1st place and am looking forward to my next race in Milwaukee in August. Will the momentum continue into the first of my two big races for the year?
On an early June 8th summer morning, I participated in the Escape the Cape triathlon in Cape May, NJ. After a disappointing race in Columbia, I was looking to get back on track. Would this race be able to reignite my passion for triathlon as the season kicked into full gear?
The answer was a definite YES for two reasons:
1. Delmo Sports delivers unique and quality events. The unique aspect of this race is the opportunity to jump off the Cape May Lewes Ferry. Even though there were some delays due to positioning the ferry at the start of the race, I didn’t mind the extra wait time since the ferry was pretty luxurious inside. The boat had leather reclining seats with huge flat screen TVs to help pass the time in style. Advice for future participants: bring a drink and light snack in case there are any delays. Thankfully, I grabbed a Gatorade bottle, which helped keep me hydrated with the extended wait. Ultimately, Delmo sports came through on their promise as jumping of the ferry was awesome!
In terms of quality, this race had a great venue. Riding and running along Beach Avenue was pretty cool as the crowds were loudly cheering. Another piece of advice for future participants: prepare for a hard run. While it was very scenic running on the sand during two portions of the run, the deep sand added a little extra difficulty in running. You are able to get closer to water where the sand is a bit firmer; however, getting back to the road you cannot avoid the deep sand at the start of the beach. The only improvement needed was a few more volunteers marking the run course out on the beach. It was tough to spot the run turn-around, but thankfully, we figured it out.
2. The second reason was the family and friends we got to spend time with at this race. As usual my parents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousin came out to support me and my sister at the race. It makes a huge difference having family come cheer you on during the race. Also, it was good seeing friends like Tim and Laura Pappas (congratulations on the baby!), Jason Kilderrry (thanks for the coaching advice to really help my training!), Jordan Verdeu (congratulations on the Olympic victory!), and Greg Wilkenson (congratulations on the Sprint race victory!).
If anyone is interested in this race, I would definitely recommend it. I ended up getting back on the winning track by taking overall first place, and my sister won her age-group (5th place overall).
PS: Having the extra time on the ferry, I got to pick the brain of Coach Jason. We talked about the importance of frequency to improve on the run, and I am excited to incorporate his advice into my training following the race. How would this advice pay off at my next race the J&J TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon?
TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon
Two years ago at the J&J Philadelphia Triathlon, I met Alex Gorsky (CEO of J&J) and David Silver (Product Director for Zytiga). Since I was a consultant working on a project at J&J, they invited me to be part of their J&J Triathlon team. This year, I asked if I could invite a few of my interested Quintiles colleagues to create a sub-team to help raise funds for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Our Quintiles sub-team was able to raise over $7k for CHOP, which is a special cause for me as I was a patient at CHOP in my early childhood. Overall, it was very inspiring to be part of a great team like J&J, and I look forward to raising funds next year for CHOP at this race again.
In terms of the race, my sister and I competed in the Sprint race on Saturday, June 21st. TriRock does a good job organizing. The race start was in the time trial format, which I’ve noticed is becoming more popular among races. The start and swim went fine; however, the transition lanes heading out to the bike course should be wider to help with some congestion that was caused as participants funneled together.
Since there is no amateur elite wave in the Sprint wave, I expected a crowded bike course. It was indeed crowded, but not too bad. Instead of yelling on your left, I would initially yell ‘good job’ as I passed people. Most racers got the hint and moved over to the right. Only when participants didn’t get the hint did I yell ‘on your left.’ With the constant talking, I found myself not pushing as hard as I usually do on the bike leg, which may have played a part in helping my run.
Keeping Coach Jason’s advice about running frequency in mind, the couple of weeks heading into the race I changed my run training to make a concerted effort to increase the number of run sessions in my weekly training. The advice paid huge dividends as I felt great on the run. Similar to bike, I liked yelling ‘good job’ as I could see it really encouraged the people I was passing so I kept up the effort on the run. After crossing the finish line, I wasn’t expecting a fast run with the constant encouraging of other racers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see I posted my fastest 5k run split (17:44).
Following the race, my family enjoyed the J&J Hospitality tent with great food and the awards ceremony where my sister earned 2nd place in her age group and 7th overall. Two years ago, I finished the sprint race in a time of 1:09, but a two minute penalty knocked me back into 2nd place with a time of 1:11. This year, I finished again with a time of 1:09. Thankfully, no penalty, so I got to keep the 1st place overall. After seeing Alex and David compete in both races last year, I thought I would try my luck in the Olympic the following day. Unfortunately, the Olympic race did not have the same results. I was involved in a bike crash, but thankfully, no broken bones. The same was not true for my bike as both aero bars had snapped into two pieces. With my next race NJ States coming up in a couple of weeks, would my bike be fixed in time to race?
NJ State Sprint
First, a big thank you to Knapps Cyclery! They were able to repair my bike in time for the NJ State race on Saturday, July 19th. The expertise and customer service is excellent at Knapps. If anyone has any bike needs in the Lawrenceville/Trenton, NJ area, I would highly recommend them. We’ve been able to work out a partnership with store owner Pete and store manager Bill and, after a great bike fitting utilizing the Retul system, I felt strong and ready to go.
Second, CGI does a great job with their races. They are very professional and provide excellent customer service as well. Their staff is very knowledgeable and helpful in addition to having a ton of volunteers for extra support. Also, the food was very good at this race, which is a nice perk.
Unlike Philadelphia, it was nice having an elite amateur wave. I was able to get out in front on the swim, and had a completely clear course for the bike. With the fixed bike and proper fitting, I felt pretty good and was happy to see I rode 40 seconds faster than two years ago when I competed in this race.
The run is on a nice shaded course, but has some undulations to navigate on the path which is why I prefer the Sprint distance over the Olympic at this venue. Similar to Philadelphia, I felt pretty good on the run thanks to the improved training I’ve incorporated based on Coach Jason’s advice.
Being a local race, it’s always exciting to see familiar faces. I was able to catch up with a lot of friends who were also doing the race (e.g., Brett Jenner, Tyler Ems, Brady Gibney, Vince, Michael Fromuth, and Ryan Matheson).
With my current best 5k of 17:32 from this race , I finished at 52:39 for overall 1st place and am looking forward to my next race in Milwaukee in August. Will the momentum continue into the first of my two big races for the year?