Amica Ocean Beach 19.7 Triathlon

I got up at 4:20 and was on the road for New London by 4:45. I had prepacked the car, except for putting my bike on the back. I have gotten half way to triathlon before when I realized there was no bike on my rack. Today every thing went smoothly and I arrived at Ocean Beach Park at the stroke of six.

This is both an awesome facility for a triathlon and for bringing a family. I had brought my two-year old there a couple weeks ago just to check the place out. Nice beach, cool water, an Olympic pool, a splash pad, and many old time kiddie carnival rides.

I had been worried about the weather and rain storms, but it cleared up nicely, although it was humid. I was glad that they put the Clydesdales in the second wave with the men under 39. The first wave was reserved for the elites of which it didn’t seem there were more than a dozen.

The water was great. The route was well marked with buoys that made sighting easy. I had seen a few jelly fish the day I went, but none this morning. I wore my wet suit, which I absolutely love. I have a full-body Blue Seventy. I swim about the same speed as without it, but I am so much more relaxed. I just let my legs float behind me like I have a pull buoy between my legs. I finished in 17:02, and ran up to the boardwalk where I got out of it easily by standing on one leg and then the other. This is my second triathlon using one and the first time I spent four minutes trying to pull it off my ankles.

In May when I did the Shamrock Duathlon, very few people passed me on the bike because if they were a slower runner than me, than they were likely also a slower biker. Today, being in the second wave and having start on most of the field, I was passed by hundreds of riders and only managed to pass one the entire 16 miles. Still I averaged 15.3 miles per hour which was an improvement over the 13.6 I averaged at the Shamrock Duathlon. The course was in very good shape with the exception of one patch after coming around a fast corner and heading downhill where I got jostled quite a bit. I think I could ride a bit faster, but I am held back by a combination of fear of riding and conditioning (wanting to pace myself for the run).

The second transition went well. I now have the elastic shoelaces and those are great for a quick snug fit. I was tired as always on the run – the heat and humidity were now quite noticeable -- but I never had to stop. On the go, I doused my head with water at the multiple water stops -- and had some energy for a sprint at the end. I finished the 5k in 33:43, which is on the slower end of my triathlon 5K times.

I finished three seconds over 2 hours for a 259 finish out of 293. If I had been able to see the clock sooner, I think I could have kicked it up a bit more to come in under 2, but that will be a goal for next year, as, despite the four extra bike miles, I will definitely do this race again.

Post race they had a finisher’s medals for everyone and a traditional food spread of bananas, pastries, watermelon, granola bars, and yogurt. There was a long line at the Carvel ice cream stand as well.

I enjoyed a nice refreshing post-race plunge in the water, and floated on back awhile and looked up at the blue sky, and was quite thankful for my decision of a few years ago to try to become a triathlete.


Total 2:00:03 (88%) 259 out of 293
Swim (1/2 Mile) 17:09 (59%) 173 of 293
Bike (16 Miles) 1:03:19 (91%) 268 of 293 (15.23 MPH)
Run (5K) 33:43 (85%) 250 out of 293


Results