I am Lobsterman

(Insert Toni Iommi’s guitar wail here.)

An Olympic distance race, I registered for the aquabike very late and on a whim. Apparently the hills of Timberman did not teach me the proper respect for hills. It is at least twice the distance that I have previously raced in both swim and bike. I knew I didn’t have it in me to slog through a 10k run. I made the right call.

In Summary:

• Wetsuits are mandatory for a reason.
• PR’d the swim despite the additional distance!
• Never dull bike course.
• Post-race beer (provided you can walk to the beer tent).
• I am doing it again next year and making a weekend out of it.

Pre-Race:

Having suffered the loss of Pinky (my bike) the prior week, I had one six-mile ride on Nightwing, her able replacement prior to the race. That ride was basically a shakedown ride, not anything close to a serious training ride. Picked up wetsuit. Drove up to Freeport in rain on Friday night. Had worried thoughts about the weather. Packet pickup was at the local YMCA – very organized. Super-cute t-shirt design.

Had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant. Stayed with the family at an inn that is essentially at the race site. Left the inn at 7am for an 8:30 race start. Should be plenty of time to go 3 miles and then settle in. Due to amazingly bad traffic, on race day I was dropped off on the park approach road and biked down to the course. (The family went shopping at L.L. Bean while I raced.) There was a line coming into transition for bodymarking. Settled in, crammed self into wetsuit. Felt like I was racing before the start until the announcement came across that they would delay the start due to the unexpected traffic issues.

Swim: Wetsuits were mandatory and the ocean was 61 degrees. A new variation on an in-water start (to me) this was actually a treading water start at the end of a boat pier. A tad challenging if you aren’t comfortable in the water. My swim wave was small and generally good swimmers, so we just giggled about floating into each other. The wetsuit made me feel floaty and funny, but when the cold water hit my wrists, I was glad to have the insulation. The boats provided swimmers with lots of space to spread out and stay out of each other’s way. The swim felt long and like it took forever, but I actually had a personal record when measured by seconds per hundred meter.

T1: Up on to beach, run into transition. I was so cold coming out of the water that I waited until I was almost at my bike rack before starting to climb out of the wetsuit. Longest transition ever, probably due to cold and wetsuit factor. Transition was exceptionally well marked, so I easily found my way in and out. I felt like the last person out of the water, but when I saw lots of bikes on the rack, I felt better about how I did.

Bike: Out of the park, little bit of riding room to get legs under me, and then the first of what was many hills. The hill profile for this race is worth checking out. It is the steepest set of hills and closely packed. Uphill, flat, uphill, downhill, roll again into uphill, around corner, repeat. One of my fellow teammates later said that this is a course that if ridden incorrectly can hurt you. I agree. I rode it with absolutely no strategy on a new bike, an absolute idiot move. However, the course is lovely, the residents are supportive, and there are lots of things to think about and do as you ride. I saw sheep, horses, cows, and a man on roller-skis. I was never bored. At one especially difficult point, around mile 19, I was considering stopping because I hurt, my speed had slowed considerably, and I knew I still had several miles to go. Just then, this very nice young man in a red and white tri-suit passed me and told me not to give up. Time-wise, I was not surprised to see that it took me a long time to cover the distance. However, considering the distance and the hills, I’m OK with my time.

Race safety on the bike was excellent. There was a leader car, a trailing motorcycle, and at least two support vehicles on the bike course. There was also a marked water exchange, police and/or volunteers at every turn, and periodic signage just to reassure you that yes, this was the right place to be.

Post race: Crossing the finish (which was a tad funny as an aquabike), I was de-chipped and handed a little lobster float keychain (super cute, really) and a bottle of SmartWater, which I quickly drank. Having been spanked by the bike (no real surprise), I took advantage of some post-race stretching assistance. I was very glad that I hadn’t entered the entire race as I would have been forced to DNF. The food looked good and there is also a lobsterbake after the race, but I just wasn’t up for eating. Met a few teammates that I hadn’t seen at the sprint distance races. I happened to see the red and white man cross the finish, so I thanked him for providing encouragement just when I needed it.