[Note: This report features my thoughts on my experience at Challenge Atlantic City. If you are looking for a course overview, that will be coming soon. Please sign up for email updates (to the right).]
I don’t load up my race calendar with a ton of races, and every race I do has a reason.
I had two primary reasons to do Challenge Atlantic City. First, it’s a hometown long-course race, and I would be able to share the course with so many of the good people that surround me. While most people in North America are getting into the heart of their triathlon season, I’m just ending mine as I turn my focus to ultrarunning. So, what better race to end my 2015 season than with a race hosted on my hometown training grounds?
Second, I wanted to do some hard work to chase down some goals.
Despite all of the jokes about New Jersey, and the issues that trouble Atlantic City (and the surrounding areas), I have a #JerseyStrong pride that can’t be beaten out of me – no matter how I might also make fun of or complain about my home state. This pride comes from the physical geography as well as the social topography.
When I showed up to transition race morning, I immediately saw the smiling faces of so many people that are a part of my life. Friends were racing every distance Challenge AC had to offer, and we were all feeling our own version of pre-race nervous excitement, and we were experiencing it TOGETHER.
It was unlike any other race morning in that sense – here was my local village assembled for the big tribal meeting. While the internet may reduce the obstacles that physical space presents, it doesn’t break the strong bonds that form when we share a place.
The race course itself is also a familiar friend, with different parts of the swim, bike and run course bringing back memories of previous races and benchmark training days.
These are the places where I learned to dream and believe.
I broke my fear of open water swimming in the back bays of Atlantic City, when I first completed the Bridge to Bridge 5k swim back in 2009. So, I was prepared for the chop and current that greeted me during the swim.
I learned to be independent and self-reliant spending hours upon hours of solo cycling on the roads of the bike course. I knew there would be wind, but I also knew there would be nice open roads upon which I could find my groove and grind.
And the Atlantic City boardwalk – well, it’s got to be one of the best places to run in this area. I raced my very first marathon on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, and in the moment that I crossed that finish line, I fell in love with endurance sport. Now, I train regularly on the boardwalk with my friends from the NJ Shore Run club. I know how long it takes to get from one end to the other. I know how far apart the casinos are. I know that there would be whack-a-doodle people everywhere – and not just the triathletes.
There were moments out on the course when the nostalgia made me just a slight touch weepy. Pretty shocking, I know.
In the final few miles of the bike course, you cross the highway on an overpass. As I looked out, I could see the skyline of the city in the horizon, and I felt happy to have this perspective, and while it was all familiar, I felt a new appreciation for this place. And, it was much more exciting than I thought it would be to ride on the Atlantic City Expressway :).
As far as the race competition, I had placement and time goals, one of which I hit, and one of which I missed.
I wanted to win my age group. Check.
I also wanted to go sub-5 hours, a goal I almost hit at Eagleman in 2013. But, as my dad used to say, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. So the sub-5 has stuck on “my list.”
Now, let’s be very clear: a sub-5 half is a lofty goal for me, even on the best of days. To complicate matters, my training for Challenge AC did not exactly resemble triathlon training. (Something about preparing for your first 100 mile ultra marathon makes you significantly less concerned about swimming and cycling.)
Despite the less than traditional approach, I felt sub-5 was something I could achieve under the right circumstances. Well, let’s just say those circumstances didn’t exactly materialize, thanks to a 58 mile bike course and a very very very stupid rookie mistake on my part.
While the 58 mile course added time, it wasn’t an insurmountable amount thanks to riding one of the best bikes I’ve had in half-distance racing (it would have been a bike PR if it was 56 miles). So, I still believed the sub-5 was possible if I ran HARD. So, as I was coming into T2, I mentally prepared myself to bleed from my eyeballs if need be. This is where the rookie mistake came in.
I had been running for a few minutes, shifting my body into gear. Then, I heard a voice: “Ma’am! You aren’t wearing your bib.”
I looked down, and I may have uttered an expletive. Hey, it’s Jersey. If you aren’t prepared for a few F-bombs, you need to add someone cussing at you as part of your training.
The volunteer then said that if I didn’t head back, I would risk a penalty. I had to make a split second decision. I didn’t know what the penalty was – time or DQ? I looked at my watch as I turned to head back to T2, I had already been running over 3 minutes. So, I ran back with my thoughts racing, mostly as such:
Sh!t.
Sh!t.
Sh!t.
SH!T.
F#@K.
When I got back to T2, I realized I shouldn’t run over the timing mat or that would likely screw up my timing. So I had to flag down a volunteer who very nicely and as speedily as he could ran to my transition area and grabbed my bib.
With that, I was back on the run course, but by this point, I had lost around 8 minutes—over a mile’s worth of time. Ugh.
Goodbye, sub-5. Farewell. I shall try to meet you again some day.
But never one to give in or accept what might be inevitable, I ran like my pants were on fire. While the time was gone, the placement was still a possibility. I was going to have to bleed from EVERYWHERE now in order to get to the front of my age group.
By my heart rate, this entire race was the hardest I’ve ever raced a half distance triathlon. I had one moment during the bike when I contemplated if I was working too hard.
But, then, I thought, in the Drago voice, If I blow up, then I blow up. *Snear*
Luckily, I did not blow up, but I had to work pretty desperately to hold on to the effort in the final miles.
It was hot. Wah. It was hard. Wah. My feet hurt like a mofo. Wah.
I told myself: SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP.
Despite the pain, those are the moments I like in racing – holding on, proving to myself that I can hold on, and trying to eek out just a little more power and speed – especially at those moments when I think there is nothing left.
I’ve talked before about the importance of post-reflection, and while my focus is turning away from triathlon, Challenge Atlantic City was a good reminder of several important lessons that can be applied to any type of endurance event. Perhaps these could be useful reminders for you as well. Some of these I executed well, and others need more work:
- Outcome goals, such as time and placement, are fine to have, as they can motivate you and keep you focused. However, you must always keep your mind on the task at hand – on the process. Stay focused on the present moment. You can’t change the past, and the future is out of reach.
- Don’t take any part of the process for granted – you might just overlook something obvious. Like your race bib.
- No matter what happens during a race, you cannot stop pursuing your best possible effort, even if it your “A” goal falls out of reach. You need to be proud of what you’ve done when you cross that finish line – regardless of the outcome.
- If a goal is really important to you, you need to train specifically to achieve it. If you have multiple goals, you need to prioritize what goals are most important to you. You can’t train for all-of-the-things all at once.
- Stuff happens. You can’t always control that “stuff,” but you can control your reaction to it.
- The good people that surround you make the pain and suffering so worthwhile. Enjoy the community. Embrace your village. Be a good sport at all times.
Despite missing the time goal, the finish line was no less of a relief. It brought no less a sense of accomplishment. That finish line is always sweet – if for no other reason then you can stop moving. Finally.
For this race in particular, I was so happy to be doing this race in this place with these people that are so special to me. As I cheered from the sidelines, I felt the glow of not only my own big dreams and hard work – but those of the good people who are a part of my village. Thanks for sharing the day with me. Let’s do it again :).
