27 July 08

Yesterday I competed in my first triathlon.  I raced the sprint distance, which consisted of a 500 m swim, 11.2 mi bike and a 5 k run.

I have been biking and running for fitness for the past few years.  I decided last year that I want to try racing a triathlon.  The swim was my one hold up.  Growing up in FL, I always had a pool to "play" in but never took swimming lessons.  I did a Tri101 workshop last April with Coach Troy (www.coachtoy.com).  I decided that I could do it if I just set my mind to it.  I started swimming at the local college pool in May.  I watched other people doing laps and understood the basic concept.  Unfortunately breathing was a problem.  I might get a few yards before I could breath and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

After a few weeks of try to teach myself I found someone to give me lessons.  Christine was an excellent teacher.  After 30 minutes with her I was able to swim 25 yards before I had to stop and catch my breath.  I kept practicing and suddenly things started falling into place.  One day I could swim 50 yards, then 100 yards and then was swimming more than 100 yards without getting out of breath.  I was starting to feel very confident in my new skills.  

I was training quite a bit on the bike and run as well.  I was working with a coach to help get me conditioned to compete.  Race day came and I felt as ready as I was going to be.  I had two main goals for the race:

1. Finish the race

2. Don't be last.

Of course I want to win but I didn't think it was wise to set unrealistic goals.

I arrived at the park Sunday morning around 5:30.  I want to have plenty of time to set up my transition spot and do a practice swim.  The smarted thing I did was the practice swim.  It was the part I was most worried about and the part I was a little over confident in.

The water was warm and there were only a few others in the water with me.  I started out attempting to swim with freestyle like I have done in the pool.  I quickly realized just how different swimming in the lake was going to be.  I couldn't see anything in the water and had not done a good job training myself to site.  I didn't go very far before I decided practice was over.  I was slightly discouraged but not much more nervous after the practice swim.  I was already rethinking my expectation for the race.

I was the last wave to go so I had time to watch how everyone else handled the swim start.  Since I was now expecting to be bringing up the rear, I stayed to the back of the group so I would get in the way of the better swimmers.  The whistle blew and I tried to control my breathing and attempt proper swimming but quickly realized it was pointless.  So I did whatever I could to keep moving towards the end.  I never felt panic in the water just determination not to give up.  I was even capable of joking with one of the lifeguards about my bad since of direction and I almost swam into his kayak.  Some how I managed to not be last out of the lake.  I even pasted people from earlier waves still hanging on to kayaks.

I ran (while others walked) from the water to transition and switched to bike mode in less than two minutes.  Then I ran (again while others walked) to the bike mount and took off with the determination to make myself proud.  I immediately started catching and passing people.  I felt rather strong and it certainly was a confidence boost to keep passing people.  I ran most of the way back through transition to switch to the run.  I took off at what felt like an ok pace but it was hard to tell with so many people faster and slower than me around.  I finished the bike and the run faster than I was anticipating.

I finished 7th out of 130 in my division (FT-Females) and 123rd out of 475 total females.  I completed the swim in 14:24, the bike in 35:13 and the run in 27:48.  I more than exceeded my expectations and really enjoyed the experience.  Now I ready to start training for the next one.

I would like to thank my family and friends for all their support, Christina for teaching my to swim even though I didn't do it in the race and Coach Troy for helping my accomplish more than I thought I could.

I am happy to say I made it through both Spinervals workouts for the new DVDs releasing this summer.  Check out the picture of the group from "Drop the Hammer"

This Sunday the 17th I (and other athletes from the New Jersey Cycling and Multisport Community) am participating in a Spinervals indoor cycling video.

We are filming at Mercedes Benz of Freehold.  Not only will I get an incredible workout but I will be supporting a great cause.  A portion of the proceeds go to support research to battle leukemia (The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® and Alive with MissionMe!®)

http://www.cyclenews.com/events/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=1833

MOTOCROSS - New Jersey Motocross
By Scott Lukaitis

Singleton Steals Women’s Class Victory 8/27/2006

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ

“Rain, rain go away, come again another day.”

This has been the mantra for Raceway Park this season, as Mother Nature has decided to rear her ugly head on many occasions at Old Bridge Township’s Raceway Park. You would be hard-pressed to remember a race this season that did not feature some rain either the night before or the day of an event. Such was the case again on August 27, as torrential rains greeted the riders getting ready for practice in the morning. The monsoon-type precipitation had already forced the cancellation of Saturday’s Pee Wee and Pitbike racing, and due to the horrendous track condition, Sunday’s event was changed to a one-moto, winner-take-all format.

With only one moto deciding the winner, the holeshot was extremely important, and Nikki Stewart knew it. At the start of the Women’s-class moto, Stewart blasted off the line on her Dragon Optical-backed Yamaha YZ125 and grabbed the holeshot, only to go down in the treacherous conditions. This allowed Yamaha riders Jennifer Singleton (16) and Erica Rizzo and the rest of the ladies to go by. Singleton, on the Earthquake Racing-backed machine, inherited the lead and tried to put a gap on the field. Stewart was quickly back up, and she set off to catch as many riders as possible.

By the end of the first lap, Stewart was back into fourth and had the leaders in her sights. By the time Rizzo made the pass on Singleton for the lead, Stewart was already in third. When Rizzo bobbled in the front section of the track, Singleton again went into the lead.

With Singleton leading and Rizzo still in second, Stewart was closing quickly. Then Rizzo went down on a rough straight, allowing Stewart into second.

By now, the mud was starting to get more slippery, which caused Singleton to bobble, handing the lead to Stewart. Now it was Stewart’s turn to lead, and she began to stretch out the gap on the field. Singleton kept her in sight, because anything can happen in the mud.

And anything did happen: In the very last turn on the track, Stewart went down, and Singleton stole the victory. Stewart quickly got back up and rolled across the finish line in second. Rizzo picked her bike up from an earlier mishap and worked her way into third by moto’s end.

The next event at Raceway Park is the 14th annual Vet and Vintage Reunion on September 2. For more details, check out the website at www.racewaypark.com. An keep your fingers crossed for no rain.

Results

65 (7-9): 1. Jacob Hartranft (Kaw); 2. Tyler J. Betsch (Suz); 3. Joseph Galbraith (KTM); 4. Lucas Brzostowski (Kaw); 5. Brandon Hartranft (Kaw).

65 (10-11): 1. Richie Trevelise (Suz); 2. Macklin McQuade (Kaw).

85 (7-11): 1. Nick Desiderio (Suz); 2. Jacob Hartranft (Kaw); 3. Daniel Bromley (Suz); 4. Jake Scott (Yam); 5. Richie Trevelise (Suz).

85 (12-13): 1. Christopher Duymich (Hon); 2. Damian Krause (Yam); 3. Adam Scicchitano (Suz).

85 (14-15): 1. Larry Cella (Kaw); 2. Austin Ebberup (Kaw); 3. Anthony Faccone (Hon).

JR MINI (9-13): 1. Nick Desiderio (Suz); 2. Jake Scott (Yam); 3. Jacob Hartranft (Kaw); 4. Damian Krause (Yam); 5. Brandon Hartranft (Kaw).

S/MINI (12-15): 1. James Di Benedetto (Suz); 2. Charles Saporito (Hon).

125 NOV: 1. Donald Glidden (Yam); 2. Arthur Stryker (Hon); 3. Nicholas Peccarelli (Kaw); 4. Larry Cella (Kaw); 5. Austin Harvey (Kaw).

125 AM: 1. Ryan Gainey (Hon); 2. Mike Lacerenza (Kaw); 3. Jamie Lawrence (Kaw); 4. Mike Tippin Jr. (Suz); 5. Dakota Kessler (Kaw).

125 EX: 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Adam Blessing (Kaw); 3. John Lawrence (Kaw); 4. Robert Malkiewicz (Kaw); 5. James McIlvaine (Hon).

250 NOV: 1. Gregory Jaronczyk (Yam); 2. George P. Dennis (Suz); 3. Doug McHenry (Hon); 4. Stephen Michael (Hon); 5. John Wehrle (Yam).

250 AM: 1. Dakota Kessler (Kaw); 2. Ryan Gainey (Hon); 3. Mike Tippin Jr. (Suz); 4. Kiel Dwyer (Yam); 5. Chris Reo (Kaw).

250 EX: 1. John Lawrence (Suz); 2. Barry Carsten (Suz); 3. Darren Edsall (Kaw); 4. Brian Mulcahy (Kaw); 5. Adam Blessing (Kaw).

WMN: 1. Jennifer Singleton (Yam); 2. Nikki Stewart (Yam); 3. Erica Rizzo (Yam); 4. Emily Suydam (Hon); 5. Tammy Longacre (Hon).

SCHBY (12-15) 2-STRK: 1. Joey Peditto (Suz); 2. Edwin Way (Yam); 3. Sal Calamita (Hon).

SCHBY (12-15) 4-STRK: 1. Mike Lacerenza (Kaw); 2. Arthur Stryker (Hon); 3. Jon Reber (Suz); 4. Ben Rio (Kaw); 5. Brett Tave (KTM).

CLGBY (16-24): 1. Jamie Lawrence (Kaw); 2. Gregory Jaronczyk (Yam); 3. Kiel Dwyer (Yam); 4. James Mushalla (Yam); 5. Joseph Chmielewski (Yam).

25+ AM: 1. Sean Gillies (Hon); 2. Ed Graham (Suz); 3. Kevin Thomasey (Hon); 4. John Tavernese (Yam); 5. Roy Mwangi (Hon).

25+ EX: 1. James McIlvaine (Hon); 2. Darren Edsall (Kaw); 3. Frank Eckel (Hon); 4. Philip Thompson (Suz); 5. Gabi Stancik (Yam).

30+ NOV: 1. Kevin Kerr (Hon); 2. John Ward (Hon); 3. John Pakenham (Yam); 4. Michael Ferrara (Suz); 5. James Lauria (Suz).

30+ AM: 1. Sean Gillies (Hon); 2. Chris Reo (Kaw); 3. Ed Graham (Suz); 4. Karl Baumann (Hon); 5. Michael Lewis (Hon).

30+ EX: 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Darren Edsall (Kaw); 3. James McIlvaine (Hon); 4. Joseph Koopman (Hon); 5. Philip Thompson (Suz).

40+ AM: 1. Jerry Rizziello Jr. (Hon); 2. Steve Lewis (Suz); 3. Jason Gennusa (Hon); 4. Karl Baumann (Hon); 5. John Stewart (Hon).

40+ EX: 1. David Hurley (Yam); 2. Mark Loniewski (Hon); 3. Harold Glissen (Yam); 4. Ken Bordzuk (Hon).