Athleta Iron Girl 2013 Race Recap

I meant to post this recap sooner but I’ve been “processing” this race and for the past two weeks coupled with I’m really not one for race recaps. Even after all the processing, I’m not sure what to say about the Athleta Iron Girl Triathlon, so I’ll let the pictures and numbers do most of the talking.

Two Sundays ago was my third time doing this race (previously called the Danskin Women’s Triathlon). Don’t let the name fool you, it’s a sprint distance tri – quite possibly the shortest tri ever after they shortened the race even more (keep reading). My goal was simple: to beat my time from last year.

I’m stronger and faster and I trained harder this year. But the day before the race, a Facebook post announced that the course would be shortened to a 1/4 mile swim and an 8 mile bike. So it would basically be the shortest sprint triathlon ever. I’m not really sure why they shortened the course but I suspect it had something to do with park regulations.

Not to mention, the course was in a different part of the park from last year, it was a completely different race altogether. With the name change and more marketing behind it, it drew more participants than in years past. That wasn’t all that was different. I thought this race was more disorganized, there was less of a sense of camaraderie and support and no swim angels for the women who could have used the extra help to finish.

Still, I was happy to finish 18th in my age group. A far cry from 12th last year, but there were a handful of more serious athletes there this time around.

Race morning came and I was surprisingly calm until I realized that high winds made the water pretty choppy. So choppy that many women decided to call it a day before finishing the swim. The winds also made for some strong headwinds on the bike. The run was one of my fastest 5Ks ever, which helped given my slower swim and bike times.

Race results are the only place I actually like to look at numbers so if you’re reading this and you feel the same, here you go – year on year results!

We were really lucky to be doing this race in Sandy Hook, NJ not even a year after hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore. For that I’m thankful.

Maybe the biggest win was that I wasn’t even sore the next day. How is that even possible? I’m planning to find a new race for next year. Any suggestions?