{"id":1254,"date":"2026-08-18T20:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2026-08-18T21:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:08:03","slug":"west-point-sprint-triathlon-august-16-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=1254","title":{"rendered":"West Point Sprint Triathlon – August 16, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This was my first triathlon since May 2025 because of a \u201cseries of unfortunate events\u201d: had surgery for my broken right foot, PT after the surgery; left hamstring, PT for that; got a cold from swimming\/nasal infection; rolled right ankle; right Achilles injury and PT for that\u2026 <\/em>So, it was pretty exciting to feel ready to race, needed to be in tune with my body but still wanted to push the envelope.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the third time I had done this race \u2014 so, my impossible goal was to beat the SOB with my name who had done this race 10 years ago (in 1:22:05).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Drove up with Alan Golds, my swim-training and racing buddy since the beginning of my triathlons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beautiful, sunny day, with temps in the 70s, and water temp at 77.5 degrees \u2014 so wetsuit-legal by just \u00bd a degree. Warmup in the water for around 5 minutes. \u201cSelf-seeding\u201d to start the race was a joke, because there were no signs showing anticipated swim speeds, more like the mosey-up-to-the-starting-line of a running race (so I seed myself between those who are pushing to the front and those lagging behind), and we\u2019re OFF! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water is full of reeds and lily pads on the right, so I avoid that, and pass the first buoys pretty quickly, legs are squeezed from the wetsuit but feeling strong and glad to be in touch with good body position (butt up, head down!), reach \u201cwide\u201d with right hand to avoid crossing over and bend that elbow to establish the catch \u2014 all the result of a swim lesson with Coach Steve (at https:\/\/www.triendeavors.com\/<\/a>) \u2014 and breathing\/sighting every 3-2-strokes (which might be excessive sighting, but kept me on course). Finished the 800 yds. in 14:03 minutes (1;52 pace) – faster than Coach Steve predicted, and only slightly slower than 10 years ago. And 4\/18 for AG!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stripped off the sleeveless wetsuit, ran a short distance (1:40 minutes) to T1 (1:04 minutes), put on shoes helmet and swapped goggles for glasses, and start to RIDE! Up the long hill (keep the wattage steady, don\u2019t surge, don\u2019t use too heavy a gear, but be strong), turn around and go down down down (feels great to tuck into aero and coast and catch whoever is pedaling ahead of me), turn again and up up hill (here comes Vadim, haven\u2019t seen him for years, I\u2019ll never catch HIM), some guy (no. 181) hunched over on a plain road bike passes all of us (so much for fancy equipment! And after that, he ran a 6:53 pace!), and I scoot back into the Camp Buckner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

44:42 for 13.6 miles (18.4 mph, again a little slower than coach\u2019s prediction), but felt solid and no hamstring twang (gotta love the new saddle and newly fitted bike).  6\/18 for AG\u2026 But T2 took 1:12 minutes\u2026 (9\/18 for AG – there\u2019s room for improvement!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, what we\u2019ve all been waiting for: the run.  It\u2019s only 5k, but my first running race in a long time, and I\u2019m in my  carbon-plate shoes (overcompensating? You bet) and I feel SPRINGY! As I leave transition, I realize I left my watch on the bike, but I don\u2019t want to lose time going back to get it and not having a watch will force me to go by feel. Which is fine, except what I start to feel is\u2026 tired. And without a watch, I don\u2019t know how far I\u2019ve gone!  There are no mile markers, the road loops through the woods and I remember from prior races finishing on a downhill, but I go up three hills and I\u2019m asking people, \u201cthis way to the finish line\u201d?  So, yeah, knowing how far I had left to go would have been better for my mental state\u2026 but there\u2019s the inflatable Finish Line and I\u2019m DONE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Approaching the finish line \u2014 what\u2019s not to like?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unbelievably, despite predicting 9:30 min\/mile, I finish in 25:46 minutes – 8:17 min\/mile! 4th in Age group!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom line: 1:28:39, 6\/18 AG, 63\/236 OA. NO Pain! 6:30 minutes slower than 10 years ago, and only 2 seconds<\/em> slower than Vadim!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Post-race bonus:  a Hastings-on-Hudson neighbor, Tim Donahue (biked in 37:36), his 10th-grade daughter (swam in 10:48) and her friend (ran in 23:38) did a relay \u2014 and combined (1:13:35), they beat first place overall. Pretty amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was my first triathlon since May 2025 because of a \u201cseries of unfortunate events\u201d: had surgery for my broken right foot, PT after the surgery; left hamstring, PT for that; got a cold from swimming\/nasal infection; rolled right ankle; right Achilles injury and PT for that\u2026 So, it was pretty exciting to feel ready […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-races","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWest Point Sprint Triathlon - August 16, 2026 - Race Report Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=1254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"West Point Sprint Triathlon - 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