Liberty to Liberty Triathlon

What does the statue of liberty stand for? Liberty, as in independence; as in freedom. When would the sound of the liberty bell be heard? In 1776.

From New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the horizon of the Statue of Liberty and on to the Liberty Bell.

I was a New Englander on Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer under a sun that was laying out a day reading ninety-one degrees. My point here is that in New England, 91 degrees is plenty hot, especially when we haven’t acclimated ourselves with much warm weather. Sixty-two degrees was the water temperature; perfect in my opinion. Let’s face it: I am practically part whale with the amount of extra fat I am carrying, and I was wearing a full-length Aqua Sphere wetsuit.

Each time a breath, a roll. I had thought the salt water would be very dirty, disgusting, in fact. It was fine where we swam. Upon exiting, I was doused with fresh water from a garden hose.

The transitions were not timed during this race: part of the lure that makes this race unusual. From the swim, we walked a mile to board a ferry. Proceeded with a 45-minute ferry ride to the bike start. The first few miles of the bike, we rode as a touring group. At a set point, we started the competitive bike leg. We were ordered by swim finish. I was the 31st competitor out of the water, so I was 31st to start the bike in a time trial format. Each rider began ten seconds behind the previous.

The next four hours over seventy-six miles, I was in race mode. The pollen was thick amidst the haze. It was sticking to my tires where they rolled upon the pavement. It was sticking to my sweating body in the humid air. It appeared as if I had painted the creases in my elbows yellow. Side thought: this doesn’t make me want to eat elbow macaroni. I ranked better on the bike, finishing the bike leg 21st overall.

Again, the transitions were not timed. So, I changed comfortably from my bike shoes into my running shoes, and had a quarter of a turkey sandwich. Then, as a loner, I lined up at the run start and set off to complete the 6.2 mile run course. This is where I was glad that the run was fairly short. It was hot, and I was uncomfortable. I slacked a lot on the run, justified taking walk breaks. It was about an hour, and I had arrived at the finish line. I drank blue Gatorade until I thought I was going to be sick. I was thirsty.

Many athletes dropped out of the race due to heat exhaustion before they even began the run along the river. I continued; always moving. Finished at the Philadelphia Art Museum stairs where a statue of Sylvester “Rocky” Stallone stands.