Had a lot of fun doing the Liberty to Liberty Race from NY to Philly over Memorial Day weekend. It's an unusual tri, as certain aspects of the race logistics make parts of it untimed and all the transitions are untimed, but it was very well run and a lot of fun.

The race begins with a 1 mile swim in the Hudson beginning at Battery Park. Race organizers assured us that the swim would be with the current. It took me 41 minutes, even the fastest swimmers were over 30 minutes, so there is no way it was current assisted. But with a water temp of 62 degrees the swim wasn't bad at all. The view of the Statue of Liberty was cool and there were plenty of kayaks in the water in case anyone had problems. After the swim comes a short walk to catch a ferry to Atlantic Highlands in NJ. On the ferry there was juice, coffee, bagels, and yogurt.

Our bikes were waiting for us in Atlantic Highlands and all the athletes ride together for 11 miles to the official bike start. Then, in swim order finish, at 10 second intervals, we began the 76 mile ride across NJ to the Ben Franklin Bridge. The first 60 miles are through mostly rural areas on mostly flat roads with just some gently rolling hills. The roads were not closed, but the course was very well marked and there were police stopping traffic in most intersections. The three aid stations were well set up and the volunteers did a great job refilling water bottles and gatorade and getting us back on the course in a hurry. I didn't manage my nutrition as well as I should have, so with about 15 miles to go my legs started cramping. I stood up to climb a hill and both legs locked up - not a fun feeling. I managed to keep going but the last part of the bike was not fun. The last few miles were in Camden, NJ, not exactly a bike friendly area and the only part of the race where the course wasn't good. Despite the cramping, I was under 4 hours for the 76 mile timed bike ride, averaging about 19mph.

At the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge the bike clock stopped and we got a chance to rest before running. We still had a 4 mile bike ride through Philly, untimed, before beginning the run, which was a great opportunity to get some of the lactic acid out and actually get my legs feeling a little better. T2 was at the Philly Art Museum (scene of Rocky's run up the steps) and at this odd tri you could take the time to fuel up prior to the run. Knowing I had done all I could to get my legs back, I took off and ran the slowest 10K I've ever done at over an hour! Oh well, the legs just had nothing left.

All in all, while it's a strange race with the time neutral transitions, it is very well organized with some complicated logistics and it is a lot of fun. The concept of NY to Philly is cool and I'm sure I'll do this one again. Now its time to switch gears and start focusing on the Olys that I'm used to doing and practicing those transitions as the clock won't stop in the next race!