Bucket Races
2024 Triathlons
It’s never too early to make a bucket list for yourself, and to make the list a reality. Back in 2023, I didn’t have a bucket list per-say… but as an endurance athlete, I made a list of “bucket” races. Here’s what it looked like:
London Marathon
Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon
Musselman 70.3
Ironman World Championship/Kona
Ironman 70.3 World Championship/New Zealand
A gallery of some of our travels the last couple of years.
Kerry and I very much enjoy traveling and seeing the world together. Though we’ve done a bit of traveling the last few years and have lots of experience with trip planning, we knew it’d be harder in the future to take time and resources to go on faraway vacations. But in 2024, nothing was holding us back from traveling! With that in mind, I thought I could do some of my bucket races. Let me briefly explain the dreams I had for each of those races…
London Marathon: As someone who’s fascinated with British History and wanted to achieve their final “star” as an Abbott Marathon Six Star Finisher, I was very eager about running this marathon. Kerry also was interested in running this marathon.
Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon: This is the famous San Fransisco triathlon with a ferry jump swim start near Alcatraz Prison and bike and run near the Golden Gate Bridge. It was the first triathlon I ever heard of. A professor from my freshman year in college introduced himself as a triathlete and showed us photos of this race. I was hooked.
Musselman 70.3: This Half Ironman used to have a sprint race associated with it called the “Mini Musselman,” which was the first triathlon I ever did back in 2015 when I lived in the New York Finger Lakes region. Maybe I could visit my old friends and old haunts while up there. Doing this race would be a great homecoming for me.
Ironman World Championship/Kona: Having a slot and race in Kona, Hawaii would be the pinnacle of endurance racing for me. After taking a year doing races no more than Half Ironman distance, I felt maybe I could focus on the full Ironman distance in 2024, qualifying and doing Kona in the same year.
Ironman 70.3 World Championship/New Zealand: This other Ironman branded world championship would be another great opportunity to race with the top triathletes. In 2024 it was going to be in New Zealand. Ever since seeing the Lord of the Rings films, Middle Earth/New Zealand has been a place I’ve really wanted to visit. However I’d need to get a qualification spot at another Half Ironman event beforehand.
Though it’s nice to dream, there were things I had to start considering if I wanted to truly complete these bucket races. A few of these races were very popular races for many people and were difficult to sign up for. Getting into a few of these races required having a fast qualifying time or entering a lottery. The Musselman 70.3 I could sign up anytime without any special entry, but the other bucket races I needed special entry.
I prioritized what races I wanted to do first. At the top of the list was the London Marathon, as that was something both Kerry and I really wanted to run together and we knew the demand for this race grew every year. As soon as we heard about a tour group option that included a London Marathon entry, we signed up and got our spots!
The next on my list was Kona. In 2024 that would require me to do two Ironmans: one that I’d hopefully qualify for Kona, and the other one being Kona itself. However with next year’s Ironman races selling out fast and the only other Ironman available for me was a week after the London Marathon, I figured it was best to postpone my Kona dream for at least another year.
Determined to have the best triathlon performance yet, in New York.
Though I wished I could qualify and do Kona next year, an awesome opportunity soon came up. In September 2023 having had one of my best endurance performances ever at Ironman 70.3 New York, I received a qualifying slot for the 2024 Ironman 70.3 Championship in New Zealand. I was really excited!
I had a significant gap in the calendar between the London and New Zealand races, so I thought maybe I could do the other bucket races too next year. I signed up for Musselman 70.3 and tried out the lottery for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon entry. The chances of getting entry through the Escape From Alcatraz lottery were 30% - 50%. When the first ballot results came out, I checked the results and saw I was one of the lucky first ballot entries!
By the end of 2023, I was signed up for 4/5 my bucket races. 2024 was surely going to be a fun year of traveling and endurance racing. Next year would be a chance to get back to why I did endurance races in the first place: to explore and appreciate new places more. What better way to discover a place than to swim, bike, and run there?
Bucket Triathlon One: Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon
Having had such a fulfilling London Marathon experience where Kerry achieved a personal record in the marathon and I finished my Six Star Abbott World Marathon journey, I felt more confident and relaxed traveling far for races. The first race on my calendar after London was “only” 3000 miles from home in San Francisco: Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon.
This race is legendary. There are so many stories of this race, like how you jump off a ferry near the Alcatraz prison island into chilly, supposedly shark infested waters with a strong current, bike through hilly San Francisco neighborhoods, and run on beaches/climb sand ladders. It’s no wonder why this triathlon appeals to so many daring, but maybe crazy, triathletes. I was all gung-ho to do this race in the weeks prior. My family was also very excited and Kerry and my parents flew out to San Francisco to support me.
Out of all of the disciplines in this event, I felt the swim would be the biggest challenge for me. I hadn’t felt so challenged about a swim since the swimrun I did in Boston back in 2019. That swimrun required swimming in open ocean, navigating strong currents, and hopping from island to island in my wetsuit and sneakers. The currents were so strong that more than half the competitors were swept and unable to finish, but thankfully I was able to complete the race. Finishing that swimrun was one of the most rewarding endurance experiences of my life. I expected the same for Escape From Alcatraz.
The most challenging swim I completed was the 2019 Boston Swimrun. That was until Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon…
San Francisco is one of the few big cities I’ve visited that has swimming areas right downtown, and thank goodness it did for my sake. I didn’t want the first time swimming in the cold bay to be when I’d jump off the ferry, so the day before the race I went for a swim in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Just by putting my toes in the water I could feel a very cold chill shooting through my entire body. It got worse the more I submerged myself. I couldn’t help but think I made a big mistake signing up for this race.
When I rowed in college, I learned lots of great lessons, but the most important lesson was how to endure pain. In early March in upstate New York with snow still on the ground and a river that never froze, we rowed in the cold. We couldn’t wear gloves because then we couldn’t handle the oar properly. The only option was to suck it up. Within five minutes my hands actually got warmer, even as the oars iced up from splashes. Now flash forward to swimming in San Francisco; I fully submerged myself, gritted through the cold shock, and tried to get my mind off of the suffering by swimming. And you know what? Five minutes later, my discomfort from the cold went away. In all endurance sports, you learn firsthand that old saying, “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
Can someone turn up the water temp please?
This race experience wouldn’t be about gunning for a certain time. I hoped instead it’d be about having fun with this challenging race while also staying safe. Though I had a good practice swim in the bay, I was still very concerned about the swim leading up to race day. Who knew how much colder and how much stronger the currents would be race morning? I was also cautious about the bike course knowing there were sharp turns and steep downhills throughout, and I’d be cycling the course on a rental bike. The run I wasn’t too worried about. I believed the different terrains of pavement, beach, and trails would be really fun and similar to the hiking I had done with Dad in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
I was still very nervous in the early morning of race day. It might’ve been the most nervous I’ve been before a race. Before I hopped on the ferry, Kerry and my parents told me to be careful. I tried to reassure them I’d stay safe and wouldn’t be afraid to stop my race if things got dangerous. I felt somewhat better seeing all the other athletes energized to take on the challenge of escaping Alcatraz. I even heard an athlete from Georgia saying it was his first triathlon and his first time swimming in open water. That made feel scared for his sake, but honestly less for mine too. Hope that Georgian’s first triathlon went okay.
The race director informed us on the ferry the water temperature was in the low 50s°F and the current was rather fast. I didn’t like the sound of any of that. Fortunately, the race director made the safe decision to drop us a little closer to shore to avoid the cross current and just swim down the current.
In just eight minutes, me and all 1628 athletes competing in the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon jumped eight feet off the ferry and started the race. I said a prayer to myself before jumping. I jumped in… and I felt great! The quick submersion didn’t make me feel nearly as cold as the swim the day before did. I was no longer so worried about the swim. It did help that kayaks and support boats on either side of the swim guiding us down the 1.2 mile swim with the current on our side. I was in a good zone.
Crowded and chaotic end to the swim, but at least I’m no longer swimming.
There was some confusion as to where the swim ended. With the low tide that day, most competitors ended the swim earlier on the beach than they were supposed to. Because I wasn’t really in a “competitive” mood and was in more of a “I want to get my money’s worth swimming the full course” mood, I swam to the end of swim course before hopping onto the beach in 27 minutes and 20 seconds.
The swim to bike transition for this race was very long for a typical triathlon, especially on bare feet. I didn’t care about the potentially difficult bike course I’d be heading into after transition, I just ran as fast as I could to my bike to give my sore feet a break. At transition, it was nice to see my family cheering me on as I hopped on my rental bike. I’m sure they were glad I was done with the swim. Bike and run shouldn’t be so rough, hopefully.
People have said this is one of the most technical triathlon bike courses for a triathlon in the US, and I would second that. Just as we’d climb upwards near the Golden Gate Bridge, we’d steeply descend down towards another beach and repeat these quick changes in elevation multiple times in a span of 18 miles. It was a nice bike course though, passing by many San Francisco landmarks like the Palace of the Arts, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Legion of Honor, and the windmill of the Queen Wilhelmina Garden.
Good climbs on the rental bike.
I didn’t want to take any chances in the descents, and so I erred on the side of caution during those parts of the course. On the climbs though, I did really well. One triathlete with a fast triathlon bike on the course even told me while passing me on a straightaway I was great at climbing. Thanks for the recognition, fellow triathlete. I finished the bike at 1:01:42, with an average speed of 17.5MPH.
With the scary parts of the race completed, all that was left was a scenic eight mile run. Feeling that I expended a significant amount of energy in the bike, I figured it was best to run a more conservative pace and I ran my marathon pace of 6:45 per mile. Any climbs I’d come across I’d try to bring the pace down but keep the effort the same. It was nice to go the slower fast pace as I could appreciate views from the run more. Every turn there was a new and incredible sight of the Golden Gate Bridge or the Pacific Ocean. I found it was pretty easy to fall into a good rhythm on the run even with the difficult terrain of the hills and sandy beaches.
Running on Baker Beach, same beach where the first Burning Man Festival was.
Around the halfway mark on Baker Beach though, I felt the sudden need to go to the bathroom. Prior to the start, I only had one chance to go to the bathroom an hour beforehand on the crowded ferryboat so I had a feeling I was taking a risk. I had to take a bathroom break in a non-Ironman race once before during my rookie season of triathlon. That race I ate bad Mexican food the night before and the race’s swim went through blue green algae blooms, which quickly made me feel sick. I hoped I’d never have to make another bathroom stop during a triathlon again, but I was feeling it might happen here. Just had to get through four miles on an upset stomach… oh dear.
I tried my best to block this from my mind for the remaining miles, which included the infamous sand ladder. Not sure if it was from all that White Mountain hiking with Dad or from the rush of wanting to finish soon and go to the bathroom, but I ran up the sand ladder to Golden Gate Overlook with one of the fastest times of the day! Out of 1628 competitors, I placed 10th overall in the sand ladder climb.
For a good while after the sand ladder, I was actually passing many more people than I did in the first half of the run. It certainly helped me get my mind off of the stomach stresses, but around 6.5 miles after a steep downhill I couldn’t hold it in much longer. I was now very worried I might not find a bathroom in time. But then the “triathlon gods” answered my prayers and I found a bathroom in the nick of time!
Trying my best to hold it in for a nice race photo.
With only a two minute delay, I was able to run at full speed the final stretch. I finished the run in 56:53, making my finish time: 2:35:25. I had now officially escaped Alcatraz safely and soundly! Afterwards, I was able to relax and enjoy some more time in San Francisco with Kerry and my parents. Some things we did after the race included meeting some of Kerry’s extended family, visiting the Star War visual effects house Industrial Light & Magic, and picking up some San Francisco sourdough starter to bring back home and make our own sourdough with.
Thumbs up for finishing another bucket race.
Bucket Triathlon Two: Musselman 70.3
We came back to a very hot New York after our San Francisco trip. Us New Yorkers would have to experience a long heat wave where it was strongly advised to not be outside for long periods of time. I decided to not follow the heat advisories though. I thought it was best to train in the 90+°F heat in case the mid July Musselman 70.3 was a hot race. Two weeks before the race, I started to feel chest pain while breathing.
Was something up with my heart? I’ve done a fair bit of reading about some of the potential side effects of triathlon on the heart. There are lots of stories of athletes who learned about their heart issues too late and died of a heart attack on the course. I spoke to Kerry and my coach Danielle about my symptoms and they felt it was best to see a cardiologist.
I took an electrocardiogram, EKG for short, at the cardiologist’s and it showed a slight irregularity in my heart beat. Not jumping to conclusions just yet, my cardiologist told me I was okay to resume training minus anything interval or sprint related, but she wanted me to do more tests. She gave me a heart monitor to wear everyday for a week and I’d come back for a follow up to analyze the results and do a cardiac stress test.
Tracking heart rate abnormalities with the heart rate monitor two weeks before Musselman.
A cardiac stress test is similar to EKG, but you wear the electrodes while you’re running on a steeply inclined treadmill. Each minute you’re on the treadmill, the speed and incline increase. The test would stop after my heart rate hit a threshold of 160 beats per minute. Most people are on the machine for a couple of minutes, I was on it for 10 minutes and by that point the incline was at a pretty steep incline and the speed was fast. The cardiologist came in afterwards. She checked all my results and concluded my heart’s great. She said I didn’t need to come back til at least I’m 40. I was incredibly relieved. Won’t take my heart for granted anymore.
Kerry and I made a mini road trip out of the Musselman race-cation. We first visited the Corning Glass Museum, where we learned that a lot of the glass from our dishes and smartphones originated from there. Also at the museum, we had fun making our own glass art.
Kerry and I having fun glassmaking during our race-cation.
Further up north in the Finger Lakes region we later visited the first place I lived after college, the city of Auburn and it’s neighboring quaint village of Skaneateles. My old apartment was still there, an 1800s Victorian house where I lived on the top floor and the only way to get up was using the servant’s staircase steps. It was funny to see the place again, but seemed my honorary roommate/friendly squirrel, named King Charles, also left the premises. My guess is his new roommate was no longer feeding him peanuts. Miss you little guy! We were fortunate though we could spend some time with my old friends and coworkers, Joey and Susanne, and catch up with them. I hadn’t been back here since 2016, so we had a very nice time reminiscing about the old days and they were so thrilled to meet Kerry for the first time.
Me and my little roommate, King Charles, back in our Auburn, New York days.
In my opinion, Finger Lakes is timeless. Coming back the Musselman in particular for me was like walking through a portal to my time there in 2015, the year I first started the sport of triathlon. And I still knew this area like the back of my hand. Not too far from the race was where I got my first road bike “Genny,” named after the hometown of the race, Geneva.
I was glad after all of these years the Musselman race was still going strong. Not many local races I’ve done in my early triathlon days still exist, which just goes to show how much local support Musselman has. The Finger “Lakers” very much embrace triathlon. If you’re ever swinging through central New York State, I’d highly recommend stopping by a day or two in this beautiful region of the state and not just for triathlon. Just don’t go to the hotel we stayed at for the race.
We should’ve known seeing pictures of the Haunted Mansion looking hotel that we should book some place else. Although, it was close to the race and was relatively inexpensive so it seemed like an okay option. I noticed when we first checked in, our fire place had loose chicken wire inside of the flue and there were animals droppings in the firebox… bats! When we came back from dinner in the late evening we could see them flying around the house. Not wanting to take any risk of us getting rabies, I moved the antique dresser over to the fireplace and found some wood, thick poster board, and towels in the supply closet to close in all the gaps. No bats would be entering our room that night I can tell you, but yeah we couldn’t wait to wake up early morning and head over to the Musselman.
Staying at the“Haunted Mansion” before Musselman.
The 2024 Musselman 70.3 was going to be a hot race. Weather would be sunny with no clouds and temperature would be in the high 80s°F during the running portion. I wasn’t sure if we’d be allowed to wear a wetsuit in the swim, so I decided to not wear one for this race. Just as I was coming out of transition area and heading to the swim start, I saw someone familiar walking next to me… it was Dad! Kerry kept Dad’s visit a secret, and I was happily surprised to see him. We didn’t have whole lot of time to catch up though, and we all went into triathlon mode. Kerry lathered me up in sun screen, Dad kindly held a spot for me in the bathroom line, and later I got myself to the swim start.
I noticed at the swim start 90% of athletes were wearing wetsuits. I must’ve made a wrong assumption about the water not being wetsuit legal. Oh well, not going to have a fast swim compared to everyone else I guess. I was a little late to lining up to the swim start and so I started in the middle of the pack. As a result I was swimming around a lot of athletes. Some athletes I’d accidentally bump into would get upset and push me. In the years I’ve done this sport, I’ve definitely noticed athletes getting more sensitive to being passed in a swim. It’s becoming more like water polo where tons of fighting happens below the water surface. Nevertheless I tried not taking it personally and just pressed through. The water quality was okay, but towards the end of the swim the water was very smelly so I made sure not swallow any water. I’m not going to the bathroom again in a race, especially two races in a row! I finished the swim in 32 minutes and 15 seconds.
Cycling by Finger Lakes farm country.
Musselman’s bike course is very well regarded by the Ironman community. With just enough hills to not be completely flat, very scenic views of the Finger Lakes, and well paved and low traffic farm roads, there was lots to like about this course. As someone who’s cycled around the Finger Lakes while living up there, I was familiar with the terrain. In the first part of the race I got into a good groove and kept a consistent good speed of 22.5MPH. By the midway point I was able to negative split with a nice head wind coming back to Geneva and I averaged a speed of 23.5MPH. Only 11 seconds slower than what I did in flat as a pancake and less hot Ironman 70.3 New York bike, I completed the bike course in 2:25:50.
Getting boosts of energy from Kerry and Dad on the run course.
Fueling was something I didn’t have completely nailed down for this race and I felt this most on the run. I assumed the drink on this course, Mortal Hydration, would be similar to Gatorade and have some salt. Instead the drink tasted very diluted and didn’t help me much with my energy levels. From Miles 1 to 6 I was able to keep under 7 minutes per mile and that was with a big hill between Miles 3 and 4. The heat was really getting to me and not wanting the chest pain from before, I was fine to have a more controlled and relaxed run the rest of the way. Anytime I saw Kerry and Dad though, I got some good boosts of energy and put some extra pep to my step for a stretch. I was able to keep the pace under 8 minutes per mile for the rest of the way, and finished the run in 1:33:37.
4:35:44 was my official Half Ironman time. Considering the heat and the health scares from the weeks before, I was proud of that time. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish we could’ve had the swim and air temperatures of Escape From Alcatraz, 50s°F swim and 60s°F air temperatures for the Musselman. That would’ve been really nice!
Bucket Triathlon Three: Ironman 70.3 World Championship
The usual last month of my triathlon season is September, but this year it’d be December. That meant 10 more weeks to stay healthy, safe, and in good triathlon shape. Some sacrifices like taking it easy with food and drinks at family gatherings or not going on any vacations were fine and expected, but one sacrifice I’d experience was definitely not anticipated. Just two weeks after Musselman, I “sacrificed” my triathlon bike.
While riding in the city, I tried to pass a Citi rental bike in the bike lane and they swerved into me. The “Citi guy” was okay, I was okay, but my bike was damaged. The buttons on my aero bars had come off and there was a bad scratch on the carbon fiber frame. When you get a scratch on a carbon fiber frame, the bike is no longer safe and you have to replace the whole frame. I was lucky things weren’t worse, but it still cost me my bike.
One little scratch on a carbon fiber frame, have to replace the whole frame.
I realized after the accident cycling with a triathlon bike in the city is like driving a Ferrari in rush hour. It ain’t worth using an expensive piece of equipment when there’s lots of risk about and you can’t go full speed/performance. This was and will be the last time I’ll ever cycle in the city. Peloton and indoor trainer from here on out. Good news though about riding indoors, there are no red lights and zero chance of accidents.
Thankfully the rest of training during the months before New Zealand went relatively smoothly. I mentioned in the London Marathon recap, I had a bad back and sciatica pain in the beginning of the year. By late summer, it was feeling much better. Kerry, her sister Katie, and I did a 10K race in Ramsey, New Jersey and I ran a personal record time of 35 minutes and 33 seconds!
Staying in shape wasn’t the hardest prep for New Zealand to be honest. Figuring out all of the logistics for the trip was. Fortunately, Doug and his wife Kylie had recently visited New Zealand and gave us some great tips. Kerry and I used our trip to Japan for the Tokyo Marathon as a starting point for how we’d structure our trip. From Japan we learned we probably give ourselves more time to relax before and after the race, so we did for the New Zealand trip. Our trip would be 17 days long, eight days before and eight days after the race. We also learned to do a better job shopping for food in country, so we made sure most places we’d stayed had kitchens and were near grocery stores. Having a great race was important, but more important was having more time relaxing and exploring the beautiful country of New Zealand.
Sooner than Kerry and I knew it, we were heading off on our most anticipated vacation to date and flying to the far side of the world. We used time before the race to explore New Zealand’s North Island. We did all sorts of fun activities like strolling around farmer’s markets in the city of Auckland, visiting the shire from The Lord of the Rings, relaxing in geothermal pools and beaches, snorkeling in Cathedral Cove, and learning about kiwis at the National Kiwi Hatchery. The more “active” activities we did were fun ways of taper training before World’s, and the more restful activities we did were great ways to recover.
Exploring New Zealand’s North Island Before Ironman 70.3 World’s.
After five days of having fun exploring the North Island, we drove through geothermal valleys to get to the race venue Taupō, a lake town in the middle of the North Island. We had three days before the race to relax in Taupō, which gave us plenty of time to check in for the race, pick up and try out my rental bike, and sightsee around town. Similar to Escape From Alcatraz, I made the decision pretty early on in our planning to not fly with my triathlon bike. I didn’t want us to worry about traveling everywhere with the bike, and I wasn’t trying to place. The bike shop I rented from nicely enough attached aero bars onto the road bike so wasn’t at a complete disadvantage like I was with Alcatraz.
Being in Taupō with all of these world class triathletes was a bit nerve wracking. I didn’t even need to be in the race to feel nervous seeing all the amazing bikes people brought with them, watching what everyone was ordering at restaurants before race day, and sometimes noticing competitors getting tense with their families. I’ll admit I have many times in triathlons fallen into a mind spiral of comparing myself with others and doubting myself. I feared the more competitive I became with triathlon, I too could have similar tendencies of a prima donna athlete.
Found my name amongst 6000 competitors, oh boy.
These intrusive thoughts can be hard to escape sometimes, but I’ve found something that helps. Imagine your mind as a party with all of your “happy thought” guests. Sometimes though, the uninvited Mr. Intrusive thought comes knocking on your door. If you just ignore him, Mr. Intrusive is going to get so mad he’ll come into your house with a bull dozer. However if you bring Mr. Intrusive into your house and tell him to sit and relax while you tend to all of the other happy thought guests of your busy party, there’s a very good chance he’ll get bored and leave the party by himself.
It’s perfectly natural to have intrusive thoughts, but try focusing on what makes you happy. In this case for me at World’s, I felt proud of myself and my family for being able to compete here and thought about how humbling it was to be in the company of these athletes. I was also incredibly appreciative from a non-triathlon standpoint just being in such a nice country and exploring it with Kerry, the world’s best travel companion. There was lot to be happy about. On a side note, I still feel happy with the sport of triathlon.
No one could’ve asked for a nicer triathlon weather day than what we had for the 2024 World Ironman 70.3 Championship Men’s race. Sunny, not too breezy, and mid 70s °F. With the sun coming out early at around 5:30 AM, I was able to wake up nicely to sunlight and had two and half hours to get ready for the 30-34 age group swim start. Kerry kindly woke up at the same time and helped me get to transition on time. I didn’t have to go into the 30-34 corral til 10 minutes before the scheduled swim, and so I could spend some time with Kerry before my start. When we heard the 10 minute warning, Kerry saw me off and I headed to the swim with the 398 other 30-34 year old male competitors.
Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings, Mt. Ngauruhoe, in view from the swim start.
Even with a rolling start swim, there was still lots of people swimming into each other. I’d catch up to someone in front of me and rather than rudely swimming over them, I’d wait until I had a moment to swim around them. Over the years I’ve gotten more comfortable with crowded swims and being more aware of my surroundings. I didn’t have to worry much at all about obstructions in Lake Taupō, it was a beautiful crystal clear lake that you could see the bottom and other swimmers easily. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 29 minutes and 35 seconds, more than 2.5 minutes faster than the swim at Musselman!
Doing my best aero on the road bike.
I was 154th out 398 in my age group coming out of the swim, but there was no way I could hold that placement with a non-triathlon bike. I quickly accepted getting passed a lot on the bike course. I also quickly accepted and got used to the strange road surface on the course, called chipseal. Chipseal is a rougher surface than what we have on the roads in the US, almost like a cross between pavement and gravel. Only advantage of chipseal is there’s less chance of potholes on the road.
Don’t worry though, I did find some fun cycling this beautiful course. We passed through through some breathtaking geothermal hot spots and there was a nice mix of hills and flats on course. I liked how the descents were so long and straight that I could pedal at full speed without worrying about sharp turns.
In the last five miles of the bike course, I noticed I was gaining on a fellow triathlete wearing a trisuit with the words “New Hampshire” on it. I saw it was the same guy who beat me by three seconds in the 2023 Wolf Triathlon! What were the chances of that? We got a rematch! I was able to pass him and cycled faster. I finished the bike course in 2:40:02. Though it was 15 minutes slower than my last half Ironman bike times, I was happy to have had an average speed of 21MPH.
Only triathlete in this race with the bib around their neck.
My back was killing me from poorly aero-positioning myself on the rental bike, but the rower in me gritted through the momentary discomfort. In transition, I had issues putting on my bib because I tied my race belt made out of string way too tightly and it wouldn’t go around my waist. I was losing time, so much so that I soon saw “New Hampshire” come into transition. I really didn’t want “New Hampshire” to pass me and I put the race belt around my neck. Within five seconds of walking towards the run course, a race volunteer asked wear my bib was. I showed him it was on my neck. With a confused look, he gave me his blessing. I was free to run now. I never saw “New Hampshire” again.
Musselman prepped me well for World’s. Both races were lake swims, both bike courses went around rolling farmland with similar elevation gain, and both runs were by the lakefront without much shade. At least the run at World’s wasn’t as hot as Musselman’s. Because I knew by cycling longer than usual on a bike course, I used a similar strategy as for Musselman of running controlled and relaxed. My running splits were actually very close to Musselman running splits, except a little faster! My pace never dipped over 7:30 per mile, and I crossed the beautiful finish line with a run time of 1:32:47, and with a total half Ironman time of 4:51:34. I had finished my first World Championship!
Completed my first World Championship for anything ever!
Triathlon season 2024 complete, and 4/5 my original bucket races in the books! After World’s, Kerry and I no longer had to worry about triathlon training and we spent a week exploring so much more of New Zealand. Some of the highlights of the second half of the trip were the breathtaking views on the long drives, picking fresh raspberries and cherries, fishing salmon, swimming in lakes and fjords, strolling around city gardens, and having a spa evening on our last night on the South Island.
Each bucket race I did this year offered unique challenges and fun ways of exploring new and familiar places. Whether it was running past the historical Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, swimming in the cold San Francisco Bay, cycling through volcanic valleys, or coming back to my triathlon roots, these bucket races were all unforgettable experiences.
Will I make a new bucket race list? Maybe, but certainly not for a while. A year later from making a bucket race list, I actually have made my very own bucket list. The list only has two items:
Marry Kerry
Keep Kerry happy
Kerry and me exploring the rest of New Zealand after the end of my 2024 triathlon season.
Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon Official Results: https://www.escapealcatraztri.com/results/2024#/race/EVOlkJ/1/
Musselman 70.3 Official Results: https://www.ironman.com/im703-musselman-results
Ironman 70.3 World Championship Official Results: https://www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship-2024-results
