Craig Fels, one of our triathletes, shared a great letter he wrote his family and friends after completing the NYC triathlon. Thank you Craig for everything you do for BEF, Team Boomer, and the CF community. You have made, and continue to make, a huge difference for us, and we appreciate your support!
“One week has passed since the NYC Triathlon and thought I would send out a final update (some of you asked for the details, so figured I would share with you all). Took me about a week to recap it all in my head and a few days to recover. All in all, it was a great experience and so happy I participated for Team Boomer and the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and at the same time, checked another Tri distance off my list.
It was a wet morning, but did not stop us from hitting the Hudson, West Side Highway, and Central Park. When the horn sounded for my wave, I did not have much time to think about what was ahead, it happened so fast. The goal, jump in the Hudson and swim as fast as I could, 1 mile downstream. I did and set myself up for a great day with a 14:30 minute swim.
After wiping the Hudson off my face, literally, I ran the 1/2 mile to my bike, dried myself off the best I could, and hopped on the bike. Side note, it had started to rain halfway into the swim, so drying off became challenging. The 24-mile bike was really nice and scenic, even with the rain – under the George Washington Bridge (very cool) and up to Van Cortland Park, and then back down to 72nd. Got back in 1 hour 23 minutes and hit the transition one more time before heading out on the run.
The run was tough, to put it mildly! As much as I tried to train for this distance, my legs were not quite ready for the 6.2 hilly miles in Central Park. After exiting transition and running down 72nd to the Park, we made a left and headed all the way up, around 128th, and back down to the finish.
I definitely had to dig deep. I had thoughts of walking after mile 1, then 2, and quite honestly all the way to the finish. BUT, I never did. I needed every ounce of will power to get myself to the line and finished the run in just under 1 hour. I thought about the Foundation, all of you who supported me, showing my own kids (who came out at 6:30am to cheer Dad on) mental toughness, etc. to get me there, and I guess it all worked!!!
I was aiming for a time of 2 hours and 45 minutes and finished in 2 hours 47 minutes. I was very pleased with my first Olympic distance Tri. I cannot thank you all enough again for all the support and added motivation to get to the finish line.”