By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Nicole Strand stuck around after finishing the New Jersey State Triathlon at Mercer County Park on Sunday.
She figured she’d done well in her age group.
It turns out the Robbinsville homemaker was the best in the Olympic distance division not just in her age group, but of all females.
“It was a bit of a surprise,” said Strand, who finished in 2 hours, 1 minute and nine seconds. “I didn’t run as an elite. I wasn’t quite expecting it. I thought I had a good chance of doing well in my age group.”
Caitlin Dorgan, an elite triathlete, was originally announced as the overall female winner after she came in first among the elite wave that started 50 minutes ahead of Strand’s wave. Strand, however, finished 29 seconds better than Dorgan.
“They were done with the race before I even started my run,” Strand said. “I had no idea I had won overall until about an hour later.
“I had no idea until I checked the results on my phone. I was pretty sure I had gotten an award for my age group. We were waiting for the official results.”
Strand, 41, took special pride in topping two women younger than her in the race. Strand is a mother of three.
“I do about four triathlons a year, then a couple of running races,” she said. “I have three young kids. I’m usually at their activities. I can’t race too much more often.”
Strand got into triathlons as a way to mix up competing with her husband. He no longer does triathlons, but Strand has stayed with them, and gotten more serious about competing in them.
“It’s a new challenge,” she said.
Strand took on her first Ironman last year and finished the Lake Placid Ironman in less than 12 hours even though she wasn’t at full strength. She is training to do her second next May in Texas and that could affect her chance to defend her title at the New Jersey State Triathlon.
“I’ll still be recovering a bit from the Ironman,” Strand said. “My performance is a bit up in the air.”
Strand would love to return to a triathlon that has everything for her. She has competed in the New Jersey State Triathlon for three years.
“It’s super convenient that it is so close and it’s good competition,” Strand said. “It’s well run. Kudos to CGI. They do a good job of organizing and running it. In June, I was in Canada doing a longer triathlon so that was a lot different. I was able to sleep in my own bed (for Sunday’s triathlon).”
A couple of local men finished in the top three for the Olympic division Sunday. Hun School graduate Iain Alexandridis was second to Adam Webber of Denver, Pa. Andrew Weinstein of Princeton placed third.
In the sprint triathlon Saturday that had to be canceled for some competitors mid-race due to a thunderstorm, Cranbury resident John Bond placed eighth among males. Princeton resident Laura Kenny was eighth in the female division of the sprint triathlon.
Strand has gotten more serious in the last year about triathlons. She knew she had to in order to do an Ironman. She began working with coach Jason Kilderry of Endurance Training Achievement (ETA), and has seen her times improve as a result.
“I’m a runner first and foremost,” she said. “I ran for a Division I school in college and ran in high school. I picked up triathlons about 10 years ago.”
The Bucknell University graduate has found her groove thanks to the coaching and the chance to work out more regularly. Her swimming is the weakest of her events, but she has improved in it along with her cycling.
“I’m fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “I usually do my training when they’re at school. And I have a great husband who takes care of them on the weekend when I am on longer rides.”
Those hours spent training on her own paid off Sunday. With temperatures soaring toward 90 degrees, Strand performed as well as conditions would allow and she looks forward to some cooler weather that could help her performances.
“I was happy with my run,” Strand said. “I wasn’t doing as well as I hoped. My swim, it’s my worst, so I’m just happy to get out of the water usually. It was really hot. I felt miserable the whole time. I was a little shocked with how well I did. I think everybody was suffering along with me.”
