Fishlow Completes Ironman U.S. Championship
It's a good thing that Jamie Fishlow loves to train. The Huntington High School physical education teacher and tennis coach needed every bit of that preparation during the inaugural Ironman U.S. Championship that was contested in parts of New York City and New Jersey.
An Ironman triathlon is a grueling event, to be sure, but Mr. Fishlow was up to the challenge. The 140.6 mile long race featured a 2.4 mile swim in the Hudson River, a 112-mile bike ride on the Palisades Parkway in Bergen and Rockland Counties and a 26.2-mile marathon that started in New Jersey and finished in Riverside Park in Manhattan.
"This was my seventh Ironman in 12 years," Mr. Fishlow said. He trains throughout the year to maintain a very high level of fitness. The longtime district teacher is a good role model for his students, demonstrating what can be accomplished through a regular program of exercise and goal-setting.
Mr. Fishlow completed the race in a time of 12:22:38, finishing the race in the top 29 percent of the 2,739 competitors in event. The result placed him in the top 18 percent of the 215 race competitors in the 50-54 year old age group.
"This was my best time to date by 20 minutes," said Mr. Fishlow about his performance in the tough race. "It was a great day and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a very hard course, but I guess something like this is never easy."
Mr. Fishlow completed the 2.4-mile open water swim in 48:35, ran the 26.2 mile marathon in 5:20:27 and finished the 112-mile bike race in 6:01:58.
The first part of the marathon was held in the Palisades Park system, overlooking the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge and the Manhattan skyline. The two-loop course required participants to run up legendary Dyckman Hill four times, about 1600 feet in elevation.
The shaded path leading up the Dyckman Hill is steeped in history. According to the Palisades Park Conservancy, "the Dyckman Street Ferry used to land at the southern end of the area, until it was finally discontinued in the late 1930s due to stiff competition from the George Washington Bridge," which opened in 1931.
The marathon included 14 "demanding miles of running" along the "densely shaded cliffs of the Palisades Park," according to race organizers. The race "gained height" on the Hudson Terrace. Runners had to climb stairs to the north pedestrian path to access the George Washington Bridge. They ran about 1.1 miles across the bridge, with a full view of the skyline, before heading down another flight of stairs onto Cabrini Boulevard. The race then headed through streets in Washington Heights and down to the edge of the Hudson River. The finish line was on Riverside Park's upper promenade, not far from the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, near 83rd Street.
The bike course required the unprecedented closure of the Palisades Interstate Parkway and spanned the Palisades' cliffs as riders raced north in New York State. The early morning open water swim was held in the Hudson River from a fixed barge. Competitors took ferry boats to the barge. Mr. Fishlow had to battle the notorious Hudson River tides during the race. The cliffs of the Palisades were to the swimmers' right and the west tower of the George Washington Bridge was straight ahead.
With his latest challenge now in the past, Mr. Fishlow said he's ready to start training for his next Ironman triathlon.