Friday, August 28, 2009

Age Group National Championship Recap and More

So I knew I was in over my head but I had no idea. The Age Group National Championships in Tuscaloosa was quite an experience last weekend. I felt like a guy who got to walk around on the field before the Superbowl, the only difference is that I wasn't going to watch the game and drink a beer, I was going race against these guys. As if the competition wasn't intimidating enough the course would be ridiculous. Because of rain, the dam for the Black Warrior River was open. That cause the swim to be very tough since about 2/3rd's of the swim were upriver. You know you are having a bad race when you have a conversation with a guy in a kayak. I was hoping to finish the swim in 30 minutes, 56 minutes later I finally exited the water. I was not only exhausted but I was cramping and realizing that I need to learn how to swim (William has already started teaching me). At this point I was excited about getting on the bike since that is my strength. What I didn't realize is that my calf would cramp up as soon as I got on my bike. After getting off the bike and stretching I figured I could find my groove and pick up some ground. I was wrong. You know you are having a bad race when you spend the entire bike leg going back and forth with a 42-year-old woman. I felt ok off the bike and hit the run. After a mile it felt real hot and then I discovered some of the hills that were randomly thrown into the run course. My 42-year-old woman from the bike leg passed me. You know you are having a bad race when the guy at the water stop asked you what happened to your sunglasses. I was missing a lens and probably had been for quite sometime. The rest of the run was terrible but when I finished I was 83rd out of 86. Not last place. Terrible race, wonderful experience. Three other friends competed with me, I think they had similar experiences except they were all much faster than I was. Despite the tough conditions we all had fun and will no doubt be talking about that swim for years to come.
In other news I've got my 10 year high school reunion this weekend in New Orleans. I'm not sure what to expect from this but I'm hopeful it will be fun. I've also signed up for my first 50k. The Stump Jump 50k in Chattanooga is October 3rd. My friend John talked me into it and I must say I'm excited but nowhere near ready. That's it for now.

1 comment:

  1. sounds like my attempt at my first TRI a few weeks ago.

    Glad to hear you enjoyed the experience. My favorite part is the sunglasses...sorry, LOL!

    Keep at it!

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