Mountain Do Tri

This is my first tri of the year at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion VA. April 22. If I were a wise person I would have looked at the green blob on accuweather and stayed at home. Lessons from the past are quickly forgot. My first USCF race was in Greenville SC several years ago during March. 38 degrees, pouring rain, and 20+ mph winds. I was dropped in the first couple of miles. Well, I remember seeing that green blob on the TV, but it was sunny outside. Its not going to rain. You would think I have learned from my mistakes. Nope! So off we go. I took one of my senior high students with me. Ryan will be attending Randolf Macon this fall and entering the ministry. I figured that two holy guys could ward off the evils of mother nature. All went well until about 3 am Sat. morning. The wind and rain seemed violent. Of course it all sounds worse in a tent.


Have you ever tried to prepare for a race during a downpour? Its not fun. I don't mind riding in the rain but I hate getting ready in the rain. A little boiling water added to Mountain House Chili Mac and we have got a great pre-race meal. That stuff stays with you throughout the race. If we are lucky, we might even be able to taste it during the event. Anyway, we are off to set up the kayaks and bikes. I have got a 14ft trecking kayak and so glad I did. It was sweet on the lake. 6 mile trail run, 1 mile lake kayak, 12 mile mtb.

I think I have said this before but it needs repeating. I HATE RUNNING! The gun goes off and 150 soaking wet competitors take off. I was hoping to do the run in under an hour. Finished it in 54 min and was pumped. Glad to be done with that now lets see if I can paddle. Only used a kayak once before. Kept it in a straight line and caught up with a few folks. I even caught Ryan who ran it in 45 min. We took to the shores together and jumped on the bike. This was his first Tri, first kayak, first Mtb ride, and first time using clipless pedals. Remember your fist time going clipless? Man I do and that is a story for another blog.


The trails aren't technical but they were drenched. I need a fender. Do those things really work? I have got only one good eye and mud kept sneaking past my glasses into my eye. And why does it go in my good one and not my bad one? Anyway, I wanted to make sure Ryan didn't have too many problems so I rode a good bit with him. Oh yeah, I am sure you know Murphy's Law about making changes on you bike before a race. Well, I moved my Sram grip shifters and Avid levers out about 1/2 inch. I forgot to tighten the shifters. I go to twist them forward and the whole shifter is turning. The first time I was in the large chainring flying downhill when I see a steep climb coming up. I attempted to twist it to the middle ring and the whole thing moved. Like a idiot I quickly grabbed it with my right and and twisted it with my left. Both hands on the same side of the bars going downhill is not wise. Somehow by the grace of God, I didn't crash. Throughout the rest of the course, I had to constantly use both hands to shift.

We finished together covered head to toe in mud. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year. Our times were not great. In fact we finished near the back. Time to load up the kayaks and head home. Some folks have to work on Sunday!