Challenge Beaten

Yesterday I took on the New River Trail Challenge and won. For me just finishing was a victory. I traveled 65.1miles in approximately 8.5 hours. I consumed six Luna bars, five power gels, two bananas, a couple handfuls of pretzels, a cup of coffee, and about two gallons of water and Gatorade.

First…
Jilian – thank you for bringing this triathlon to my attention and spending a day putting up with me. I truly enjoyed having your company through the entire process of slowly hurting ourselves. And thank you so much for helping with the canoe. Congrats on your first place finish in you age group.
Michelle, Candice, Leslie, Jess and Rocky – thank you for waiting for us to finish. It was great to see you all during the event and have you there at the finish line when we wandered in. It was also fun to spend time camping with you. Jess, thank you for helping us with the canoe. Ladies congrats on your second place finish. Rocky, I forgot already if it was second or third you got so congrats either way.

This event was run by the Virginia State park service and I think they did a hell of a job. The volunteers and the park personnel were very helpful and friendly throughout the entire event. I was really impressed with how well this was managed. In particular I was surprised by the number of drink stations during the run portion of the race.

Camping: I wanted to stay near the event so that we would not have to travel down extremely early before hand. Candice, Rocky, Jess and Leslie had made plans to camp at the park so they could be there in the morning. I decided that sounded good and suckered Jilian into camping because it certainly seemed like a good plan. We did have a lot of fun as the camping went fine. I got a little worried when an entire troop of cub scouts set up near us but either they did not stay up too late or I was too tired to stay awake. I am pretty sure the later was true. We awoke very early to strike camp and get to the mandatory pre-race meeting in plenty of time. Somehow Jilian and I got behind schedule and ended up arriving at the starting line about two minutes before the start of the event. So much for the convenience of being right there in the morning. I am glad we camped but if we do this next year we are definitely staying in a nearby hotel. (Rex – thanks for the loan of camping equipment.)

Biking: 40miles, approx. 2hrs 45min. This was a really beautiful ride out the trail for twenty miles and then back. We were in shade almost the entire time and the scenery was lovely. It had been recommended to use mountain bikes but Jilian and I had been told road bikes would work so we went with that. I am really glad that we did because it helped us move along quicker than we would have been able to otherwise. However, our greatest fear was a flat tire because the trail is not completely smooth and/or devoid of sharp object. So pretty much the entire ride I kept praying that I would not get a flat tire. Fortunately I did not but now I owe somebody my first ten children and I have to attend mass weekly for the next seven and half years. I got to ride with Jilian the whole time and Candice for a good while.

Canoeing: 12mi, approx. 2hrs 45min. The transition from bicycle to canoe was made very easy by one set of volunteers taking your bike and other gear while another set of volunteers was getting your canoe ready at the edge of the river. The canoe stage was probably the most beautiful part of the event as we were canoeing down a river on a beautiful fall day when the leaves are beginning to turn colors. What’s not to like? Well unfortunately this was also the worst part of the entire event because there were no miles markers to let you know how far you had traveled. And so it seemed to go on forever. At first I just sat back and enjoyed the scenery but later I kept hoping the end was just around the next bend. When I finally saw the end I sprinted to it as fast as I possibly could. All I kept thinking was get me the heck out of this canoe. Once again Jilian and I kept together until the very end when I left her behind in my fit of passion to finish. At one point Jilian managed to turn her canoe in a complete 360degree turn trying to go though some shallow rapids. Jess started the canoeing after us and passed us like we were standing still. I am pretty sure that she had a motor under her canoe. :)

Running: 13.1mi, approx. 2hr 45min. Yup, we were pretty consistent in our times. For those of you keeping track all times are approximate and the other fifteen minutes, or so, was used in transitioning from one event to the next. Again the transition from canoeing to running was made extremely easy by volunteers waiting at the shore to pull the canoe out and carry it up out of the river. We were able to send a bag of running gear down so we put that on, left our canoeing gear and took off. (Jess – thanks for being there to cheer us on.) The run was on a different part of the trail heading back up to the main park. Like the bicycle portion the scenery was quite relaxing and we were in the shade most of the run. It was kind of odd to be running along a trail in the middle of the woods and suddenly come upon a table full of drinks manned by a volunteer with no obvious sign of how they got there. Again Jilian and I stayed together until we finished.

After meeting up with everyone, congratulating each other and resting a bit I had my Guinness. :)