Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Racing the Clock: Black Squirrel Adventure Triathlon

I'll be honest, I didn't really want to do this race!  It was held on the same day as the Pro Football Hall of Fame Parade and I'm a TOTAL parade junkie.    I even got up at 4 AM last year to carry a balloon in the parade so I could relive my high school days of when I was in the parade. Ha!   Going to the parade is probably in my list of top 3 favorite local summer traditions.

So when Nick said he would rather do the race than go to the parade, I wasn't exactly in agreement.  The race was short: 2 mile kayak, 5 mile bike, 2 mile run, which I used as a reason that it wouldn't really be "worth it".  Someone I changed my mind and am glad I did.

This race is part of a series called:
.
There are normally three races in the series but this year they had to cancel the third race.  The overall series winner after they add times from the races wins a $100 gift certificate.  

What made this race unique was that you had to race the clock.  They staggered the starts by launching 4 boats every minute as to not clog the river.  So while you race you have no idea who you are up against [again they had relays and teams in the mix] or what time they started.   Some people even started a full hour + behind where we did since they had to hold a 2nd heat for the rental kayaks.

After the kayak section I was already tired but the bike was on flat terrain so that was fine.  However, I have never run on "jelly legs" quite like I had to on Saturday!  Crazy feeling and I felt like I was going sooooooooo slow.  However,  I ended up winning overall female by 5 minutes with a time of 1 hour and 37 seconds!   It was very strange finishing and having no idea how you did compared with the others until the awards several hours later.   Nick beat me by a smidge at 1 hour and 10 seconds, and we both won the Crooked River Series so we have $200 to spend at an outdoors store! Hopefully they have kayaks on sale! ;)

I'm glad we did the race but I really missed the parade!  We'll see who gets their way next year! :)

4 comments:

Claire {Beaktweets} said...

wow! i'm impressed. so cool you did it and won!!

Kara said...

Wow, congrats on winning!!

Melissa said...

WOW! Way to go! You're amazing. I hate jelly legs too! It's so painful, yet they feel like they aren't connected to your body. Hate that!

Kristin {Sea Cow Circus} said...

Congrats on the race! You guys rock (and in one of my favorite towns, too)! That parade will always hold a special place in my heart - I marched in it three times in ridiculous heat and full wool uniform. Ahhh, dear HOF ... :)