After a long drive to Richmond, VA, I got to the race site, which was right in downtown. The transition area was set up on an island on the James River. I was pretty tired from the long drive and going to watch the Latta Sprint Triathlon at 6:30am in Charlotte that morning, but I figured I would sleep better knowing what to expect on race morning. So, I rode the bike loop and felt pretty good. It was technical and not very fast, but I could handle it. Then I rode the run course. The first half was flat and fast, but then it got crazy. I got some dinner with Dave and Stephanie and checked out the free concert, then headed to the hotel.
I arrived at the race site in plenty of time Sunday morning, considering the race did not start until 10:30. I did not do much of a warm up, because it was so hot. I did go down to the water early and swam a bit before the race start. There was a strong current and no one was really sure of the course. The swim started off well, across the river with no problems and then back across, running over some rocks and sand bars. After I rounded the third buoy, a kayaker started yelling at me telling me I was heading for the wrong buoy. I was a good bit down stream of the buoy and had to fight my way against the current back on course. Despite getting off course, I still came out of the water 3rd , right with the 2nd guy. I jumped on my bike a hammered it to the woods. On the first loop, a couple guys came by me. When we crossed over to the portion of the bike course on the other side of the river, things got crazy. Blind turns, spiral stairs, rock walls, wooden ramps, loose off camber turns, roots, creek crossings, storm drains, switchbacks, half pipes, huge brumes, …you get the idea. I was way over my head. 25 or so people (guys and gals) came flying by me. I just finished up the bike leg carefully, not to have any yard sale crashes. I felt great on the run considering I was about dead on the bike. I passed a dozen back on the run. I came across the river, hopping from rock to rock, up the ladder, then back in the woods. I was flying down a hill and then as I came up the other side, I ran smack into a low tree branch. It knocked me on my butt and I was a good bit dazed. I was able to get up and put the hammer back down. I finished up strong and felt great.
I need to learn how to mountain bike a lot better before I am going to be competitive at these events. It was a great time and would be a great trip to take with a group and just have fun.
Swim 17 min, bike 1:24 min, run 40 min. Pretty slow all around, but those splits include transitions.
