Friday, July 8, 2011

Old School #2

Old School Aquathon #2 went well despite storms on the horizon and some wind chop on the first swim.  It had been storming on and off in the Triangle area throughout Wednesday, and the "what's going to happen" emails started coming in from participants.  I sent an email blast to everyone explaining that we planned to host the race and only cancel if absolutely necessary.  Scattered thunderstorms = bad in some places and fine in others.

There was a dark cloud on the horizon rumbling at us, but it held off and we were able to start the race just a few minutes behind schedule.  We had about 80% of the field there which is good, considering 10-15% are no shows no matter what is going on.  (That is why Ironman overbooks its races).

The format was something I thought people would enjoy, and the location (Vista Point sailboat launch area) was perfect for it - a short swim with a good beach to dash in and dash out on, and quickly onto a quiet road for the out and back run.  3 x 300 meter swim and 1 mile run. 

The buoys both launched when a strong sustained gust came in, and pushed one of the buoys into a shallow area, allowing people to dive/walk for an extra 50 yards.  Just to keep it interesting.

All in all it looked like everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves.  We all then gorged on PBJ sandwiches and generic soda.

I would post pictures but have none this time, was in the water for most of the race.  We need to hire a staff event photographer.

It has been a busy week / month / year so far.  It looks like I won't be doing any triathlon racing in July or August, we are traveling a bit and the weekends I am around there is nothing local and I'm not interested in driving 2+ hours those days.   Will just get some good group rides in.   Will look for a 5k to do.

Next up are the Little Uno and Big Deuce 1 and 2 mile swims, also at Vista Point!

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