epic style training weekend

I don't get to do this very often - last weekend I got a pass from Bri to head to the beach with the guys for a big weekend of training and fun.  On Saturday, 4 of us rode our bikes from Apex to Wilmington and 2 other buddies met us down there.  Then most of us did either the Swim the Loop 3.5 mile or Mott's Channel 1.3 mile swimming races.

 The riders.

 Should have worn my aero helmet.

The ride went well, it was somewhat uneventful with a mild headwind for the bulk of the 2nd half.  We covered 121 miles in just over 6 hours of ride time (and another hour + of hanging at gas stations to refuel).  2 of the guys are getting ready for Ironman Florida on Nov 2 and myself and another us are getting ready for Beach 2 Battleship half on October 26.

This is more or less the route we took.

If we were really hardcore we would have run 2-3 miles off the bike but instead we loaded up and went to the Front Street Brewery for a coldie.

I also had a brief light saber battle with this gentleman in downtown.

 The force is strong with this one.

After the festivities, we headed to "The Shack," our buddies beach house to clean up and get to the pre-race swim meeting to discuss course logistics of the Sunday morning swims.

Swim around Harbour Island aka Swim the Loop

We hung out at Dockside for a few more refreshments after the meeting then headed went to the Lighthouse Beer and Wine patio for a couple more.

 Great selection.

Before we knew it, Sunday morning was here and it was time to get wet!  The race went off in a time trial format with most of the faster swimmers going early.  I left about mid pack so had people to follow for most of the swim.  Finished in an almost dead-tie with fellow OSB-Cary master swimmer Greg Sanchez for 4th/5th overall in 1:24.46.  

It has been a long time since I've swum anything more than 2 miles in a race and I enjoyed the course.  There was a mild outgoing tide for us which meant we swam against the current for the bulk of the swim.  The slower swimmers had it worse as the outflow picked up as time progressed.  Without Limits and Kristen Smith did a great job with this race and I bet it will become a very popular open water swim in years to come.

You can check out overall results here.

Then I photobombed my buddies as they finished.

                                                           Man growing from shoulder!

Gwaaagghaa!

We hung out for awards then packed up and came home, where I chased Junior Awesome in circles for 2 hours before we both collapsed from exhaustion.

Fini.