It was difficult and fun. The course includes some serious terrain, including a bit of cliff-like climbing, harrowing descents, and overall slippery conditions. The total elevation gain was around 2,800 feet in 14 miles of running/hiking. The swim portions were not bad other than the sub-60 water, which you do get used to.
Our approach was to enjoy ourselves and not dilly dally more than necessary. As first timers, our transitions were slow, and we probably gave out too many high fives to our friends. No more high fives!
Bri and I did several workouts in the preceding weekends at Jordan Lake. A few friends joined us along the way. It was good fun training and a nice way to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning with my wife.
Our toughest workout was a ~11 mile run and 1.2 mile or so swim broken up into 3 separate legs.
The actual race was fairly chilly and we enjoyed our steady approach to the race. Neither of us is a great descender, so we gave up some time on the way back down. Had a lot of fun with our buddies cheering and Junior Awesome slapping high fives.
photo by Richard Hill
In the end we finished as the 9th place coed team with a time of 4:25, 31st overall.
The course is not for sissies. There is some serious ascending and descending, and the water temp was about 57-58 degrees. The final swim through the Dan River is more like a crazy otter float smash through shallow water and small boulders.
I was going to write a more recent update but realized I never finished this one!
Also in October, we watched FSU play Duke football. A couple fun pics here.
More updates next week, I hope!
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