Mountaineer Olympic Triathlon - June 29th 2008

Mountaineer Olympic Triathlon - The Spirit of Morgantown 2008

Age Grp - 5th Overall - 25th

Swim 1500M - 28:07 Bike 40K - 1:08:09 Run 10K - 55:07

2:35:00

Humidity!!!

Race day started out as a plesent suprise with very little humidity, a significant change from the previous few days with 85% humidity. The swim was a 1500M swim in the Mon River (Many locals advised highly against swimming in this river). The swim wasn't bad I was about two minutes slower than my goal going into the water, I heard a lot of people talking about hte massive amount of current in the water; however I typically swim in the ocean so I don't think it hit me as bad as some. Once out of the water and onto the boat dock we started the short run to the transition area which was setup in the first level of a parking garage (This was odd until the rain started). We were off on the bike everything felt good until we started on the access road next to the river - this was a road that would shake your car, so you can imagine what it does to your bike. After we got through the rough roads we got into the part of the course with a couple of hills, they weren't as bad as the website made them sound - with every good uphill there is usually a good downhill to follow. Once back to the transition area and off the bike I was out on the run. The second that I stepped out of the parking garage the flood gates of rain opened. The down-pour lasted through half of the 6.5 miles which would normally have felt good except part of the run was on a slightly offroad gravely area that ended up becoming partially muddy. At the end of mile 5 you start to think about the finish line and feeling ok with your pace and all of a sudden you look up and there is a hill that would require your car to drop a few gears to climb, also know as hell-hill. A drama student from WVU is half way up the hill dressed like a devil and pushing you the remaining way. Forget about the pace you were holding before the last 1.5 miles of the run go throgh the rolling hills of the WVU campus. Finally you come into the final downhill and loop around to a great site, The Finish Line. Thanks to all my family that supported me during this race, I really appreciate everything that you do to support my goals.