28.6 miles

Well, I did it! Today's Triathlon Eugene started at 7:05 a.m. for me and I was happy to have been part of this inaugural event. My wife, son, & I arrived a little after 6:00 a.m. where we found about 150 other racers who were prepping their bikes, clothes and themselves for the early start. The sun was just coming up in the east, revealing light cloud cover. We started the race near 55 degrees and the water temp was about 74. Needless to say, it was warmer in the water than on the shore!

Pre-race jitters

 The short course consisted of a .5 mile swim, a 25 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. I'd been training for this event since March so I knew what I had coming as far as effort and distances, but having said that I hadn't done all three events in a single day before. I also hadn't practiced my transitions (called T1 and T2), the parts of the race where I would go from swim to bike and from bike to run.

Lining up for the swim start

I started in the back of the pack on the swim and more or less stayed there. The long course racers, who started five minutes before my wave and were swimming twice as far as me, began passing me about halfway through my swim. I was far from being shocked, but maintained my pace and perseverance as best I could.

We're off!

Coming out of the water was fun because I was in a group with what were apparently three popular racers, which made me swim harder to the transition (I was pretending they were cheering for me). The transition zone was crowded but I made relatively quick work of donning my helmet, gloves, sunglasses and shoes after ditching the swim cap and goggles.

Coming in to T1

The road ride was tough, for sure, but I kept my pace (about 18 mph for those keeping track) here too and only let a handful of riders pass me. I felt like I was losing ground to a lot of racers, but it turns out now that I look at the results I actually passed 10 people during the 1.5 hour ride.

Coming in to T2

 Back now at the second transition area and dreading my run (exhaustion was setting in here) I took a break after putting on my running shoes to go give my wife and son a kiss for luck. I shot out of T2 and started out on the run, making a 8:00/mile pace.

Changing at T2

Off for the final leg!

I wrapped up my first triathlon with a final time of 2:12:35 and I've got to say I couldn't be happier with the result. After a nice lunch with my friends who came to cheer me on, the three of us went home for what ended up being a two hour nap! Well deserved I believe!

PS- Thanks a ton to Jamie for taking these photos!

Mountain Biking Goodness

Hanging out at the top of the ridge

So two of my buddies came along with me tonight for a mountain bike outing near Eugene and I've got to say; it was GREAT! I hadn't been out mountain biking for about 3 months so I was eager to get back on my Iron Horse (that's really the brand, I'm not joking) and head out into the wooded hills.

Scott

Kohl

My friends Scott & Kohl have been outdoor enthusiasts for their whole lives and share my need to get out of town and explore all that makes Oregon so great. Today we drove a quick thirty minutes to a semi-secret spot and had a blast bombing down trails and huffing up hills. Graham dog and Jake dog both joined us as well. We parked the car at the trailhead about 6 p.m. or so and headed up, up, up to the top of the ridge where we were to ride. After about a mile, we came across a fresh clear-cut that offered our first vista, and with the sunshine-filled view came the wildflowers, wild irises being the most prevalent among them.

Wild Iris lining the road

On we continued, making quick motions along the singletrack trail and making sure not to run into the dogs as they weaved in and out amongst our tires. Jake tends to like being in the lead, but this usually proves problematic after about a mile or so when he tires slightly and slows down. Graham will happily fall in two or three deep and observe a tire at his nose and another at his tail. All that dog between all those moving wheels seems dangerous to the outside world, but we have all proven ourselves thus-far to be a fluid caravan. Thus-far.

Kohl learns how to water Jake & Graham

             The evening came on as we traveled, changing the light overhead slightly and gently reminding us that we'd have to come back down soon enough, destined for Eugene and our partners and families once more. We relished the ride, took plenty of breaks to witness the views and enjoyed one another's company. Around 7:30 p.m., after about 7 or 8 miles of riding, we called it a night and drove back to town. All said, a great ride with some great buddies.