Trying a Triathlon

Last Sunday, Chuck competed in his first triathlon, a local race held in and near Dolores called the Dolores Tri It. The typical triathlon events are running, swimming, and bicycling, but in this event, swimming was replaced by kayaking, which made it near impossible for Chuck to resist entering. He's long been a participant in endurance events--Imogene Pass Run, Bataan Memorial Death March, marathons, half-marathons--but decided to give this triathlon a try. He trained to do the entire race himself. Many people participated as part of a team, meaning that 2 or 3 people would split up the different parts of the triathlon.

Chuck asked his dad and me to crew for him. I took the kayak--my fast, sleek, beautiful 14 ft. Perception Carolina!!--and Chuck's folks hauled his mountain bike. Since we brought Gillian along, we had to use my car (it's the only one the babyseat can be strapped into). My little Honda looks too cool with the kayak rack on top! Chuck's been despairing that I'll never learn to tie real knots, but I managed to learn the Trucker's Hitch to secure the kayak to the front of my car. We had NRS straps holding the cockpit area onto the rack. The paddle fit down the middle of the car--there was just enough room for me to shift.

In Dolores, we went to the starting area in Joe Rowell Park, by the river. It was cool and overcast in Dolores. The trees and shrubs on the sides of the canyon were starting to turn red and gold--a fabulous autumn morning. Chuck checked in, got his goody bag, and then we waited around for the race to start. It was fun to see the other racers and their gear--everyone seemed to be excited. The race started just after 9 AM. The first part was a run, about 5 miles, from the park to the Big Bend boat ramp on McPhee Reservoir. After the runners took off, Chuck among them, everyone else drove over to the boat ramp. Although I could have gotten the boat unloaded by myself, Chuck's dad helped me to get the kayak down to the water's edge. I got Chuck's gear ready and waiting, too: paddle, PFD, sandals, camelbak, etc. Gillian hung out with Grandma. This was the first time I participated in a race in any way, so I was kind of nervous about doing something dumb, but it was all good. There was a good, friendly feeling and everyone was pretty laid back.

Chuck arriving at the Big Bend boat ramp

As the runners came in, everyone cheered. If the runner was part of a team, he or she had to touch the next person before they could shove off and start paddling. If the runner was continuing, he or she had to stop, change some clothes, shoes, or other gear before taking off again. When Chuck came in, we were waiting to help him switch into sandals. I gave him some Gatorade, Vitamin I, and a granola bar and then he was off again. The paddle was about 4 miles across McPhee to the House Creek boat ramp, so we had a little time to make the drive north.

Watching the kayaks take off--note the kayaks in the distance

I put on some Moby and Gillian played, babbled, and eventually fell asleep on the way to House Creek. We drove a good ways through a downpour and I worried that Chuck might be having a rough time out on the lake, but apparently it wasn't bad out there. At the boat ramp, I parked on the side and left Gillian to sleep in her car seat while Grandma watched over her. We got the bike, another camelbak (with Gatorade!), and shoes ready and went down to wait for Chuck. He did really well with the kayak--a lot faster than he'd thought he would. Several of the racers were competing in river kayaks, which are very short in comparison with the touring kayaks that we have. I thought they were wasting a lot of energy in those little boats since they swiveled back and forth with each paddle stroke instead of keeping a straight line as the bigger boats did.

Chuck paddling into House Creek

After Chuck took off on the bike for the 15 mile ride back to Dolores, we loaded up the kayak and I again demonstrated my prowess with the Truckers Hitch. I really wish I'd thought to take a picture of it. The bike route had lots of hills, but Chuck pedaled away. We drove ahead to cheer him on along the way and he sped on by both places we stopped. In fact, we barely made it into the parking lot at Joe Rowell Park before he came riding in and crossed the finish line--we hadn't even gotten out of our cars yet! The last few miles of the ride were all down hill and he really picked up some speed. Overall, Chuck seemed pretty pleased with his performance. He was much faster than he'd expected and he'd done much better with the bicycling than he'd anticipated. He was also impressed by how little he hurt....

The speed demon himself

The race is over! Check out the sexy Honda with the beautiful blue kayak....the guy's not bad either

Well, Chuck didn't win, but he really enjoyed himself. I had a pretty good time, too. I'm definitely interesting in participating in something myself. I think there are more triathlons or adventure races in our future. Right now, it looks like we'll be heading to New Mexico for the Bataan Memorial Death March in March 2008--a 26 mile hike through the sand--want to come along?