Sunday, August 06, 2006

Can't catch a break

Today marked the 2nd Annual Xterra Midwest Championship off-road triathlon in Milwaukee. Last year, Chris was successful with an overall men's sport race win, forcing him to move up to the "Xterra" distance, comparable to an Olympic distance tri. Last year, temperatures topped the charts nearing or surpassing 100 degrees. Competitors were hooked up to IVs because of heat exhaustion and hydration. Today, the skies opened up and poured down with thunder and lightning at the start of the race. Needless to say, swimming in HUGE waves and lightning wouldn't be a safe choice, racers persevered and opted for a duathlon.
1.5k run
30k bike
10k trail run

The first leg of the race was a run along the beach. It was basically an all-out sprint!

Leg 2 of the race led into a muddy bike ride. As the pros started rolling in, we couldn't even see their faces! SOOOO much mud. At this point, Lil' E's face sums up the sentiment of racers and spectators alike. Booooo.
At this point, the spectators were wet and hungry. We headed to Alterra on the Lakefront for a warm-up and some breakfast while Chris toughed it out in the crazy mudfest.

We greeted him at the transition areas. He struggled to remove the bike shoes caked in mud, making it difficult to turn the dials and crank the ratchet to loosen them. SHOOT! On go the tennies and out to the true trail run. More mud?? You bet.

Chris rolled across the line, finishing 5th in the 25-29 age group.

We're off to Ohio next weekend in the quest for point to Nationals in Lake Tahoe. Hopefully, the weather will be more forgiving.

1 comment:

Whitney said...

Wow! Good for him!
I was in Milwaukee and was watching the news piece about the triathalon. Looks tough...
I hope you guys get to go to Lake Tahoe- it's beautiful there!
Good luck!