Mooseman - Eagleman Double Part 2

For part two of the Mooseman-Eagleman challenge, I headed down to Cambridge, Maryland to face some tough competition at Eagleman Triathlon.  My sister, Genny, and her husband, Brandon, live in Annapolis and they were kind enough to host us for the weekend. We filled the days before the race eating raw oysters, house hunting, and watching Danny try to drink a 6 pound milk-shake. Despite the heckling of the restaurant owner, Danny wasn't able to complete the challenge. Which was probably a good thing for everyone who had to share a room (or car ride) with him for the remainder of the trip. Anyway.... On to the race report!!!


You may be wondering why I thought it was a good idea to do back-to-back half Ironmen. Besides it being a really fun challenge? I want to go back to KONA as a pro! And qualifying for the 70.3 World Championships this year will get me some big points for KONA in 2013.  


Mooseman and Eagleman were like Jekyll and Hyde in regards to the weather conditions. Mooseman was cold and rainy while Eagleman was hot, sticky and windy! Even though the temps had been cool all week in Cambridge Maryland the morning of Eagleman brought temps in the high nineties.  We learned that wetsuits would be allowed because the water was about 1 degree under the legal limit.  Well, I might boil like a lobster but I will be boyant in the Choptank River. 


The gun goes off and I sprint like I stole something, determined to get on some fast feet this time around.  I can tell the early sprinting ellicits a spike in my heart rate but it is well worth it as I latch on to some quick feet for about 3/4 of the choppy swim.  I exit the water in about 26 minutes. A solid swim, I didn't roast in the wetsuit and I latched onto a real speedy fish. Progress all around!


I had my fastest T1 only to be outdone by my good friend Ryan Kelly who made me look like a 3 toed sloth in transition.  Fun Fact: Sloth’s are so slow they can be moving and algae can still grow on them. A sloth’s top speed is .003 miles per hour.  Look's like I gotta work on those transitions.


I hop on the Felt DA for a 56 mile,93 degree, flat, windy, snake-filled adventure!  30 seconds into the bike ride I look up to see Danny jumping up and down yelling: "You're ahead of Carfrae and you're in fourth!"  I was surprised at how good my legs felt. Maybe I should always do back to back Ironman. Mind you this is 2 miles into the ride.  I kept looking at my power on the Garmin and thinking I should really slow down.  But I didn't! Instead the Garmin just spurred me on. I was rolling and in a groove until the heat started to take its toll. Oh no...I was feeling tired and lethargic and the GU's I had staring back at me did not look appetizing.  I tried not to panic and did some soft pedaling for a few moments.  Not long after I look up ahead and notice a very large log in the middle of the road. Why is the log moving? Oh, because it's not a log it's my biggest fear in the entire world: SNAKE!!!    

It looked a bit like the image above except it wasn't smiling and I'm pretty sure it had teeth.  Nothing like a elongated, limbless reptile to get my butt in gear.  Fight or Flight response is activated and just like that I am BACK IN THE GAME!

I end up getting passed by 2 girls on the bike but no snakes. In my mind it was a victory.  I glided into transition in 7th and saw Danny again giving me splits.

My legs did not feel as good as they did during Mooseman (above) but the run is my favorite portion so let's have some fun!  I sprinting out of transition passing one girl immediately only to notice how hot it really was.  I had a fleeting moment where I wished to be back on the bike only to remember: SNAKE!  SO I proceeded to loot from all the aid stations: ice down the shorts, water on the head, Gatorade in the gullet.  I stayed as cool as I could and passed another girl for 5th.  Danny was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME at giving me splits. I learned that the girl in fourth was hurting and I tried my best to chase her down. I came up 30 seconds short but crossed the line in 5th.  I gave Danny a big hug and then Crowie requested to get a picture with me (I couldn't let him down)  :)  

I stretched, hydrated, changed, and then it was back in the car as we needed to be back in New Hampshire that night.  


MOOSEMAN - EAGLEMAN DOUBLE WAS A SUCCESS!