Little Miami Triathlon

"The one with the most guts wins."
That was my mantra in today's 88 degree heat.
I decided on the spur of the moment to enter the Morgan's Little Miami Triathlon when a neighbor told me on Friday night that he was looking for a partner. I was scheduled for a 12 mile run -- this being a stepback week -- but I'm bored with marathon training. Why not?
This tri is called an "eco" event. There is no swimming. Instead, participants canoe about 5.5 miles down the Little Miami River, run about 5.5 miles back to the staging area, then bike about 18 miles. My goal is always to come close to 3 hours -- 1 hour for each event. I didn't even come close to hitting it today, but it was my best effort ever and some things are beyond my control.
The canoe: Albert Hammond's song It Never Rains in California should be changed to It Never Rains in Cincinnati. We've been in a draught all summer and I don't need to tell you that you need water to canoe. The river was so shallow that racers launched in the river instead of from the shore because most people had to get in the river to get their boat off the bottom. Not us, of course, because with a marathon in a month there was no way I was going to get my shoes wet! Male/Female pairs were instructed to use a plastic, flat bottom, canoe (the 'girl' canoe) and thank goodness! The metal canoes were constantly beaching. At one point there was a river guide on a sandbar in the middle of the river pushing canoes over the dry spot. I've never finished the canoe in more than 58 minutes, but today -- drumroll -- 1:18. Ridiculous! Our start time was 9:14, so by the time we finished, it was past 10:30 and the heat was brutal.
T1: 1:23
Run: This was my best run in this race EVER. Yes it was hot, but the run felt so good on my legs after sitting in the canoe, that I started out feeling easy. My average pace was 9:35 which includes a steep climb up "Killer Hill" which is a vertical climb -- including steps -- straight up through the woods. Before that, I was probably averaging a 9 m/m pace. As I ran, I did something I've never done in this race, and rarely done before this year, I passed people. I passed more people than passed me. Whoo! Hoo! As I ran, I said to myself "guts will win this race." I've trained in the brutal heat and humidity of the summer of '07 and I've run farther than 5 miles in the heat. I gave it my all, knowing that the bike was yet to come.
T2: 4:11 Ok, as you will see, I hit the lap button to soon because disaster was about to strike.
Bike: No sooner did I hit the lap button timing the bike leg, that I noticed my chain was completely off. I have no idea how to fix this. Guess what? Neither does anybody else. I wander around, looking lost and helpless, and finally a wonderful woman -- a spectator -- comes to my rescue. It's a major operation, requiring turning the bike upside down. She gets it repaired, and I'm thinking I have to make up lost time. Off I go, quads are burning, but I'm going to push this 18 miles of hill and cornfield! Bring on the gusting wind, let the sun beat down, I am going to pick off as many riders as I can. I caught a small break when a couple of *hole riders wouldn't let me pass. Oh, yeah? I think. Thanks for the break -- drafting is legal in this race! Three miles barely pedaling, averaging 17 mph. They kept turning to glare at me but, whatever, let me pass and I'll leave you alone. Finally, they got tired and I was able to squeeze through the two of them and leave them in my dust. Literally. I never saw them again. My goal for this leg was 1 hour, but I did it in 1:11. I probably wasted a good 5 minutes with the chain mishap.
Finish: 3:25. PW for the course overall; PB effort. Had the river been at normal levels, I feel certain I could have finished in about 3:05 which would have been a PR. Once again, a testament to my training and fitness.