Annual Forks of Cheat Forest Triathlon

In the big scheme of things, our annual triathlon is a pretty trivial little local event. But on the personal level, I find it's really uplifting to have external motivators to keep maintaining my fitness. And there's no better time than the end of summer to hold such a motivating event. So it is that Ann and I have hosted the Forks of Cheat triathlon for five years now, and it keeps getting better! This year we had 17 participants (a record), and I think everyone had a great time. I like it especially because it fits with our little community's emphasis on wellness and living in better harmony with the environment.

The event consists of swimming across Cheat Lake (starting at our dock), running the Cheat Lake Trail down to the dam, then biking 8+ miles over varied terrain back to our house. For most people, the circuit is completed in 1 - 2 hours. Kate's friend Julian finished first this year with a time of 1 hour and 1 minute, which is phenomenal (and I think, the best ever). He probably had the fastest times swimming and running. John Souther was extremely fast on the run and bike portions, passing me early on in the bike portion - on a mountain bike! Bill Reger-Nash at age 50+ is a superstar on his road bike, and he caught me on the 2nd to last hill of the bike portion. I ended up 45 seconds behind him at the finish with a time of 1 hr, 17 minutes. I was very pleased with that and quite sure it was faster than last year. The best part was that I felt strong all the way through to the end.

We celebrated with a brunch of fruit, juices and bagels on the deck.

Now, my next motivator looms in the winter: SKI SEASON!!! I better get cracking on the weight training, lower body and core fitness, etc. as well as aerobic activities. In my usual preference for doing multiple exercises, I plan to play tennis (I miss Trevor though!), run by myself, bike with Ann, swim once in a while, and golf, as well as work in weightlifting in our basement. Life is good!