2009 Eighth Annual Forks of Cheat Forest Triathlon

Selfishly, needing a motivator for exercise in summer several years ago, I decided to host a triathlon in our neighborhood. At the time, it was, "raise up the flag, and see if anybody salutes!". Well, some athletic neighbors joined in. The next year, some students joined in. This year, some faculty joined in. I added 'teams' this year to encourage participation. It worked!

Now, it's no longer a selfish thing I do (although, it still serves the function); it's something I look forward to doing as a way of contributing to our community's emphasis on healthy living in harmony with the environment. Hey, that's a pretty good slogan...hmmm. Maybe I'll bring it up at our neighborhood visioning meeting next week.

This year's event was greeted by a cool morning (low 60's) and cloudy skies. It was chilly before and after the event, but the weather was perfect for swimming, running, and biking. I had probably prepared for this triathlon less than any in recent years. I had done some running, but virtually no biking (and no bike tuneup) and only one swim. I was surprised that the swim went as well as it did; I managed to do the crawl all the way across, which is a sign that I'm not in too bad shape. During the run I felt a bit sluggish...never did put on my earphones in the interest of time, but I might have run faster with the inspiration of Porcupine Tree. On the bike ride, I don't think I was quite as fast as last year, but I didn't feel too bad. Until, Dick and Jane Lambie came flying by me on a steep uphill with their tandem bike. Impressive.

My only personal achievement I guess was coming in 2 minutes ahead of Lynne Ryan, a bona fide triathlete, who has participated in 7 events this summer and won a number of them in her age class. She was fast! But I was slower than last year by a bit. I need to work on my transition both coming out of the water and getting on the bike - they were painfully slow this year.

Special thanks to Charlie Kramer for driving bikes over to the dam in his truck and to Caitlin McGraw for managing the swim portion, as well as timing the whole event. You guys were indispenable!

Now, my motivator for staying in shape will be....SKI SEASON!!!!