Triathlon???? Are you kidding me??

OK. So Scott decided to have a little mini-triathlon at his house in the Harbor on July 3rd. These guys do tri's all of the time so its a no brainer for them and easy. I, on the other hand, cannot and DO NOT SWIM. Period. I try. I fail. I wish it was different but its not. BUT, sitting around Milf's one night, under the influence of a good Thursday night ride and maybe a Bud Light or 2, I was talked into doing it. "You can just go out there and do the breast stroke Scruggs" was the voices I heard. "Its not far at all, only 1/2 mile. Come practice with us Monday morning". Now bear in mind this was 2 weeks before the actual date AND I had no time to really even get used to the water. I did hear in the conversations that if you were too scared or unable to swim or run, you could form a team. NOW that sounds like a plan....No I think I will do the entire thing. Next week I tried to swim from my dock to my neighbors dock (not even 1/32 of a mile) and I gave completely out. SO, I call on one of my Scouts (Josh) who is a beast at almost all sports. I asked him if he was interested in swimming for me and I would do the bike and run. He didn't hesitate and said "Sure Mr. Scruggs, I will even run for you too". No you just swim as I think I may do a duathlon later this summer and I need to practice transitions. So we all meet at Scott's house on July 3rd. Scott really put a lot of work into this tri. He mapped out courses, had plenty of water and aid stations, had drinks and really made it look professional. All the swimmers went out at 8AM on the dot.

Josh Out Of the Water

We all watched as Rob took off like Michael Phelps and dusted everyone. Josh hung in there really well and was only a few minutes back on the first lap. He even seemed to gain some on the second lap which was good as I knew I needed to have a little edge so my slow bike and run wouldn't bring us down. Josh came out of the water about 1/2 way down the pack which was great for someone that doesn't do much open water swimming. Now for fat Daddy on the bike. The course was almost too flat for me. I really excel on hilly courses and flats really don't help me much. But I seemed to get going fairly fast and got into a semi rhythm after a few miles. I made the turn onto Chuckwood and unraveled. A Couple guys caught me and we rode in kind of racing each other the last couple miles. It helped to have someone push me. Josh had decided to run with me the 3.1 miles to help motivate me and push me. I probably should have let him do the run cause I held him up a good bit as I was getting my heart rate back down to a manageable level.

Taking off on the run....Glad I had someone pushing me or I might have quit....

One More Turn and Sprint....OK... JOG for home.....

After we made the turn back on Harbor Cove, I actually started to feel pretty good and even picked up the pace.....for about 10 feet. Josh pushed me hard on a couple hills which I was glad he did. He is a good runner and needs to learn how to do these on his own. He could probably finish in the top 10 for all males with his swim and run. We can teach him to bike....I see an Ironman in the future. Our total time was about 1:20. My total time for the bike/run was around 1 hour flat so I know Josh had a good swim since our transitions were in there as well. I was pretty satisfied with it. I hope I didn't let Josh down too much with my slow bike and run. But it was fun nevertheless. I might even do it again....

Blood, Sweat and Gears....or was it beer?

June 26th was the 102 mile century ride starting in Valle Crucis NC and going through Boone, Blowing Rock, Mountain City TN, Up Snake Mountain, up George's Gap and about 20+ miles on the Parkway. I had missed the last 2 years due to vacation as well as preparing for Philmont last year. I really like this because it begins and finishes in the same spot. So much different from Mount Mitchell which is a cluster for logistics. One of the Drafters knows a guy who rents out his mountain house overlooking the Parkway. I was late leaving Mooresville on Friday the 25th as I had a bunch of stuff to catch up on from work and get ready for my week in FL the following week. I left Mooresville about 5 PM and arrived in Blowing Rock around 8 after a stop at the Valle Crucis school to pick up stuff. It was 97 in Mooresville but it wasn't much cooler in Blowing Rock. The group was already drinking a few and had dinner before I got there. I hung out for a while and we all decided to turn in around 11. Saturday morning was a beautiful morning in the mountains. It was cooler but not cool by any means. We packed up and tried to be at the starting spot by 6:45 for a 7:30 start. There were 12 of us doing the 102 mile ride an 1 doing the 50. We all started out together but by The Shulls Mill Road Climb I was pretty much alone. Some of us caught up on the Parkway at the first rest stop. I tried to ride with the group but I was feeling too good to ride the climbs slowly. It was pretty much a climb and wait until the next stop. Snake Mountain is the first real hard climb of the day and it is a really hard climb. It has a 20% grade for the last 1/4 mile. It is very tough and many people have to walk the last 1/4 mile. Buddy, Dave and I met up at the Volunteer Fire Dept. at the bottom of the Snake and decided to try to hang together. We started off as 3 but in 1 mile I was already alone again. I knew I just needed to put in the I=Pod and climb in my own world. I passed so many people I thought maybe I was dreaming. People were walking, stopped with cramps, broken chains, wailing and crying, it was scary to watch. I never got off and in fact would have to say it was my easiest climb up the Snake. At the top, I waited at the rest area around 20 minutes for Dave and Buddy. We started to descend together but we separated again. At mile 83, I waited again for them but I told them as soon as they got there I had to split. Th waiting was killing me. They understood as most riders do. Its better to keep the pace you want to ride. Georges Gap comes after the last rest stop at mile 83. Georges is similar to Brushy Mountain so I enjoy it. I climbed it well too. The last real grade up 105 into Boone is a real pain. But its over in about 2 miles and you have a really nice flat ride in until you turn on Mast Gap. Some real smart-ass decided to put in 1 more climb of epic proportions about 2 miles out. After that, its a easy descent and flat 1 mile run in. Time was 7:22 which should of been under 7 an maybe even as fast as 6:30. I really enjoy riding with friends. I hate to wait on people but I decided to try to suck it up. It didn't go as well as I had hoped but there is hope for the future. The rest of Drafters went back to the cabin to rest and party (although I understood it wasn't much of a party). I had to be home so I drove back. Nice weekend and fun ride.