Rock the Boat. Don't Rock the Boat, Baby

So, I did my second triathlon of my life, which was also my second triathlon this month. Jeesh! I might be a little too old for all of this, but I really like triathlons.

This one was called an adventure race and took place in Maquoketa, Ia. Basically, they just replaced the quick swim with a very long and arduous canoe race - at least for those of us who didn't train for it...

We left for Maquoketa on Friday evening to make sure I could actually ride my bike up the 20% grade hill, right after the canoe section. We met my brother and his wife for dinner at the really cool hotel where they stayed, then we went back to their room for a drink and to talk about our itinerary the next day.

There were these cool lime kilns at the last transition spot.

We got up early and deposited our things at each transition.

We listened to our instructions and then we were off. The canoe part was the hardest for me. My brother races canoes on a regular basis, but I've been on a canoe about 4 times my entire life.The water was very low and so we had to maneuver a lot and our times were much slower than they would have been, had their been more water. My brother yelled at me a couple of times, but I just told him I didn't understand what he was saying and he said, "I guess I should stop yelling then..." Yes. he should.

 

We finished the canoe and grabbed our bikes. I was dead after the canoe, but my brother was raring to go. He took that steep hill in no time flat. I, however, felt like I crawled up it. I regained my strength a few miles into the ride and came in only about a minute behind my brother.

The Guy was waiting for me at the last transition. This race was a little more lax. usually,  you aren't allowed to have any outside contact, but here they didn't care, so the guy took my bike and helmet from me and I was off to run my 5K.

Of course, it was about 95 degrees by then and I hadn't been drinking enough water. I started getting the chills, but I kept going and when I finished the race, a man came over and handed me a piece of cold watermelon. It was the best thing anyone could have done for me.

My brother and I ended up winning the co-ed, race canoe category and got $80. Since my brother paid the $50 entrance fee, he kept the cash, but he had paid for our dinner the night before, so it was only fair.

 I went home hot and tired and happy. It was pretty grueling, but I'm so glad I did it.