Double Down

No, not the protein and sodium-laden KFC "sandwich", but the unfortunate timing of events this weekend...  Now armed with kayak, I had decided to take part in the Challenge that is pure Folly put on by John's crowd at the county parks on Sunday.  Unfortunately, my wife and her sister decided I was also running the 5k race for the cure the day before - so it was with tired legs I dropped off my kayak at the Folly Landing to receive it's official handicap.

I'd be back there after setting my bike and running shoes up at the transition point within the county park at the South side of the island.  I managed to get into my boat without disaster and even started on time.  Despite the constant pull to the right the whole 3 miles down the Folly River, I reached the Island tip in just under 38minutes, getting out of the water in 27th place.  Kayaking is not the best preparation for running (neither is 5k the day before) so my legs felt like lead on the 0.7 mile run to the bike transition from the landing.  Things went better on the 9mile bike ride up to the northern end of Folly Island and I managed to pick up about 16 places thanks to my secret weapon: cross tyres on my road bike.

You would not have been very proud of my style on the final 3+ mile run up the beach to the pier and back, although I did manage to claw back another three places, finishing in 9th place overall with 1:38:58, 2nd in the Masters.  Kudos to Dirk deWitt who took over 8 minutes out of last years time to win in 1:27:18 and Heather Knight who finished 1st lady, an impressive second overall in 1:31:25.  More results here