Chippewa Triathlon - Triathlon Week

zlarin · 06-13-2005, 09:05 AM

Saturday 11th was the Chippewa Triathlon in Bemidji, MN. It was a 49 mile canoe/bike/run with 14 miles of canoe/portage, 27 1/2 miles of biking, and a 7 1/2 mile run. The canoe portion was difficult because of the long stretches between portages and the portaging areas were difficult to access due to a very rainy season for Minnesota. One of those portages was a 20-30 yard 2ft wide board walk that had sunk into the mud and was covered with half a foot of muddy water. So you had to carry your canoe and without being able to see where you were going, you had to feel your way through on the bordwalk and pray you wouldnt slip and find yourself knee-deep in mud. The canoe-bike transition went pretty smoothly. The bike was almost entirely offroad except for pavement for about 2 miles in the beginning and 4ish miles at the end. The rest consisted of technical forest trails, sand, and a looong portion that was supposed to be dirt road, but because of all the rain, it was nothing but sloshy mud and water w/ some parts completely flooded over w/ 1-2 feet of water.

About halfway through the mud portion, my chain slipped and my gears refused to function due to all the gunk caught up in the bike. so for the last half of the bike portion i burned way too much energy fighting my bike and once i reached the run transition, i completely conked out and my muscles seized up, so sadly i had to cut my triathlon experience short at the 42 mile mark. but i have no qualms, seeing that i actually made it that far, over half the competitors were relays, and i was the youngest racer. so all in all, i suppose it was a good triathlon attempt and i cant wait to train up and go for it again next year. :bannana: