The 2010 Nation's Triathlon: Part 1

Day 1

As social/community service chair of my class I happily provided the opportunity to classmates to volunteer during the race, expo, or pre-event setup.  I couldn’t pass up the swag offered to volunteers either so I headed out Thursday evening with a few classmates to volunteer for race packet stuffing.  We walked in circles for a couple hours and put one thing from each pile in a red bag and threw it in the bin.  We also put timing chips on the Velcro ankle bands and numbered them before sorting swim caps by color.  After all our volunteering we were fed a delicious meal from Chipotle.  It was a good way to spend the evening meeting fellow racers and hanging out with friends being able to help out.

Day 2

Friday afternoon immediately after class I strolled through the city to Packet Pick-up.  Packet pick-up ran smoothly and they even took a nice mug-shot of me.  It was a little confusing after picking up your race packet which included your numbers and signing your life away where to get the race-bag and shirts from. All the vendors were set up in the middle of the hall with the race information/shirts on either side.  I attended a newbie course briefing to ease some nerves and bought myself a tire repair kit from a local bike shop.  I had gotten a flat earlier in the week and didn’t have a kit, I learned my lesson and wasn’t going to let that happen come race time.  There were muscle milk samples to try and all sorts of things to check out at the expo.  After finishing up there I met up with Ryan at the end of his volunteer shift and we headed up to Annapolis for the GSU Alumni Reception.  We had a great evening talking with some older alumni and visiting with the athletic director.  The Eagles were in town for the GSU vs. Navy football game on Saturday.

Day 3

Nerves were settling in while getting everything done.  I headed down to rack my bike and do a practice swim around noon before it was too crazy at the transition area.  It was nice getting the bike racking done and over with the morning before the race.  The practice swim was also well worth it – the Potomac is not the cleanest or clearest river.  The water temperature was perfect – just on the brim of being wetsuit legal.  After completing the practice swim I headed home, showered, and got back in the car to Annapolis!  Going to support my Eagles of course!  The game was pretty good, we got to tailgate with some of Ryan’s fraternity brothers and catch up with some friends from the Naval Academy.  After the game we shot back to DC for an excellent pasta dinner courtesy of my brother!  After dinner I double checked my transition bag and went over my plan for the following morning before relaxing and resting up for the day ahead.

The Severn Inn, Annapolis MD - The Naval Academy is in the Background.