I woke up at 4:50, got ready, and headed over to Drew's apartment. I picked him up, along with his bike, all his gear, and Rachel, and we began our journey to Pine Mountain, Georgia, as the rest of Auburn slept soundly, dreaming about barbecue, beer, and football.
It was a really nice morning. As we made our way on the last stretch of Interstate-85 before Georgia we noticed the misty blankets that draped on every field and valley. We poetically described the landscape, and Rachel mentioned that the atmosphere reminded her of Pride and Prejudice. We half expected to see Mr. Darcy himself descending into the fog-kissed fields towards us. Apparently this misty male phenomenon is actually a well-developed literary concept, but I digress.
We passed some of my favorite places in west Georgia, including a beautiful house in the middle of a lake island, multiple fields, and my favorite, Christ the King Church, beautifully nestled in the open fields across from Callaway Gardens.
Finally, we arrived at our destination, Callaway Gardens beach, for the Fitness Series Triathlon, the oldest ongoing Triathlon in the South, which includes a 1k swim, 30k bike, and 8k run through the Gardens beautiful lake and trails. It was amazing. People from their teens to their seventies participated in the race. In fact, I watched some fifty-year olds beat my twenty-one-year old friend. Yes. Fifty.
Some important lessons were learned:
1. Be careful not to pin the number through both the front and back of the shirt. It's very difficult to put on a shirt that is pinned closed.
2. Please remember to put on your bike shorts after the swim. 18 miles is rough. 18 miles with no padding is really rough.
3. Triathlon officials have a sense of humor. The guy who gave Drew his results said, "Your first transition time was four minutes (translation: not good). What were you doing? Taking a nap?"
Overall, it was an awesome experience. The weather was beautiful. Drew ran his first triathlon, and we got to share the glory with him. Rachel checked and double-checked Drew on the things he might have forgotten and then arranged his gear in the transition area as he rushed to the pre-race meeting. I must note that she also gave him a mohawk the night before in order to boost his confidence. I think its aerodynamic properties gave him an edge. At the start of the 5 mile run Drew shouted to us, "You guys are awesome," like we were the ones who had just swam 0.6 mile and biked 18 miles. Us, really? My friends are incredible.
Finally, the morning was topped off by seeing the dozens of colorful hot air balloons who made Callaway Gardens their home for the weekend, and making the peaceful trip, with two very tired, very good friends, back to sweet home Auburn.
What a cool day.
2 comments:
I love this post. especially the little links attached. but mostly because it is awesome!
Thank you. I like you. mostly because you are awesome.
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