Over the Mountain

Who in their "right mind" signs up for a race named "Over the Mountain"?  Well, maybe that head-butt I had with the asphalt in Camden last October has left me with more than a "shoulder cramping super tight grip" on the handle bars.  I can always claim that all the novice triathletes steered away from this one. Therefore, a good showing in my age group really meant something.  I have completed this event three times now and consider it an excellent training event.  It will definitely put you to the test.  The point to point, 1500 meter swim plays on your mind when you realize that you are halfway across this, 60 foot deep, lake and the easiest way out is to continue to the other shore.  After you complete the swim you are rewarded with the toughest uphill dash to T1 that I have ever experienced. The two transition areas require you to bag up your wetsuit and all your other gear since you don't come back to this area again. The race actually starts in North Carolina and during the bike ride you cross into South Carolina for the toughest parts of the ride before returning to NC for T2 and the run. When we crossed into SC the hill climb really began.  There was a long accent up to the Kings Mountain National Park.  After a very brief plateau we continued to climb through the SC state park. The national park is where the actual Revolutionary War battle was fought.  Many claim this to be the turning point of the war. After all that climbing we were treated to a screaming 45 mph decent down the backside.  When I'm struggling up the hills I rationalize that creping to the top at 5 mph and streaking down the other side at a white knuckle pace of 45 mph will allow me to claim a 25 mph average (you know 5+45=50/2=25).  Well, that seems logical only when your brain can't handle any more data or calculations in it's overtaxed state.  The actual math problem goes more like this, if you were to climb exactly 1.0 mile averaging 10 mph to the ridge and immediately begin your descent without having to recuperate or pause before needing to accelerate to a pace of 40 mph for the same 1.0 mile you would average only 16 mph over the 2 mile course.  Once we got back down to the bottom near the state line we began a series of up and downs around the base of nearby Crowders Mountain.  Then, back into the city of Kings Mountain, N.C. for T2 in a location that you haven't been to since before the race. I remember a few years ago during one of Bill Rich's instructional sessions about the Ironman, he told me of the feeling that he had at the end of the long and tough bike ride. He said to the volunteers "somebody please take this darn bike". That's exactly how I felt after this tough ride.  Normally, I fare pretty well on the run portion of the triathlon but today the hills on the bike and the increase to near 90 degree temperatures wore me down. This is a new run course which was described as "detouring down into several subdivisions".  The key phrase here was "down into".  I learned long ago that all loop and out and back  courses that go down eventually have to go back up. So, on the way out when I was crushing my quads down the ultra steep hills I was making a mental note that "I will definitely walk that one on the return trip".  And you betcha, I did. Tim and Owen, the sole Team Whetstone representatives, were there cheering for me so in my worn state I took every advantage of the opportunities to pause and give high fives to Owen.  With what I consider my worst run of the season, I still feel good about the days results.  I satisfied one of my all-time goals by finishing in the top half of my age group.

  After a well deserved shower we toured the visitors center at the national park.  Owen caught up on some of the sleep, during the movie presentation, that we deprived him of this morning. Then we explored the battlefield, read the monuments and as would be appropriate for the day, hiked "up and down" the hills of the battlefield trail.