Middle Georgia Tri Club Visit!

The last time I was in Macon, Georgia was nearly five years ago. One hundred dollars were at stake in a bet that I’d beat my boss in the Rock ‘n Rollman Half Ironman. My self-coached training had included running two marathons the previous month, swimming seven times a week, and riding my bike almost never. I was psyched!

Race day saw me with a huge lead out of the water only to be passed by 90% of the field on the bike. My “run” lasted as far as the transition area parking lot before the 90 degree temps had me zombie-walking from water stop to water stop. It wasn’t a very auspicious start, but five and half hours later I was $100 richer and totally hooked on the sport.

Last weekend I headed back to Macon for the first time since that race. On this occasion I arrived as a pro triathlete with an invitation to ride and talk tri with the Middle Georgia Triathlon Club. What a difference five years can make!

My connection to the Macon-area triathlon crew came after a chance encounter with one of their star members, Mike, on a pre-race ride of the Ironman Hawaii bike course last October. After snapping some pics with our group and King Kamehameha near the turn-around point in Hawi, Mike was spotted again at the Slowtwitch party, twice more during the race, and by the time we’d crossed the finish line, he couldn’t help but become an adopted member of the Dynamo family.

The trip to Macon gave me a chance to catch up with Mike, his awesome wife Nicole, my super Sherpa-for-the-day Lauren, and a ton of other really cool Middle Georgia Tri Club members. I loved talking with everyone about Ironman training and racing, and they surprised me by already knowing pretty much everything about my race day “nutrition.”

The club’s enthusiasm was totally contagious and I left Macon even more excited for the upcoming tri season. Huge thanks to everyone who came out for the ride and Q&A session! I’m officially a fan of the Middle Georgia Tri Club and can’t wait to see everyone kill it at the races this summer!