White Lake Half Ironman / Sprint Triathalon

So last weekend we went to beautiful White Lake, NC as not only did Stace have a team of 18 participants in the Half Ironman, a friend and coworker of mine, Greg Carr, was going to do it for the first time. We had a blast! Man, talk about an incredible place! Forget the beach - I'm heading there in May next year for a week. There are several lakes in the area that were formed by a huge meteor shower thousands and thousands of years ago. The meteors broke the surface and opened up springs which feed the lakes year round. White Lake is the largest and at its deepest point is only 13 feet deep. How is that for cool? They are sand lakes, not mud, and are home to raccoon perch, brim, bass, and "the sweetest tasting catfish you'll ever eat", according to a local fisherman I was blessed to speak with. He gave me the rundown on the lake and town history while we strolled along a pier, waiting on his cousin to show up so for a quick boat ride. Evidently May is the premium time to come enjoy the water as it's about 71 degrees and crystal clear. Later in the summer the sun bakes it to around 85+ degrees and the tourists swirl all the silt and sand up.
The event was even more successful this year then last with a new record turnout of almost 900 participants.

Think about that: Almost 900 people swimming 1.2 MILES to run to a transition area to change out of their wetsuit, hop on their bicycles and ride 56 MILES, only to hit another transition area and finish up with a 13.1 MILE run.

I mean REALLY.

All of Stacey's people finished, save one, who unfortunately had been suffering from severe chest congestion the past week and could not finish the swim. Talk about ticked off. But I can understand it. Luckily he is already signed up for another Half Ironman later this year. I'm sure he'll fly through that.

GREG was AWESOME. AWESOME as in "To inspire awe and wonder". He finished at 6 hours and six minutes which is just inside the top 40th percentile or so. This was his first Half Ironman and that is really an incredible time, especially considering the people who do this thing regularly and for pay were at 4 to 5 hours. Go Greg!

Well, picture wise, I was able to get some really nice shots of not just the scenery but some good ones of the LLS team. I posted the scenic ones on the JKI site -http://justinkeelingimages.blogspot.com/. Check them out and let me know what you think. The LLS group ones will be posted on their systems for their people to order and print off. I hope they liked them too.

Oh, what did we do while everyone was swimming and biking and running? WORKING OUR BUTTS (and backs) OFF keeping them going! We volunteered to help man a water stop and handed out water, sports drink, salt tabs, gels, bars, orange slices, ice towels, chips... and prob something else I'm forgetting. WOW! The run track was a double loop, which means we saw everyone 4 times. You do the math: some 800+ participants coming by us at mile 3, 6, 9 and 12. My back is KILLING me as I was responsible for ice towels. Bending over a bucket, digging in ice chips, trying to cool off enough towels for the army of clamoring hands..
Oh, and did I mention it was windy where we were? And I guess I forgot to mention that we were using styrofoam cups.... Yeah. THOUSANDS of styrofoam cups scattered all over the neighborhood. Yeah. I cleaned those up too.
By the way, Stacey ROCKED at keeping us stocked in ice and water, along with busting her hump handing out sports drink and whatever else people needed.
Afterward we headed back to Langston's Motel where The Front Porch barbeque catered a very nice meal. We hung out on benches and sports chairs, fed our faces, recounted the event, had some beers, and just relaxed. Too bad we didn't get a team shot of everyone in the lake with the sunset... Oh well. Next time.
But it was a good time. There were a lot of nice people and the event was very well organized. Setup Events is really streamlining themselves into an effective Event company.
Stace and her coworker Abbey volunteered again on Sunday for the Sprint Triathlon while I cleaned up the house and got stuff ready for check out... and napped on the beach. :)
Good times, good times.

Again, Congratulations to Greg and all the TnT team. You were amazing!

So what else is going on... Not a lot as it's just Monday. I think this weekend we have a break. I know, it's Mother's Day, but we've traveled and worked the past 2 weekends and we are going to CO. next week so we should probably hang around and gear up for that.

Be safe, hug hard.