Morning of the race

Up early and a quick breakfast at Chris's house before loading up the bikes and heading out to Burns Park. I realized on Friday during the pre-ride that I've played many an Ultimate Frisbee tournament at that park - all with good results. The last time I played Ultimate out there we qualified for nationals...would that be the case again today?

When we arrived at the race the conversation was all about the swim. The course was being altered from years past because the high water levels had washed out the traditional starting area. This new course meant a treading water start and then the first 400m directly into the current to start the race. How strong was the current? Well, since you could visibly see debris floating down the river and there were small whitecaps forming on the top of the water I knew it was fast, but the race director said it was about a 2 mph current. Chris, being a biker and runner, was not pleased.

We got good spots setup in transition and I tried some new strategy for fuel during the race, unwrapping a pwr bar and wrapping it on the stem for easy access during the race. After a couple more details I hit the water for a warm up and then we had the pre-race meeting.

unpacking the car

pre-race picture