Augusta Recon Report

Having a 70.3 in my (sorta) backyard was too tempting to turn down.  No flying to a race.  No packing up the bike and paying the airlines another couple hundie to transport my bike. No rental car.  And the single most important reason: If I forget my shorts again, I am only 2ish hours from home, and won’t be stuck wearing a mankini.

SOLD!

I was excited to do something that I’ve pretty much never done:  pre-ride a course.  What a concept!  With the race less than 3 weeks away, most of our training is in the bank and there’s not much to change up, but I’ll still share my recon report for anyone who’s headed to Augusta at the end of the month.

First and foremost, if you’re like most people, when you think “AUGUSTA,” you think “GOLF.”  Masters, specifically.  And images of perfectly manicured greens come to mind, don’t they?

I never did see those beautiful greens of Augusta National. In fact, I didn’t see too much manicured anything (Augusta residents and this blogger included), but this is triathlon and what do we care?  By the way, when you’re spectating, we encourage hootin’ and hollering, so please don’t keep it quiet.

So don’t expect perfection, but you will enjoy lots of Southern charm and and a course with a little bit of everything.

The drive from Hotlanta was quite uneventful, as there is no thriving metropolis between The ATL and The AUG. Just one long, lonely stretch of I-20 as the sun was coming up.

My plans to ride with superstar April G. were not to be. She was still celebrating her post-Louisville “I don’t want to train yet” recovery week, and good for her.  I knew Tony Myers would be there, and I also knew that Tony is one competitive dude— I had nothing to worry about in regards to having to ride alone– he’d stick with me.  And Tony didn’t disappoint.  Thanks buddy!

Here are a couple shots of the river from transition.

As soon as you head out of transition, you’ll take about a one mile detour down a flat road before doing a u-turn and starting the bike course.  Within a few miles, you’ll cross over the Savannah River (more on that later) and say ADIOS to Georgia; the majority of the ride is through South Carolina.  The first hour is pretty flat and fast. The roads were not smooth as butter but not as wretched as the Nicaragua-esque streets of Richmond at Du Worlds in 07.   After the first mile, more rollers ensue. Bottom line: mapmyride.com is a farce! This course is not as flat as the profile shows.  It should be fast, but there are definitely some rollers as well as some climbs that slow you down (although I stayed in the big ring the whole day).  There are also plenty of flat and fast sections, but  my Garmin showed about 2500 feet of climbing.  Nothing terrible, but just don’t expect a ride like Gulf Coast.  I do think it will be fast, just not crazy fast.

The ride is scenic in its own sort of Southern way.  You won’t see palm trees or beaches, but you’ll pass by many car “dealerships” (conveniently located right on the front yards), as well as multiple reminders about the big guy upstairs and what he expects of us. Remember, this is the bible belt.  If it’s not working out for you on race day, you’ll have plenty of churches around to drop in and request divine intervention.  Or, buy a 1982 Camaro and just drive back to transition.

I love to ride my bike, but I was very irritated when a monster hill appeared right around (my) mile 55 of the course.  I mean STUPID-big hill.  The only bright spot was the cute little “car-on-a-stick” at the top of the hill, of which I tried to snap a picture.  The good news is that we got lost and that big hill is not really part of the course, so fear not!  And if you happen to see this cute little car-on-a-stick on race day, TURN AROUND because you’re lost.

Southerners are pretty friendly.  And these two Aiken, SC cops were true to form when they mapped out my return to transition.  I have a feeling that some of my single friends may be intentionally veering off course in attempt to find Johnny Law.  When a man still says “Yes, Ma’am” to a sweaty, nasty girl at the tail end of a 60mile ride, you know their momma taught them manners.

Run course:  flat.  End of story.

I’d love to report on the swim in the Savannah River, but I have this little problem: an addiction to The Animal Planet which has gotten in the way of me jumping into rivers alone.  Shows like I Shouldn’t Be Alive, My Worst Animal Nightmare, Untamed and Uncut, and River Monsters are all part of my problem, but they sure are educational.   You may laugh, but at least I will know what to do if I happen to find myself in a precarious situation with a mountain lion.  You gotta be prepared.  (The Rookie Pros get it; It’s good to know there are others who understand me.) Anyway, I did my due diligence and asked every person I ran into (including the cops) about the possibility of gators in the river.  Everyone answered the same way:   “Well . . . (long pause = YES) . . . I think you’ll be fine.  They’re wayyy down the river in the more swampy areas.”

My interpretation:  SAME BODY OF WATER.   No dice.  About a mile before finishing the bike course, I passed this billboard, which is just a little too coincidental for me.

While I am a devoted blogger, I don’t love you guys that much.  Do your own damn swim recon!   ha!  I’ll get wet on race day, and I will do my absolute darndest to draft that swim like a champ.  Strength in numbers!

Whatever your plans are in Augusta, do not miss this man.

He is camped out in the parking lot of a white building (sign says “FISH, SHRIMP, CHICKEN”) right outside of transition, on the corner of Broad Street.  His name is St. Anthonie and he has a lovely islander accent and is a charming, kind man.  He sells baskets of the most delicious muscadine grapes I’ve ever eaten.  Muscadine grapes are native to the Southeast, and they are like grapes on steroids— really really good.  I bought $12 worth and I’m embarrassed to say that they are long gone.  If you haven’t had a muscadine grape, make this your mission.  I told him to expect the masses on race day; please look for him and his grapes.

I am so excited for this race.  Close to home with lots of friends around.  Plus I’ll have my biggest fan there to cheer me on.  This little peanut will be happy to see her momma finish . . . and she will NOT be swimming in the river (I’ve seen enough Animal Planet & Discovery Channel to make me a paranoid doggymomma for life)!

Best of luck to everyone.