Some of the Dream Team (Athens) kids As good as Augusta 70.3 is, the race itself is only a small part of the reason I made the trip to Georgia. The main reason for the trip was to spend time with awesome kids of the Dream Team Youth Tri Squad in Athens. Over the past 3 years Kim Landrum along with her coaching team have developed the perfect environment for kids to have fun while training and racing in triathlon. The success of the idea has now meant the team has spread itself to 3 separate camps in Atlanta, Athens and Augusta. In 2011 I was honored to become team captain. To be part of such a great initiative and to see the enthusiasum the kids (and parents) show is inspiring. It's so pleasing to see a bunch of kids having fun and being healthy and happy in the outdoors...like kids should be. I love getting updates on how they're all doing throughout the year and giving them hints and tips along the way. This year I got to watch a handful of them race the Ironkids National Champs in Des Moines which was awesome.
Harvey and his monster Shiv (and me) Jared and I spent almost a week in Georgia this year. In that time we were shuttled around and looked after like long lost family members. We arrived into Atlanta late Wednesday evening after a full days travel including a taxi, boat, bus and plane. Seth was there waiting to pick us up (getting constant Mel-Jared flight ETA updates by phone from his 2 kids back home in their command centre). He kindly drove us the hour and a half to Harveys place in Athens (via a quick dinner stop) where we would set up base camp for the next few days. Harvey is the man behind TriCoachGeorgia, a local group of triathletes having a good time smashing their PR's. Harvey himself is a man-mountain. He drives a monster truck, rides a monster Shiv, and eats from a lazy-susan-style pizza tray perched on a pedestal a foot above the table...only when the opportunity presents itself of course. In the space a of a few short years he has transformed himself from a 290-pound 'clydesdale' to a genuine contender for World Champ qualification (on the back of a 2.22 bike split, he just missed 2014 qualification with his Augusta 70.3 result). His house is the perfect Tri training facility for his athletes, having 8 computrainers set up down stairs on a split platform stage in front of 2 big screen TVs. His athletes regularly grind away down in this bunker riding over the virtual ironman courses on screen. In the backyard, Harvey has his own 250yard-long lake for open water swim practice. If you don't mind sharing with turtles, fish and the odd snake, it's perfect.
Question time with kids and parents Thursday we spent the day doing a little bit of everything. a short ride in the morning with Harvey, a few laps of the lake with some of the tricoach georgia athletes and then a run in the afternoon. After training was out of the way, we spent the rest of the afternoon at one of the Dream Team training session. We caught up with the kids and parents and also met super swimmer (and local girl) Haley Chura. After the training session, Haley, Jared and I sat down with the kids for a Q&A and finished with a spot quiz/prize give away frenzy. The kids are so knowledgeable and so engaged. The questions they would come with were thoughtful, genuine, funny and 'different' in ways that only kids could come up with. After all the kids were wound up with excitement, we migrated to the local favourite restaurant Chops and Hops for dinner and more fun with friends.
Haley and I ready to swim Friday, a few of us started the day with a swim session lead by Haley followed by a couple quick laps in the lake. She made us all look silly in the water..and did it with such ease. We then got our race gear ready and made the 1 1/2hr drive to Augusta to have a small get together with some of the Tri Augusta crew. Here we made the next exchange as we were passed over to Tony who lives just across the river to the Augusta 70.3 race start. Very convenient. Tony and his family were incredibly helpful providing everything we needed for the weekend. Tony also raced Augusta 70.3 so he was not only helping us out but also looking after his own race preparations at the same time. Some nutritional mistakes (easy to fix) leading into the race made for a tough, long day out on the course. Despite this, he still grit his teeth and made it through to greet his family at the finish line...and collect his medal of course.
Cheering gauntlet (for Harvey) lead by Kim Race morning for myself came went without a hitch. Up at an ungodly hour as usual, arriving at transition in the dark with floodlights and speakers blaring. The race itself went well. I had plenty of support along the way from cheering Dream Teamer's, parents, families and fellow competitors. After the race I enjoyed spending the afternoon in the Dream Team/TriCoachGeorgia/Tri Augusta tent with the kids and parents chearing on the other Tri Augusta athletes still out on the course. We cheered, rested, yelled, drank, cheered, ate, played games, rested, made cool rubber-band bracelets (well, Aiden's the only one that can do it really)... After the awards ceremony later that afternoon, Jared and I made a quick trip back to Tony's to grab our stuff and then back on the road with Harvey to Athens. Harvey, Jared and I feasted at an Italian Restaurant when we got back, shoveling in soups, salads, breads, pastas, pizzas...everything the waiter could throw at us. It was a sight to see!
Julie, Jared and I at UG Stadium Monday we had a nice walk through Athens with Harvey and Julie. We got to see the massive University of Georgia stadium (seats 100,000), walked AROUND the University arch (dont go under), got a photo on one of the many bulldog statues throughout the town and caught up with Marcus for awesome lamb burgers for lunch. Delicious!
Tuesday was our last day, and it started with a ride in the morning thanks to Rueben who picked me up and took me along to one of his local bike routes. One final quick swim in the lake and a half hour run around the block before we packed up to hit he road again. This time it was Joel who offered to haul us and our luggage all the way back to Atlanta airport.
Tuesday was our last day, and it started with a ride in the morning thanks to Rueben who picked me up and took me along to one of his local bike routes. One final quick swim in the lake and a half hour run around the block before we packed up to hit he road again. This time it was Joel who offered to haul us and our luggage all the way back to Atlanta airport.
Dream Teamer's post race Its true that the people in a community make a place worth visiting, not the destination itself. Even though the weather was perfect, the places to train were great and the race itself ran smoothly, it was all the PEOPLE in Athens and Augusta that made the trip so memorable. I can't thank you all enough! I'll see ya'll again next year...Chase Your Dreams kids!
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