ChessieMan takes place on the eastern coastal waters of Maryland with a good portion of the bike running thru the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, a stunning 27,000 acre tidal marsh reserve with the largest breeding population of bald eagles on the east coast north of Florida. I did see two very large raptors circling during the run, but at the time, I was convinced they were vultures looking to pick up an early bird blue plate special--more on that later.

I headed out Friday morning in the pouring rain, but I was encouraged by the reports of clearing skies with a few scattered showers on Saturday. I was a little less encouraged waking up at 3:00a with rain battering the windows of Hotel Toyota. The rain had mostly stopped by the time I got to T1 and Great Marsh Park at 5:30a, only to kick back up in a downpour just before swim start.

The Swim
The swim leg had been relocated to Hambrooks Bay from the Choptank River due to weather conditions on Friday. The mass start swim got off on time, still dark and pouring rain, 72 degree water. There was the usual jostling at the start, but with only 250 or so swimmers the crowds thinned out fairly quickly and it was just a matter of dealing with the rain and chop on the outer stretch of the 1.2 mile loop, x2. The 1st loop spooled out fairly slow, I was having a hard time getting the rhythm of the chop, sucking in more than a few mouthfuls of saltwater. The 2nd lap finally clicked and ended up being the faster and smoother of the 2 laps.
Time: 1:33:15, 11 minute PR

T1
Not a great T1, I was fairly disoriented from the up and down of the swim
Time: 8:42

The Bike
The rain hadn't stopped going out on the bike, but it had slowed down to a mist. The roads were wet, but with the course being flat and only having few turns it didn't seem the rain would slow us down too much. The 1st 20 or so miles were fairly clear with the rain letting up here and there. The real limiting factor ended up being a long stretch of headwinds thru Blackwater and somewhere around 40 miles I completely bottomed out even though I seemed to be where I needed to be for nutrition. The next 24 miles to special needs ended up being a struggle to maintain any sort of speed with 2 more hard driving downpours and a washout section of road thru a low lying marsh area. By the time I pulled into special needs at a little over 4 hours, I was ready to bail, I could see the car on the other side of the parking lot. I looked at my time, took off my helmet and stood there for ten minutes. Finally, and I can't even say why, I put my helmet back on and headed out. Somehow,the legs and energy kicked back in after about 10 minutes and I was feeling pretty good again, good enough to finish the 2nd loop at 3:15, with more rain and another trip thru the bike wash in the marsh.
Time: 7:30:14, 23 minute PR

T2
Not much here, I was glad to be off the bike and heading out on the run.
Time: 5:28.

The Run
The run is my safe haven. I know if I can get to the run that I'll finish the race. The run is a flat 3 loop course on Egypt Rd: farmland with long stretches of straight pavement and 4 aid stations. The rain had stopped and the sun decided to shine for a while, a nice treat after a soaked to the bone bike After a too fast 1st mile, I settled into a fairly even 9 to 10 minute pace for the first loop, 8.7 miles, and kept that going into 12 miles. Then, again, the wheels started coming off. I had to slow it down to a shuffle and then to a walk for the balance of the second loop, losing a big chunk of time. Remember the raptors, they were circling in the fields off the side of the road somewhere around 15 miles, I couldn't see if they were wearing bibs or not. I stopped at the end of the 2nd loop for my special needs bag, changed shirts and chatted a bit with the people at the turnaround before heading back out on the 3rd lap. The rain had started again, but this time it felt good, energizing. I was determined to run the last loop taking it a section at a time with the goal of running to the 1st aid station, then the next and then the next. I hit the 4 1/2 mile turnaround still running, picked up a lei at the aid station and knew that the I would beat the death walk. The lights at the stadium finish finally became visible at about 23 miles and wanting to get this thing over with I picked up the pace again: 8:42, 8:27 and 8:13 going into the stadium for the last 200.
Time: 5:34:01, 4 min PR

There's never a way to know what race day will throw at you. The second leg of the bike and the 1st and last loops of the run were the high points of the race helping to somewhat smooth out the very dark spots in the final tally. All in all, it was a little over an hour PR with a 3rd AG, (55-59). Granted there were only 4 in my age group and the last guy dnf'd, but hey, I'll take it! :)

Final Time: 14:51:36