First Annual St Mary's County Septathalon

Over the weekend, Joel's brother, Nathanael, hosted a "septathalon" in honor of his 30th birthday.  It was held in St Mary's County, MD - down near the Chesapeake Bay.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPuj1zPOOfsPzzRuq2r6dELMyRUDIlxsNnRiQvZa8wkRYba04r7hq44wa7KucXpgSTNfvyFVDxEy2t9Xu_kKDECjYm9OngIzjDVyR8Qx0DONFPYf20b22AD-xIWbyxJtJkDs-qxQvWL4/s1600/Septathalon+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPuj1zPOOfsPzzRuq2r6dELMyRUDIlxsNnRiQvZa8wkRYba04r7hq44wa7KucXpgSTNfvyFVDxEy2t9Xu_kKDECjYm9OngIzjDVyR8Qx0DONFPYf20b22AD-xIWbyxJtJkDs-qxQvWL4/s400/Septathalon+007.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I snagged this pretty burnt heart on one of the dead trees near the river</td></tr></tbody></table>The Septathalon featured 7 events: yoga, swimming, biking, running, fishing, eating and drinking.  Not your average kind of sporting event :).<br /><br />I participated in 3 of the "main" events: yoga, biking and running.  Our yoga instruction was very quick - sort of a kick off to the entire event.  Once the guys (and 1 girl) finished with the swim, we started the 22 mile bike ride.  I actually only ended up doing 11 miles because it was pouring down rain and extremely hard to see, but I was really proud of myself for doing half of it.  I even felt really good after those 11 miles, I could have/would have kept going if not for the rain.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRIsOJzhzgCOHgbnuu1HO_wVLGQbEZgr8fFIowl0QLAgZkkygAAjffJPWgEdWjvvKxWlhekyw-u7QT7rrdTob6YsQ1XTWSwOG0O6BDCnil1U3k2pWwBYqFnnAYQOIogazgxzdUZzGibqc/s1600/Septathalon+095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRIsOJzhzgCOHgbnuu1HO_wVLGQbEZgr8fFIowl0QLAgZkkygAAjffJPWgEdWjvvKxWlhekyw-u7QT7rrdTob6YsQ1XTWSwOG0O6BDCnil1U3k2pWwBYqFnnAYQOIogazgxzdUZzGibqc/s400/Septathalon+095.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's me in the background gearing up for the 11 miles</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />After the bike ride, we proceeded to the 6 mile run.  After much convincing, Joel agreed to do the run with me.  We started off with a light jog and then had to walk for a bit because my hip started to hurt a little.  We made it 2 miles before we spotted Joel's brother running back to us, letting us know that the bar we were running to was closed (this was for the "drinking" part).  So, we just turned around and did 4 miles instead of the planned 6.  Joel and I both jogged for a little over 2 miles though - so I was very pleased with myself for that.<br /><br />I was <b>extremely proud</b> of myself for biking <i>and </i>walking/running.  Never have I ever biked 11 miles and ran/walked 4 all in the same day.  And by the way, Joel's brother did every single event in it's entirety.  Granted, he trained for the whole thing, but still - SO awesome!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ6zISGHBMjjVE71CM7LReeuL8kLjsdUdjW6HxH9mefejp-NYDH8mNpQ7QTa1xOck-Dd7E4rVUbraeIGZWjjGPpgAncfUqLEkGRNyloUVdbKa74Ipd_Yv48gzXA_uhzrbNm4CGppEPCs/s1600/Septathalon+106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ6zISGHBMjjVE71CM7LReeuL8kLjsdUdjW6HxH9mefejp-NYDH8mNpQ7QTa1xOck-Dd7E4rVUbraeIGZWjjGPpgAncfUqLEkGRNyloUVdbKa74Ipd_Yv48gzXA_uhzrbNm4CGppEPCs/s400/Septathalon+106.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br />It wasn't long afterward that stiffness and soreness set in.  In fact, not only was I achy, but Joel and I both battled some serious stomach problems.  It put somewhat of a damper on the remainder of the day.  We ended up leaving the post-Septathalon BBQ early because of our stomach issues.  <br /><br />Still, I had a lot of fun on Saturday and I take so much pride in proving to myself that I was capable of doing these events, even if I am 256 pounds.

Exercise Septathalon First Annual St Mary's County Septathalon

Over the weekend, Joel's brother, Nathanael, hosted a "septathalon" in honor of his 30th birthday.  It was held in St Mary'...

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