Hiking the Golf Course, Shipwreck, and Running the 3rd Tri Series

So I was feeling a bit blah about things, particularly after learning about two more friends whose houses got robbed (one lost all the Christmas presents they just bought/wrapped - the a**holes even threw the food from their fridge on the floor - !!). Sigh. Add my frustration with the health insurance situation (we decided to just sign Michael up and cross our fingers I stay healthy) and the fact that the electricity went out again for 7 hours yesterday, and I needed my usual fix when I'm feeling blue. Hiking.

We didn't kill ourselves, but we wandered the roads of the one-day golf course on the southeast peninsula. The island is so beautiful that just taking it all in always refreshes me. It was so quiet with nothing but the bleeting of the goats, the birds soaring overhead, monkeys running around in the distance, magnificent views. Yep, just what I needed.



Hiking also helps work up an appetite, so we decided to have some soft veggie tacos and fries at Shipwreck. We hadn't been there in a long time and were glad to see that they got a lot of their beach back. They've also fixed the damage from Hurricane Earl, so have stairs back down to the beach. It was nice to see them with a pretty good cruise-ship crowd.



Of course, the monkeys still know where to get some yummy goodies (mongoose too).



Then it was time to root friends on for the final (third) triathlon series. This one consisted of a 600m swim, 20km bike, 5km run. Because it was a bit harder, only 14 teams signed up this time. Two individuals did the whole thing by themselves, and the rest divvied up the activities via teams. Tina, the traffic controller, was back in her pirate gear - this time with a Christmas twist. Ho Ho, Aaar!

Rob's leg was the swim, and without Arnie to hog the lead, came in first. Kat, who just ran a frickin' marathon, came in 3rd, swimming with one team and then later running for another team. Incredibly, both her teams placed in the top three (crazy!!!!!).

Michael wasn't in the tri this time, but decided to run it with "little" Steven so he didn't get lost and Rob decided to keep Kat company. They were running neck and neck and Steven started to panic when he realized Kat was so close behind, but he and Michael ran across the finish line with time to spare. I could have had a great pic of Steven really gunning it across, but it came out blurry %$(*$!!!!. I'm posting it anyway!

Here's the winner. Incredibly, it was one of the two individuals who did the whole thing by himself - Reggie. He won the last one too. He just bounces across the finish line like it's a day in the park.



Misc:

When I went to take the pictures off my camera, I laughed when I saw this picture. This was Pat at Banana Bay the day after the hash. She really had worked her butt off to pull the off the Christmas hash and all that came with it - from setting the darn thing, to organizing the tent, the food, calling in Santa, etc. etc. She so deserved this.

Swim, Bike & Run! 1st Mini Tri

Now, this is why I don't go out every Friday night. Michael went out, got snookered and agreed to a do a mini-triathlon the next day. Sure he came in first in the 5K Children's run last month, but he hasn't swam, pretty much ever and hasn't ridden a bike in 2 years. Add the fact that he was really hung over this morning and had eaten a huge sub-sandwich for lunch and I'm impressed the boy finished the thing.

The first mini triathlon last month was shorter and had about 17 participants. This second in the series had 17 that came across from Nevis alone. They have some serious competitors, so definitely changed the dynamics of this race. I think there were over 50 entrants total this time around. Not bad. You can either sign up as a team and split the sections up or do it all yourself. Of course, Michael did it all himself.

Here he is on his borrowed bike with his hardhat and swimming goggles on. Rock it Mikey!



He biked to the venue, Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack and immediately hit a hill. He said he was already sore upon arrival. Uh oh.





Here's the crowd getting the low-down on where they're going.






First up...the swim (450m). And they're off!



And they're swimming!



The first one out was Arne.



Kat didn't too badly.



Michael came out with still a few swimmers behind him.



Then it was time to hit the bike (15K)!



The line up really changed during the bike segment. Team Nevis really kicked butt.



Now, it was important to slow down traffic for the biking/running segment, so you gotta love someone who takes their job seriously. Last year, Tina volunteered to help out with this, but cars wouldn't pay attention to her. So what did she do this year?



Dress like a pirate. It worked! As it turned out, a huge wedding party decided to take pictures in the gazebo-type thing in the last turn-about so they added to the traffic. Tina definitely got everyone's attention.



We figured all those people are going to wonder what the heck a pirate is doing in all their pictures. Her husband Ron was on the street with a sign too, but he just might want to wear his pirate outfit next year. Yes he has one...

Finally, here's Mikey!



And now it's time to run (4K). Look at how tired these guys look!



Who won? Team Nevis, of course! One of their guys did the whole thing in about 58 minutes. Good job!



Oh...and here comes Nat back on the bike part. Nobody tell him that someone's already crossed the finish line and his team still has to start the run...



And the gang returns and finishes!!! John brought his team in, while Kat, Michael, and Rob finished their final leg. Wahoo!



Happy to be done - Michael & Heather.



Time for some grub and lots of liquid.



And finally time to cheer on the last competitor to cross the finish line. She really gets some kudos. Most people were done by the time she finished just the bike section, but she was determined to finish so took off for her run as the sun set.



I'm pretty sure anyone who decides to do the next one (a harder one) on December 11th will attempt to do it via team instead of as an individual. Doing it by yourself is hard work! They might also try it without the hangover...

The weather for this could not have been better. We actually got cold once the sun set!

Everybody gearing up for Thanksgiving? Break out the Tofurkey!

Kaboom! & First Mini Tri

So Friday night meant fireworks at the Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack. Remember, we were celebrating the weird holiday that is Guy Fawke's Day.

The show was great. Here's the set up. Looks like a DJ is getting ready to play doesn't it?



There's Bob, the man of the hour and a co-star. Hopefully Bob will open his eyes when the time comes.



Shockingly, I forgot my camera so we had to rely on Michael's. I have many, many pictures of the night sky (his reflexes were a little slow). Sigh. Nor did we capture one of the coolest things I've seen yet in fireworks, although I guess it's not new. The display was shaped like a fan. Here's an idea of what I'm talking about (found it on YouTube), but Bob's combo was much more intricate. The looks of wonder and appreciation on people's faces was magical.



Bob pulled the whole show off without putting holes in the dock this time. Although, his pickup truck did get stuck in the sand. Watching him get out was almost as entertaining as the fireworks.

Well, here's a taste of what we witnessed. Next time you'll just have to come! And I'll remember my camera.



Yesterday was the first triathlon St. Kitts has had in a while. It was a bit of a motley crowd, but that's why they're having several and gradually making them harder.



We knew a few people who participated, but Ross University students pretty much stole the show.



There's another triathlon, slightly longer in just a couple of weeks. That leaves folks with time to practice or get tickets out of town. At least it wasn't 7 degrees like it was in NYC yesterday (38 for the marathon).

The regatta planned for today, canceled from last week, has been postponed again. Today is swelly and there's no wind...