Tracking Hanna

Soooo, yea. Small problemo. I've been looking forward to the Patriots Half for a good month or two as my training picked back up after Eagleman and is now in full taper mode. Unfortunately, mother nature has had other plans for me this year. First, Eagleman brought all time record highs that made just finishing the race my ultimate goal rather than any specific time. And now? I guess my goal is to just START the race.

With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf of Mexico and Hanna in the wings to hit the east coast, there is a whole lot of uncertainty regard the weather. Right now, forecasts have Hanna moving into the North Carolina/Virginia area Friday night and into Saturday. My race is scheduled for Saturday; smack dab in the middle of this whole ordeal.

So...what will happen? Only time will tell. Does this mean the swim will get canceled due to rough waters? Patriots is a triathlon weekend, with the half scheduled for Saturday and an Olympic and Sprint scheduled for Sunday. I know someone would be happy if they canceled the swim and held the rest of the race. But not me. Can they hold the race at all if a tropical storm is churning through the area? I know this isn't the only race scheduled for next weekend, so it will be interesting to see how race directors throughout the area handle the potential disaster. So far, I haven't heard anything, so the plan is to go forward with the race. However, I hope to hear some type of update or discussion considering possible alternatives as the track and timing of the storm gets clearer.

Stay tuned!