CB and I Synopsis

Finally my First! The weekend culminated with my first sprint triathlon race of this "season"... I say that in quotations because I'm not sure how much of a "season" it will be for me, given 1) I dropped out of Ironman Austria (although I actually had thoughts of getting back on that wagon ... it's 11 weeks aways???) 2) I'm not hardcore training 3) I'm signing up for races as I go Anyhoo, the CB and I sprint triathlon comprises of a 500 meter swim, a 15 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. This was the first time I got to race in this one, since every year it falls on a Saturday morning, and for the last several years, my Saturday mornings have been spent anchoring the local news, which by the way, I honestly sooooo don't miss. I can't tell you how much I appreciated being able to do this sprint triathlon. Reader's Digest Race Report Just like almost every local race, CB and I's open water swim was in the man made duck pond. There were 73 women in my age group, and like all races, the beginning was a free for all. After getting pushed, kicked, dunked and all that normal swim stuff, I got out of the water after around 12 minutes 45 seconds, ran to my bike and was off. No real worries on the bike, the weather was perfect, and there was little wind to speak of. But I must admit, since I am not in as great a shape as last year several people passed me up. Total bike time: 47 minutes, 18.9 mile average Then there was the run. Truthfully speaking, I have hardly run at all this year. Most of my time has been spent on either the bike or the pool... I mean, what little time I have devoted. I felt pretty slow and winded, but then an angel showed up. A race colleague I had not seen since last year ran up to me. So instead of huffing and puffing, we both enjoyed our race by chatting about life and relationships... ya know, the kinda stuff chicks talk about. A volunteer yelled at us that to stop talking, that this was a race. To which I indignantly replied "WE"RE HAVING FUN!!!" Because isn't that what it's about? I was so happy to see my girlfriend. Our total run time: 29:22, 9:25 mph pace Total time: 1:32:48, 24th in my age group of 73. I was happy. Oh and I think I'll place marginally better since I am now in that 35-39 female age group. I'll take it! I was also VERY PROUD of Rob for finishing his first complete race!! RACE ROB RACE!

Here he is coming out of the water, the 7th person in his age group

Not bad for someone who hasn't been competitively since he swam in high school and college!

TRIATHLON TRAGEDY

On a sadder note: A fellow triathlete died during this race, unbeknownced to many of us out there. Word is he was found floating in the water, and kayakers had to pull him out. Here's the link to the story in the paper.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5753436.html

My former employer also learned of the story, so I connected them with a fellow triathlete who actually tried to rescucitate the poor fellow after kayakers pulled him from the water. The story made the 6pm news that evening. http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080503_tnt_triathlondeath.c604a8f5.html It's always sad when this happens, but isn't it strange that most racers had NO IDEA this happened. I mean, his swim wave was before mine (he was 51 years old), and we just kept swimming. I mean, i guess you can't cancel an entire race just because there was an accident. But there wasn't even a mention of it at the post race party or awards ceremony? I happened to find out because my friend was there. At that point I was having my congratulatory 9am beer and scarfing down breakfast tacos. Sad and Surreal. Say a prayer for his family. "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive" Robert Louis Stevenson