Sarcasm with a side of optimism.

Craig's Take on Triathlon Weekend

So, you're doing a triathlon? That sounds hard. I wouldn't want to do one of the events, let alone all three. I don't envy your training ahead, but do admire your eagerness to take on such a daunting task. I enjoy competition and would probably like the triathlon while I was doing it, but can't imagine putting myself through the torturous hours/days/weeks of training that would be necessary to properly prepare myself for it. Ok, I'm not doing it, but I'll definitely do my best to support and encourage you in it.

I got a couple emails here and there - "I ran this morning", "I swam laps at the YMCA", "I biked for 20 miles". Wow, she really is gonna go through with this. As time progressed, the training updates faltered somewhat, but I didn't mind because it was because you were spending more time with me. I felt bad for causing this lack of training, but we were still keeping active playing tennis and soccer all the time so it wasn't like you were out of shape and being a slob.

I'd been looking forward to going to the Coldplay concert ever since you got the tickets for us in July. I really like their music and to see them in person would be great, especially with you. But to go to the concert that night, drive all the way to NY and then run a triathlon the next morning? That sounded pretty crazy, but if you wanted to do, I was going to do everything I could to help out. I was considering skipping the concert if you wanted to so you could get a reasonable sleep before the big event, but I'd heard great reviews about the concert so I was hoping we wouldn't have to do that.

That Friday finally came around and it was time to go through with our crazy plan. We left early to head out to the concert, but took a scenic detour and got a little more rural than we had planned. Eventually we made it and got some good seats on the lawn. The opening act was talented but not my style so I was happy when their set was
finished. Then Chris Martin came out in his giant, white sneakers and they went right into the music. It was a really great concert and they were sounded awesome live. We were like the RCA dog listening to the Victrola ("His Master's Voice"); the live version was as good as the CD - a nice change from so many over-produced artists. It was a great show and lots of fun, but we'd heard horror stories about getting out of the venue. That made sense though since when we came in, you could
tell that there was basically only one way in or out of the area and all 15,000+ fans would be taking that same road. So we had to leave a little bit early so that we wouldn't drive straight from the concert to the starting line of the triathlon the next morning.

After a long, uneventful drive, we finally got in to Brooklyn sometime around 2:30 and passed out. Two seconds later, it was 6:00 and Victoria was struggling to get Melissa out of bed. We made it out to the triathlon in time - not early, but not the last people there either. There were some really hardcore triathletes there but also some normal looking people so it looked like a pretty good mix of talent. As Victoria and Melissa got prepared mentally, taking care of last minute registration issues, and concentrating on the imminent race, Mrs B and I tried to help prepare the transition area to expedite the changes between events. I dont know if it helped
at all since neither of us really knew what we were doing, but we tried anyway. The race began just as we were starting to feel the sun's heat. It was the first of October so you never know what to expect, but have to prepare for the worst. It was surprisingly warm which made for very comfortable conditions for the athletes.
All we could see was a swarm of blue caps bounding and splashing into the water. It must have been chaos at the start trying to fight for your position in the water. We waited by the edge of the shore and some blue caps started coming in. Then we saw Vic pop up out of the water and try to walk back through the shallow water onto the beach. I've seen drunken frat-boys with better balance than her as she tried
to get out of the water. After stumbling a couple times, she straightened out and made it on the sand. The swim must've been really tough. I hope the bike leg is more forgiving - I figured it would be since she is a very strong biker and probably more comfortable with that. Just a little while later, Melissa popped out of the water and
somehow seemed much more coherent. Onto the bikes.....

The transition went pretty well except for some stubborn wetsuits. After some more waiting, the bike groups started to make their way back in. Victoria made it back in good time and looked pretty strong on the bike. The transition was very fast off the bike, into running shoes and onto the final event. Melissa got further behind on the bike leg, but eventually made it, looking happy to be riding on a nice fall
day but not terribly winded or in pain like others - did Vic forget to tell her that a triathlon is a race? Through the transition area and onto the run.

Victoria finished the run and later Melissa came across the finish line. A huge accomplishment for them both. It must have been a huge undertaking. I was very proud for both of them and very impressed. They both had a good time and enjoyed it.

It was probably very rewarding to have finished the race. They must have felt a huge sense of achievement. Me on the other hand - I can't think of many things that make you feel more lazy than to be completely capable to do those events, but instead just sit and WATCH someone else run a triathlon. Oh well, at least I got a couple free bagels afterwards.

posted by v @ 5:42 PM