Kind Of Cool

My communications grid has imploded here at work, so I have little to do beyond surfing the web for a couple of hours. I know, I know isn't that usually all I do? Anyway, I came across this Youtube clip and thought it was fun. I also found this entry on his blog. I think I've found my soulmate.

Triathlon Pictures- Full Review Below

Rover and Jason waiting at the starting line.

Jason blows by a lithe lady shortly after the start.

Our canoe eagerly awaits our arrival (isn't The Fiance good with a camera?).

Although he doesn't know it, Jason is about to receive a facefull of water.

Pushing hard to catch up. Yes, I know my technique looks a bit gay there.

Crossing the finish line and heading for the food station.

The Race

As part of my continuing effort to have a "summer of adventure" (not to be confused with George Costanza's "Summer of Love") I teamed up with Jason to tackle a team triathlon at the Wildwood Sanctuary this morning. It wasn't the Ironman, but it was a buttload of fun. The event was advertised as "non-competitive" and participants were expected to complete a 1.5 mile bike ride, .5 mile canoe, and 1.5 mile run. The field was split up into heats, Jason and I were in Heat 2. As we approached the starting line I noticed two rather lithe looking young ladies in our heat along with several soccer moms and a few preteens. I pulled my bike right to the line and Jason tucked in behind me. The whistle blew and we took off. There was a mad sprint for position as the road narrowed to a trail and turned to gravel ahead. I was just sliding into the lead as some 13 year old kid came out of nowhere and cut me off. I locked up my rear tire on the gravel and almost lost the whole bike. As I regained control the little snot ahead of me quickly dropped speed, looking like he was in need of some oxygen. Ahead of me lay a surprisingly steep hill, which I tore into Lance Armstrong style. At the top I took a peek behind and noticed Jason right there with me. The rest of the biking route was a series of ups and downs with some tight turns thrown in. Jason and I pretty much dominated the ride, but I did occasionally notice one of the lithe ladies hanging back in the distance.

The ride ended with a short wood chipped trail that led to a parking lot where we dropped the bikes and hopped into our canoes. Jason and I took a minute for a quick drink at this point, which turned out to be a pretty bad idea. The lithe ladies arrived and scooted into a canoe before us. Jason and I were in one shortly thereafter, and were very happy to see that the ladies were unduly hasty and were seated facing each other! While they got that sorted out Jason and I slid back into the lead. In a few minutes we came to the buoy that marked our turn around point, but not before I gave Jason a facefull of water, and ran the canoe aground. I pulled a ribbon off of the buoy to prove that we actually had been there, and we headed back. It didn't take long to run the canoe into a large patch of foliage, which delayed us long enough for the lithe ladies to take the lead again. We eventually extricated ourselves from that mess and put up a valiant effort to catch the ladies. At one point in time we slid in between two oncoming canoes, avoiding collision by inches. Alas, it wasn't enough and the ladies arrived first at the transfer point.

Leaving the water Jason and I were only a few yards behind the ladies. We were also eager to leave the transfer point behind. Just because we rammed one canoe when coming in to dock doesn't give them the right to get an attitude. Anyway, we headed off on the run with the girls easily within reach. It should be noted that Jason and I combined probably haven't run a total of one mile in the last year. Pre-race I thought to myself "A mile and half isn't all that far. Jason's young, and I can ride like a madman. Piece of cake." About 1/4 mile into the run I was starting to hurt, but we were starting to pull the girls in. Then they dropped the hammer. One of them stopped to tie her shoe, and then they both took off. We didn't see them again until the finish line. My will had been broken. Jason and I completed the run using an embarassing walk-run-walk strategy, but easily held second in our group. We both got free T-shirts, and "thanks for showing up" certificates. In the final standings we came in 6th overall and 5th out of 6 all male teams. All in all we left for the day with some wet shoes and good memories. Next year we're thinking about doing some training.

I Ate Your Face Off.

That's right Matt. You know its true. You were running around all nimbly pimbly like you were something special. Guess what? You weren't. Old Zed the Zombie got you and ate your face. Man did it taste good. Some might have been impressed with the fact that you were the last human standing. Seriously though, when you hide in the garage all day while your friends are killed off one by one it isn't hard to stay alive. Now you are one of the horde, the lurching undead. Welcome to the club buddy.

I'm Surprising Myself Here.

I've never been a big sports fan. My family was never into sports and I can barely tolerate most of the big American sports. However, a few years ago I fell upon F1 racing and became enamored. Then I got into cycling and started watching the Grand Tours. Finally, in the last year or two I've gotten into soccer, mainly the big European leagues. Given that last fact I guess it isn't surprising that I'm pretty psyched about the current World Cup. I'd be more psyched if Nigeria had made the cut, but have resigned myself to cheer for the USA. I must say that most of the matches so far have been pretty good. The big surprise is that, quite unexpectedly, I have become a sports fan. Between F1, cycling, and football my year is almost totally covered with sporting events to watch. I have discovered the joy of "having the boys over to watch the game." Good times. I have also discovered the joy of sporting participation. I utterly destroyed the will of the entire field in a local cycling event, and have signed up for a mini triathlon of sorts this weekend. Anyway, I've become a sports fan, and for the rest of June at least my appetite will be filled. Here are two tidbits to wet your appetite for the big event in March. Granted, the plot line will be changed a bit, but I will post on that later.