Summer's First Kiss, Triathlon Race Report and Other Random Musings

Ok, so picture this: after being out late Saturday night, Summer walks in our room at around 7:30 am and proceeds to whisper a "secret" in April's ear: evidently she and a boy who shall remain unnamed kissed on Saturday while at Z's baseball game. The two of them "went behind a tree" (her words) and apparently he planted one on her.

Pretty hard to ascertain what really occurred as it involves 5 and 4 year olds. Anyway, by approximately 10:30 am I was at the little fella's house (mostly to pick up Z, who had a sleepover with his big brother). The little boy was pretty smart and simply denied, denied, denied. A wise tact - I was impressed by his acumen. So I had no choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt. But in the event he's reading this blog, he should know I'm out there keeping a keen eye on him. You got that, Little Man?

Man. Kissing behind a tree. This is how it starts, isn't it?
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BTW, as I type this, the Yankees and trailing the Sox in the 7th. I will throw up if the Yankees lose again after giving up a big lead. Literally. Just thought I'd share that with you all.
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So, I did the tri last night. You know you have picked a weird sport when you suffer like a dog for 1 hour and 15 minutes and yet they call it a "sprint" distance. These shorter distance races are like racing a 5k; the distance isn't so bad, but you suffer at a greater intensity.

Anyway, if I can offer myself a moment of self-congratulations: a big "Word" to me for finishing. Pretty cool that one month ago I was massively hypo and yesterday I was able to complete even a sprint distance tri. That being said, it was a pretty dumb move especially given that I've swam about four times, biked twice and gone for only a handful of runs. I realized on the bike that I was simply there to finish and I think it was my knowledge, not my conditioning, that got me through this one. That said, and even though I was getting passed left and right, I was pretty darn stoked to be out there. Between this race and Vineman half ironman back in July, which I raced less than 90 days from my thyroidectomy, I'm not sure if there are many people who could do (or are crazy enough to try) what I've done vis a vis completing races shortly after surgery/treatments.

Ok, all that being said, here's the other side of the equation. I have come to terms with the fact that I really suck. I think a combination of these treatments, going hypo, etc. coupled with age, have had a cumulative effect and there's little to no question in my mind that my days of doing PR's are over. I used to be a good solid middle of the packer who was capable of busting out the occasional strong performance; now I am a tad more towards the back of the pack. But I think I'm at peace with this: there's something liberating about not having to worry about "racing." Instead, I can simply give it a good go while focusing more on enjoying the day.

So, on to the race itself. This was the first major evening triathlon in the Bay Area and it was super cool. The race started at 5:00 pm on Saturday. I've probably done about 30, 40 triathlons in my day and this was definitely a first. The race was smallish and they had only three swim waves. I was in the second wave, which was all males -- probably about 200 or so of us. Unfortunately, the problem with the short distance swims is that there's not enough time for the swimmers to string out and form a line. So, it was like a gigantic washing machine: significantly worse than a longer distance tri. I never really got into a rhythm and was smacked in the head a half dozen or so times. It was gnarly. The other problem: the water was freaking freezing. It was the first time I've ever been in the Bay, and holy freaking cow. the temperature must have been no more than 62. It literally took my breathe away. Thankfully, I brought my westuit, which I rarely do anymore.

In regards to the bike, if you ever look at a course description for a race in Northern California and it says "rolling hills" that's a load of crap: it means get ready for some ugly hills. I think the bike was about 11 miles and it was hilly enough that I never got into the aero position. But -- it was along the water's edge and was quite beautiful. And the run was the run. I walked up a massive initial hill and then dialed into a consistent pace. I didn't pay much attention to my watch and am guessing that I finished the 5k run in about 25 minutes. Slow as hell for me but again -- whatever.

And that's about it. I think it took me longer to write this than it took to finish the damn race. All in all a lot of fun, and much more laid back than many of the other tri's I've run the past few years. I suspect this is what the vibe must have been like during the 80's halcyon days of triathlon.

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A freaking Rod just hit a homer off Papelbon with two out in the 9th! Let's go Yankees!!! Let's close it out, Mo!