Tri For Fun
I just got back from the Pleasanton Tri-For-Fun Triathalon. It is a 400 yard swim, 11 mile bike and 3.1 mile (5K) run. Wow – for someone who a) hasn't done a triathalon in probably 8 years, and b) hasn't swum (swimmed? swam? – probably swam…) 1 yard in several months, I was doing pretty well, I thought.
This is how much thought I put into this race – I got interested around the time Jessica did her lake swim – it seemed like fun. I was actually both a distance swimmer and cross country runner in high school (though that is about the last time I have done either of those distances), and I guess most Triathaletes don't come from a swim background, which gives me a bit of a lead. Whereas biking is generally easiest for most – I am much stronger in the other two events.
Case in point – I sign up for the Triathalon on Tuesday. Wednesday I realize that I in fact have no bike. I don't even have a mountain bike. I came to this realization oddly while training on the stationary bike in the gym, and thinking that I can't actually compete on one of those. So, Friday (yesterday – the day before the actual race), I walk into the Dublin Cyclery Bike Shop, to purchase a bike. Which, by the way – is just a great shop. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and the guy didn't even look at me oddly when I told him what I needed the bike for. No “perhaps you should have owned a bike before you registered for the race†looks anywhere to be found.
So, for the guy who has now owned a bike (and I don't mean this bike, I mean a bike…) for less than 24 hours, who figured out how to shift gears last night before he went to bed, I can't tell you what a thrill it was, and how thoroughly prepared I was for it, when the front tire of my bike went flat about 9 miles into the 11 mile bike leg. Also, how much fun it is to walk a bike back to the finish line. Luckily, I didn't have to walk all 2-3 miles, since the course was designed so I was at the opposite side of the park and could just cut through it. So, my time doesn't really count. However, I did end up coming in behind people I had been riding with (as I passed several of them on the run), so if anything, my time is probably a little slower than I might have had (Though, not everyone else had a nice leisurely walk to rest up a bit in the middle). At any rate, it was good fun, good exercise, and a time to beat in the August one. After I learn how to fix a bike.
If the pictures aren't too embarrassing, I might post some later.
Back to working on the campaign software and materials!
This is how much thought I put into this race – I got interested around the time Jessica did her lake swim – it seemed like fun. I was actually both a distance swimmer and cross country runner in high school (though that is about the last time I have done either of those distances), and I guess most Triathaletes don't come from a swim background, which gives me a bit of a lead. Whereas biking is generally easiest for most – I am much stronger in the other two events.
Case in point – I sign up for the Triathalon on Tuesday. Wednesday I realize that I in fact have no bike. I don't even have a mountain bike. I came to this realization oddly while training on the stationary bike in the gym, and thinking that I can't actually compete on one of those. So, Friday (yesterday – the day before the actual race), I walk into the Dublin Cyclery Bike Shop, to purchase a bike. Which, by the way – is just a great shop. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and the guy didn't even look at me oddly when I told him what I needed the bike for. No “perhaps you should have owned a bike before you registered for the race†looks anywhere to be found.
So, for the guy who has now owned a bike (and I don't mean this bike, I mean a bike…) for less than 24 hours, who figured out how to shift gears last night before he went to bed, I can't tell you what a thrill it was, and how thoroughly prepared I was for it, when the front tire of my bike went flat about 9 miles into the 11 mile bike leg. Also, how much fun it is to walk a bike back to the finish line. Luckily, I didn't have to walk all 2-3 miles, since the course was designed so I was at the opposite side of the park and could just cut through it. So, my time doesn't really count. However, I did end up coming in behind people I had been riding with (as I passed several of them on the run), so if anything, my time is probably a little slower than I might have had (Though, not everyone else had a nice leisurely walk to rest up a bit in the middle). At any rate, it was good fun, good exercise, and a time to beat in the August one. After I learn how to fix a bike.
If the pictures aren't too embarrassing, I might post some later.
Back to working on the campaign software and materials!