Medical School

You know the old joke; "What do you call the guy who finishes last in his class at med school?" "Doctor." So, what do you call the guy who finishes near the back of the pack in a triathlon? A triathlete! Of course, when I was young enough (and foolish enough) to think I might become competitive in triathlons, athletes would call people who treated a sprint triathlon like an endurance event "triathloids". After a hiatus of about a quarter century, I have entered and completed another triathlon. My part wasn't pretty but I got the medal and the t-shirt. I didn't do badly with the watermelon and cookies either. Here are a few pictures;

I have no idea who this young lady is, but her picture is included to represent that the gender ratio in the Georgia Veterans Park Triathlon was about 60% male and 40% female. I was a little surprised by the number of female triathletes.

Can you find me in this picture? Of course not! First of all, by the time I got out of the lake, there was no chance I would be riding with this many cyclists. Secondly, none of these pictures are from my triathlon. Since I do not have any (yet), I harvested these from the "net".

This could be me. Well, I am not that lean and I don't have a $3000 bike. In fact, I don't even have a road bike. That's right, I competed (?) on a mountain bike. It was a little like taking the Clampett's old truck to the Daytona 500. But still, I had a red shirt and black shorts. That might be me.

This might be my brother, Keith. Except he has never been to Australia. I sent Keith this picture to make him feel better. Keith and Josh (the associate minister) bought triathlon shorts for the race (like biking shorts) and family gave them so much grief that they almost did not wear them. Once you see all the crazy outfits, the self-conscious feelings fade quickly. At least they did not make the mistake this guy did and order the women's outfit.

The serious report is that the Georgia Veteran's Park Triathlon is an extremely organized event and was lots of fun. Yes, I did actually do as poorly in the swim as I anticipated. Once I survived that ordeal, the bike and run portions were fun. Keith did really, really, well. I am very proud of him. Josh also beat me but was a little gun-shy because of a bike crash during training a couple of weeks ago. If you are thinking about completing a triathlon some day, this would be a great first event. There were a good many first-timers in this race. I would like to add, as tactfully as I know how, that there were men and women of every shape, size, and age in this race. Please take this word of wisdom with you; never, never size up a competitor before a race based on age, size, or shape and conclude "I know I can beat that person." The odds are good that you can not.

Stay tuned for reports on these upcoming events;

Labor Day 1-miler Downtown Montgomery

9/29 5-K at AUM

10/28 Attack on Swayback mountain bike race (I have the bike for this one)

12/8 5-K in Wetumpka