Sunday, June 22, 2008

Pflugerville Tri

I competed in the Pflugerville Triathlon this morning, my first race since the half-iron and my first sprint in almost a year!

How'd it go, you ask? I'm not quite sure where to even begin.

Maybe I should start with how I fell off the wagon so hard after Wildflower that I haven't really worked out more than 5 times in the last month and a half. And how I hadn't run in over a month at all. And how I'd only been in the pool once. I'm actual living proof you can go from ironman-badass to washed-up-triathlete-with-a-beer-belly in only 6 weeks.

Or maybe I should start with the fact that my age group was 10-29 year olds and I got beat so bad on the swim by a 12-year-old it took me 12 MILES to catch her on the bike. Or how about that 76-year-old man who won his age group (he was the only one in it) who beat my time by 4 minutes?

But aside from all the laughable foibles of the morning, I was reminded why I love the sport. A sprint race (500-meter swim, 14-ish-mile bike, 3.1-mile run) is the perfect triathlon for me. It's the perfect distance for racing as hard as you want and still finishing with a smile on your face. The distance is accessible to first-timers and seasoned pros, making the atmosphere one of "we're just out here for fun." It was a marked difference from my half-iron experience, and one that I was glad to be reminded of. I will always be glad that I did a half-iron when I was young enough and still had enough free time to do it, but I'm also glad that intense single-mindedness is gone.

I'm glad I'm back to the level of the sport where I can train and race for fun, rather than survival.

And I'm celebrating with a cold one.

1 comment:

PsyChris said...

Hey Alex-

That's funny that you said I look like I did in HS 'cause I thought the same thing when I saw your pics!

So, you're in the Austin area now? We're in League City, which is about 1/2 way between Houston & Galveston. I hate it, but we're only stuck for a few more months. I've already starting looking for jobs elsewhere (know anyone hiring psychologists in Austin, 'cause that's one of the places I'd like to go).

Anyway. I'm glad you tagged back. It was a shot in the dark, and I was so shocked that I found your page in the first place!! If you want to email me directly, feel free. (seems like it'd be a little easier than uber-long comments on your blog) :-)

Take care,
Chris

BTW- How did you find my blog guest book?