Dumb and Dumber at the Tri
Some of the 43 Anniston Runners Tri Team members who competed at the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Guntersville, August 2011.
I recently received the article below from a fellow runner. While it is a sadly humorous commentary on an athlete gone bad and a really lame attempt to avoid capture, I found myself thinking about all the dumb things I have done during a triathlon. Trying to elude the po-po is not one of them, but the short list includes
1. Getting my ponytail caught in the handlebar of my tri bike as I lifted my head after slipping on my running shoes for the run leg. Almost ripped the whole rack of bikes onto the ground.
2. Crashing at the dismount line. Well, not really crashing. It was more like ...stop...wait for it....fall over on my side when my shoe didn’t unclip.
3. Not stopping to get a rock out of my shoe on the run. I felt it and ignored it. It cut the back of my heel so deeply that blood spurted out of my shoe everytime I hit my foot on the pavement. My kids thought this was really cool after the race.
So, what's the dumbest thing you've ever done during an event? Share it. Make me feel better. Check out the article:
By Caitlin Giddings
An unlikely triathlete put his well-rounded athleticism to ill use last Friday when he biked, ran, and swam from the pursuit of Wisconsin law enforcement officers. Teenage triple threat Benjamin J. Solchenburger, 18, was accused of stealing a truck, crashing a truck, and stealing a bike in Wausau before his apprehension and subsequent multi-sport chase.
Shirking traditional triathlon order, Solchenburger first took off on the stolen bike. With police in hot pursuit, the young suspect then abandoned the bike for the running portion of his intended tri-sport escape. Eventually, he took to the Wisconsin River and swam across it for the final stretch.
He was promptly arrested on shore and held at the fittingly named Marathon County Jail on charges of vehicle theft, obstructing an officer, and violating the terms of his probation. Solchenburger’s official time has yet to be reported, but it’s suspected he may have set a personal record.
A special thanks to our friends at Runner’s World for tipping us off to the young triathlete.
Triathlons - Heating up! Staying cool.
Not a lot is hotter than an Alabama summer, so why do crazy triathletes choose to compete distance and three sports in the mind-boggling hot and humid summertime? Well, it's because that is tri season.
A little advice from the experts at TRISUCCESS on how to stay safe:
You will probably need as much as 600-800 mg sodium/hr. You can still be sodium depleted if all you drink is water b/c plain water doesn't replace the sodium that you lose through sweat. The body will cool itself better when it is in electrolyte balance; avoid cramping and heat related illness.
Drink 2 gulps (4 oz) every 15 minutes (you can set a timer on your watch if you forget while cycling).
Carry 2 bottles on the bike - 1 water and 1 sports drink.
On the run: Wear a visor and take 2 cups of water at every aid stations - 1 for your head and 1 to drink. Carry ice in your hands to cool down, tuck ice towel around your neck.
During and after the race: You should eat some ice and try to drink COLD fluids.
Keep positive - Don't say the word "HOT" - remember how cold you were this winter - keep that in the front of your mind (seriously)!!
Local Tri on Saturday, August 8 - Come check it out!
YOU'RE INVITED!
Guntersville will be up early on Saturday, August 13 because Team Magic will be putting on one of the more popular triathlons in our area - Mountain Lakes Triathlon.(Race start is 7:30 a.m.)
Taking place at the Guntersville Recreation Center, a very nice venue, the triathlon offers a fun sprint distance course. Spectators can watch triathletes as they swim a short 600 yard swim, pedal a 16.2 rolling bike course, and speed through a fairly flat 3 mile run.
Most local triathletes enjoy this race - mainly because so many other triathletes from the area participating. It's fun to see friends on the course.
So, if you've ever had the thought, "I'd like to do a tri someday." Now is your chance to check it out to see what triathlon is all about....plus, it's just right up the road.
If you come, please note our ANNISTON RUNNERS TRI TEAM suits, and cheer very loud for us! Thanks!
For complete race details, go to: www.team-magic.com
Love to Tri!
Love to Tri!
I love the sport of triathlon. Why? Because I love the actual mechanics of each sport - the swim, the bike, the run.
I love the pure freedom of the swim. It's just you and the water and the occasional fish....and a good pair of goggles. Relatively inexpensive endeavor.
I love the feel of the wind on the bike, and the reward of speeding like a bullet on a long downhill after a challenging uphill climb. Bikes aren’t cheap, but you can find some really good deals in our area.
I love the contact of running shoes on road or trail as mile after mile is ground out, inching you closer to the finish line. What could be simpler?
And to be honest, I love the thrill of competition. It drives me to be better at the sport. But above all, I love to see others embrace a sport I love. Nothing makes me happier than the excitement of a new triathlete. A little bit of nervousness is to be expected, but once you do a tri, you are generally hooked. What a great addiction!
We hear so much these days about cross-training, and how it improves performance in other areas, how it makes you stronger overall, and how it keeps you from being injured. What better time to try a tri than this summer/fall? There is still time to choose a goal and train. We hold tri training all the time, and you can find a great list of triathlons within a short distance on the Anniston Runners Tri Team website page: www.arctriteam.com
So, what's your excuse?
We all have excuses as to why we won’t or can’t do something. Generally when I talk about doing triathlons, people will say things like, “I’m just not a strong swimmer,” or “I’m not a great biker,” or “I can’t run very well.”
Granted, in a triathlon you need to be able to do all three sports to a certain extent, but if being “really great” at any of the three was a requirement, I would never have gotten past my first season as a triathlete. Those are just excuses not to attempt the sport.
Triathlons do require commitment and concentration, and all your senses are firing on all cylinders when you line up to start the race. While sight is undoubtedly the most necessary sense, hearing is probably second. Your ability to hear the starting gun, oncoming traffic, warning calls, and such would seem imperative.
So, as you list your excuses NOT to do a triathlon, contemplate this – Anniston Runners Club’s Tri Team has two members who are deaf who compete regularly in triathlons.
When one of them emailed a few weeks ago asking if he could participate in a swim/bike training event (Open water swimming in a lake and a challenging bike ride up Cheaha Mountain), I said, “Of course.”
Then expressed my own concerns by asking how I could keep him safe on the ride.
He assured me he looked back often to check traffic and was used to riding in similar situations and would stay way over on the right side of the road. I was still a little nervous, as I couldn’t imagine riding without being able to hear an oncoming car or a change in the sound of my bike or a warning from another cyclist about approaching dangers. I was voicing my excuses if I were deaf, what I perceived would be a handicap.
Trust me, these two guys have not allowed being deaf to handicap them in any way. This weekend, they will be competing in the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, an Olympic Distance event where they will swim almost a mile in the Tennessee River, bike an extremely challenging 42k leg, and run a hot 10k course. And this is not their only event this season!
So….what’s your excuse?
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| 22 | | WEDNESDAY’S LIST . . . of beans ’n greens ’n other things:
***
DON’T TELL me I’ve nothing to do.
From the window of my barn I see Ozzie coming through the hedgerow from next door. I like Ozzie a lot, but I’m not sure he feels the same. Efforts to pet and feed over the years have been a flop at best.
What Ozzie likes to do is hunt. I mean really hunt.
You see, Ozzie is a brindle, bob-tailed, three-legged cat and he loves to feed on whatever he can find in the hedgerow across my back yard, including field mice and squirrels.
Ozzie is flat out deadly, too.
Since losing his right front leg to a tumor a couple of years back, he has taught himself a new way to hunt. He keeps stalking to a minimum. But with the patience of Job, he settles down and waits for a meal to come within striking distance.
When the meal does, it’s “Wham” and Ozzie heads for the dinner table.
He’s a wonder to watch ...
^^^
IT IS A typical day at the Smith Estate. I am out in my barn kicked back in what I call “Archie’s Recliner.” I am reading a book, listening to Merle Haggard on the stereo, and watching TV (how’s that for multi-tasking, huh?) The blonde is out and about.
The phone rings. It is from the blonde. She is at Sears in the Quintard Mall ...
“Sweetheart, I’m at Sears looking at vacuum cleaners. I can get a small one to go with a regular one. What do you think I should do?”
Recovering from the shock of her asking my permission for anything, I agree to the double dip and then make a mistake with “What’s going on, you asking my permission?”
From the other end, there is a happy laugh with:
“It’d be different if it were shoes and a dress.”
I managed a quiet goodbye (without choking), hung up, and went back to singing along with Merle. It seemed fitting he was in the middle of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Here And Drink” at the time.
^^^
JOE ESTEP deserves a standing ovation. Joe runs the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame and, this past Saturday night, put together another classic.
Held at the “new” Oxford Civic Center, the 2013 induction played to a near packed house.
Outstanding Joe, outstanding.
^^^
FOR THOSE asking, the Peach Man’s tomatoes are a week away, but Ken Easterling will be at Regions in Oxford on Friday morning at 6 with another load of Chilton County peaches.
If no sell-out in Oxford he heads for the Anniston post office along about 8 . . . but don’t bet he gets there.
^^^
IF YOU’RE lining up at the Walmart deli at Lenlock, I hope you get lucky and a young lady by the name of Vanesa Durham waits on you. She did for me a few days back and while I’ve had an unpleasant moment or two there, Vanesa left me feeling pretty good.
Walmart could use more like her.
^^^
BIRTHDAYS: June 12 – Annette Vice; June 14 – Sage Snow; June 15 – Twins Brettnie and Dakota Smith; June 17 – Aiden Lloyd; 11; June 18 – Don Beabout.
And Jeff Jones, June 17. A member of a vanishing breed (The Great Generation), Jeff drove a “weasel” jeep ashore at Normandy, June 6, 1944.
^^^
QUOTABLE: “My doctor tells me I should start slowing it down - but there are more old drunks than there are old doctors so let's all have another round.”
--Willie Nelson
Thanks for visiting ...
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George Smith may be reached at 256-239-5286 or email: gsmith731@gmail.com.
