Well today was an interesting day, and for anyone counting the angry runner out of a strong placing in the Pat Griskus sprint Tri on Wed. You have quite a shock in store. Today started out with my usual 3k swim at the
Waterbury Y (let's face it you know it's bad when all the lifeguards know you on a first name basis and they have a coffee mug for you in the office). It was then out to Middlebury for a 30 mile loop ride with the angry runner before heading to 5:30 mass at St. Anne's. Well the angry runner didn't show so I started my ride and I ended up meeting up with the late and angry runner @ about mile 7 on first of 3 loops of the ten mile bike course. This is where AR showed some cycling skills. On my second (his first) loop he took off like a bat out of hell on the first 3 miles of the course leaving me in a cloud of dust until I finally caught him at mile 8 . On my third ( his second loop around) AR caught a lead at mile 2 and began to pull away on the descents. This time however, ( my body conditioned from training for 70.3 goodness) I caught him on the climb at mile 6 and never looked back . When I reached my car after nearly 2 hours and 31 miles in the saddle I had a minute advantage over the angry runner or shall I now call him the pissed cyclist. Neddless to say his performance on the opening loop won't neceesarily make him the fastest guy on two wheels but he will be able to erase the gaps some of us faster swimmer types might open up and set some interesting duels for the run.
Ok enough of kissing the angry runner's ass. Now it's on to the comic relief portion of this blog What an gear says about an athlete:
You walk into transition and see a pimped out BMC TT1 timemachine sitting on the rack it states one of three possibilities:
1) Floyd Landis, pissed off at the WADA has decided to enter the sprint tri scene to prove his man hood and attempt to clear his name. (note if you see more than one BMC expect drafting penalties as he ,Tyler Hamilton, and some other banned Phonack riders work as a pack)
2) Angry Runner has been made a CEO or at the very least has gotten a significant raise
3) Some dude from Greenwhich is trying to buy an overall win so he can feel manly at the Greenwhich Cup tri, discussing on how easy it was to beat the "disadvantaged" athletes in the Northern parts of the state.
You see an athlete wearing only a speedo and swedes.
1) They are one of those beginner triathletes or one of many high school swimmers just begining to dabble in the tri scene. Their swim split will be respectable and after a few years and more equipment dollars their results will improve exponetially.(note this is how I started out)
2) They are a D-1 Swimming super stud who believes wetsuits are for pussies, they will jump into the water clad in only 3 inches of lycra and make your efforts look like a joke. They will take that $500 Ocra Apex and smack you with it enroute to a course record. ( of note their bike probably sucks so despite the hurt pride in the swim you should be able to spank them on course)
3) They're one of the newbies mentioned in #1 and they made the unfortunate mistake of borrowing goggles from me. ( note : swedes do give you that look of I'm a hardcore swimmer and I'm gonna mess you up.)
You see a pair of Nike, Newbalance, addidas, insert brand here XC flats in the guy next to you's transition area.
1) They are either a highschool or collegiate XC/track runner and they will fly by you on the run like you are standing still.
2) same for #1 except insert former XC/track runner turned triathlete. And I have some sort of clue of what I'm doing, to the mix.
3) They had money to burn at mickey finns and they wanted shoes in a color that would match their tri suit.
I could go on and on mocking people's gear and reasons for their gear but the list would be way too long and it would just lose humor after a while. And to all those tri newbies out there who can't afford the biggest and best stuff out there this post is being written by a guy who uses his flats from high school, a bike he bought on clearance, and a surfing wetsuit. so happy training and if you do happen to see a couple of guys on BMC time machines in green and white jerseys at your next tri, remember there is no shame in letting them pass you afterall one of them is probably an ex- Tour de France Champion*
R.D.
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2 comments:
No need to kiss my ass, and rightly so...you're the better athlete. It's balls to the wall after i get out of the water...I won't be able to catch you, but i'll come close. On a totally flat course, that could be a different story...
As for swimmer #2...if you're talking about who i'm thinking you're talking about, very accurately...He'll be there at the race. If you made swimmer #2 up, good job describing this one person.
Take no prisoners.
"You see an athlete wearing only a speedo and swedes"
4. She is a fellow blogger who has staked her whole identity on not wearing a wetsuit, and in her third season she still can't afford one (financially nor ego-wise).
Who runs a triathlon in racing flats?!
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