Good Tri!

This past Sunday, BGD competed in the Fantastic Nantasket triathlon.

Once upon a time, BGD was a hard core triathlete.  We traveled all over Massachusetts and beyond to cheer him on at races.  No distance was too great or too small.  In fact, he's a 5 time Ironman Lake Placid finisher.  An Ironman distance race consists of a 2.4 mile swim,  112 mile bike and then a marathon distance run of 26.2 miles.  His best time was sometime around 11 hours.  He trained a lot.  It seemed every weekend he was off for a long bike or run on Saturday and then a race on Sunday.  Of course he only kept up the hectic training pace when our kids were small.  If your options were stay at home all weekend and help take care of a 3 year old and infant twins you might find nonstop athletic training appealing as well.  I'm just sayin'...

Fast forward to 2009.  BGD hasn't competed in a triathlon since 2006 in North Carolina.  Months ago he signed up for the Hull race, planning on using it as motivation to train again.  Whereas this plan backfired last year (he signed up for an Ironman distance race and then never got around to training--not that he hasn't done an Ironman without training before, but it's not the same when you don't have a training base), this year he signed up for a sprint distance race. Funny thing happened again though, the training didn't quite happen.  I mean it sort of happened, he biked a few times with Ebby (11 & 17  miles), ran 3 miles with the dogs 2 or maybe even 3 times, and you've seen the video of him swimming at the beach this summer.  Yep, ready to go!

Sunday morning dawned gray and rainy but BGD was not deterred.  And the noon start time totally ruined the 'I overslept' excuse.  He packed up his bike and his tri gear and headed out.  Meanwhile, I got the kids breakfast and tried to explain to them that they used to spend every weekend cheering Daddy on at races.  Seems they weren't too excited to be heading to the beach in the wind and the rain.  But we did.

We even took in some scenery along the way.  {Cuyler was sporting the blue coat on this day}

We had plenty of time to visit with Daddy before the race.  They started a half hour late and he was in the 8th (of 9) swim wave with the staggered start.

BGD looked ready for action in his hot pink bathing cap, don't you think?

Waiting for the start gave us plenty of time to marvel at the waves.  The lifeguards out there lying on surfboards were getting tossed 2 or 3 feet in the air whenever a big wave would roll in.  Perhaps that's why they posted this sign...

While the 4 of us were dressed for the weather, BGD was not quite so toasty, wearing just some spandex shorts and a wicking shirt.  Wet suits are so overrated.

Finally, it was time for BGD's group (or wave in tri lingo) to begin.  Despite the waves, rough surf and strong current, he was out of the water in 11:35 according to the results page.  Not a bad 1/4 mile swim...

He stopped ever so briefly to say hello and then headed to the transition area.  We followed up the spectator side of the ramp to watch him head out on the bike.

So BGD headed out to the end of Hull and back (10 miles) and we headed to...Dunkin Donuts for shelter and sustenance.  And the bathroom.  As Daddy rode through the rain and puddles, the kids chowed down donuts & muffins.  I didn't let them linger though, soon enough we were back out on the course to see Daddy finish the bike leg--in under 34 minutes (which includes transition time).

After T2 (2nd transition from bike to run, not the Christian Bale Terminator movie...), BGD/Daddy was off to run 3 miles on the beach.  Check out his blazing speed, it's like that other guy is walking (because, in fact, he was).  BGD looked like he was having fun as he headed down and out.  Either that or he thought he was at a Motley Crue concert circa 1987. 

We took the short walk back to the finish area, to stake out our viewing spot.  It was still windy and rainy (on & off).  At least the boys had a not-very-good umbrella to keep them entertained and sheltered.    

Speaking of entertaining, what are the big balls from Wipeout doing at a triathlon in Hull??

The time for fun was soon over, as we spotted Daddy coming toward the finish line not even a half hour later (29 minutes and change). 

And just like that, BGD finished another triathlon.  With a very respectable time of 1 hour 16 minutes (good for 218th place out of over 500 finishers).  Sans training.

I'm not sure what kind of race he's going to register for next year. Or what kind of training he'll do in preparation.  We'll just have to sit back and wait & see.

And show up on race day with a camera and some cheering kids.

Great job, Daddy!