Captiva Tri

This morning, Jim had another triathlon... on Captiva Island.

And when I was standing on the almost deserted beach (after the swim part ended),

I saw a dolphin swimming and thought, this tri thing is good.

 I did forget my camera, so if you squint below to the left of the cones,

you'll see Jim coming around the corner at the start of the run.

As he passed by, he told me his time was unofficial, since he blew a tire, tube AND spoke...

so he walked the bike back and didn't finish that leg.  Suprisingly, he wasn't in a bad mood about it.  And, God Bless him, instead of quitting, he said "I'm not ready to be done yet" and kept going.

The pic above is a random racer. It occured to me that there were a lot of competitors who *looked* good-- not only because of fancy/matching trisuits, but also good form on the run: even breaths, calm face, nice stride. Then I realized they were smack dab in the middle - or even end- of the pack. Hmm. 

Jim loved the idea of carrying Kaden across the finish line.

I didn't mention that the boy had a wet swimsuit.

Or that the finish line wasn't that close.



But they did it in good stride, anyway.  Kaden was thrilled to get a bottle of cold water (just like the racers, mom).... and the tri medal.  I don't think Jim will get it back ;)

Another Day, another Tri

First of all, let's hear it for middle aged, slightly out of shape women. While we don't currently have any people who fit that description on our team, I was so. very. impressed! by all the women racing in this morning's triathlon.

It was a 400 yard swim in the river, then into transition and off on an 11 mile bike race, and then a 3.1 mile run. Any one of those would tucker me out for the day. Below is Jim after the swim, getting ready to start the biking leg.

It's hard to say if he was happy or not. I'm not sure 'happy' applies during the competition. And while it looks like he's moseying along above, he's not. They have a rule about walking your bike out of the area. Tho' he is making it look easy in the photo, it (competing) looks much different in person.

But the suprising, and very cool, thing about tri's is this: there is such a wide range of competitors and people involved. There's the folks who you'd picture in your head when you say "he's a triathlete" or "she does triathlons". They're the ones who finish in the top 5 or 10 overall. Today's winner was around 54 minutes total, I think. Then there's the folks who LOOK like they should be placing: namebrand gear, special tri-suits, $3000 bikes (yes, you read that right). And then they get on the course, and they're huffing and puffing the whole way. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

There's other folks who are genuinely competitive with the field, despite the lack of fancy gear and clothes. And there's a whole heck of a lot of people who are just aiming for the finish line. Their goal is to complete their first race. To shave a few minutes off their last time. To not panic on the run, or not throw up after the race. Or even just to avoid cute pirates on the course.

But seriously? There's something to be said for all that. I got choked up cheering complete strangers on, because they made eye contact and nodded. I could see how they were "giving it all she's got, Captain." Some said thank you, others smiled. It could've been the annoying duck quacker I was using to accompany my shouts. Or maybe just that we showed up to acknowledge their effort.

Let's face it, folks. Triathlons are exhausting. I get so used to Jim's training and his teammates talking strategy, I forget that. He's done 2 sprint lengths (like this), 1 mini and a few relays. It seems like anyone could just throw on some shoes and get out there. Maybe. But did I mention the firetruck and ambulance came today? Because not everyone who starts finishes. And not a whole lot of us start to begin with.

Which is why I'm so proud of TriDad, who is spurred on each race by a little voice yelling "Go Daddy Go! Go Daddy Go!" The sweat in his eyes, the stitch in his side, the cramps in his legs: none of it stops him from finishing.

Tri- Thoughts

This morning, the boys woke up early to head to a local park for another charity 5k. This was a walk, and family friendly, so Jim packed water bottles, the stroller and Kaden... and off they went. I stayed home for a little extra sleep and even got to mail out those turkey cards. Well, finish them, put them in envelopes, stamped 'em... then moved them to a different part of the counter.

But, the 5k! This one was for a walk for suicide awareness, and Jim did it for his coach, who has lost 2 family members that way. It turned out he knew a few others who showed up for her, too, so it was a pleasent morning. And, Kaden walked about half the route (so, 1.5 miles) (ish). Maybe he IS a racer after all! After all, he did "check his time" (Kaden pokes his wrist and says beep-beep-beep before running off).

Coach is also involved in some other charity stuff, and is currently trying to talk me into a half-marathon. Wha? The fundraising commitment is immense (I think $1400)... and I'm not personally attached to the charity... and it's a half-marathon. I'm thinking no.

But I was talking with another mom about doing a mini-tri. We think we might be able to talk our group into it (Mini-tri's are 200 yard swim, 5 mile bike ride, 1 mile run) (ish). There's at least 3 regulars who work out, 1 or 2 who could go either way, and then 2 of us who are, ah, out of shape. To put it nicely.

Would YOU consider doing a mini triathlon? half marathon? What's the craziest athletic type thing you've done?

***

Photos from Jim's first mini-tri in May 2010.

Dreaming about Beaches and Football

This morning, we had a great park play date with a good high school friend, her hubby and their 1 yr old son. Really fun times, but I forgot my camera, so you have no images of the boys walking together, or Kaden waiting for his turn at the stairs, or Wesley's incredibly cute smile. So I'm recycling beach photos from a few weeks ago :)



The other night, Kade woke up and came out to find us in time for a coughing fit. We re-settled him into our bed. After he was really asleep, I picked him up to move him back into his room... he started a bit, and muttered "I fell out of the car." Then went back to sleep. He is his father's son...

They continue their football training, and now Kaden has a mean look he gives you, right before he bowls you over. Seriously! If you're not paying attention (ahem), he'll knock you down. As I type this, he is napping with "Bucs", a build-a-bear alligator with a Tampa Bay football uniform (including helmet and cleats). Bucs had to take a nap, or Kade wasn't going to.

He is my son, too, as you can tell by his fascination with digging. Any beach, any park, any scrap o' land with sand (and there's a bit of that down here), and the boy starts to dig.

Finally, this last photo of Jim, aka TriDad, who got in a bit of open water training that same day. He saw a tiny shark (2 or 3 feet), and so swam on the other side of the sandbar. Notice that he still swam! He finished the 5k the other day in about 40 minutes, which isn't a great time for runners, but IS a great time for a beginner triathlete who hadn't trained in a week and was literally running uphill both ways (the race was on a bridge)! I'm proud and impressed with his dedication to being active and competing.

Subcultures

So THIS was an interesting weekend!

I did indeed wake up at 4.35 am, and was out the door at 4.43 am. Aided by some incredible packing at 11pm the night before, and a trusty 4 point note:

1. Drinks in fridge

2. Drinks in freezer

3. Bags in car

4. KADEN!

For some reason, Jim laughed out loud when he found my note upon our return tonight. But The sleepy babe, ah, toddler DID come with me yesterday am... and never quite got back to the sleep. The upside is that the VBS music soothed him, AND I got to the event before they closed down the roads, so we only had to walk a half mile or so AND I brought the stroller.

Anywho, the TOP GUN Triathlon had over a thousand people in it, and wow it felt like it. It seemed less coordinated than the Mad Dog one, but I'm guessing that impression is due more to the amount of people than their actual work (which was pretty darn good). What else I found out, as I was searching for our team, is that Tri's are a pretty cool place to people watch. First of all, there's ALL kinds of people there-- honed athletes, posers with expensive equipment but no experience, first timers, kids, senior citizens, dogs... Second, every competitor has much of their body uncovered or tightly covered (not in a bad way) AND their age inked on their leg. So as they're walking toward me I guess, and then check their calf as they pass. Totally unfair, I know, but interesting.

It's an interesting subculture in general... with it's own abbreviations (T1 = first transition, from swim to bike, an actual marked off space) and catchphrases (see ya at the swim start as a general goodbye). It's an individual sport, but lots of times folks have their own cheer squad on race day, and lots of folks belong to a club to train with. Both these groups sometimes have custom shirts. My favorites this weekend: family "My mom is a Top Gun Triathlete" and club "If you think you're in control, you're not going fast enough". There were quite a few with a skull and crossbones, so I think that must be a local group, which makes sense with all the pirate/Gasparilla/Buccaneer vibes.

The guy on the PA would call out some folks names as they went through T1, and he gave a shout out to a local triathlete who had won last year, and said we could recognize him because he was covered in tats. He made it seem like he was the one to beat... but the guy who took first overall was actually Josh, the son of Jim's coach! Which was pretty cool. Jim's team of 3 was 4 out of the mixed relays (men/women) and 4th out of 31 relay teams overall. It's not really fair to compare to the individuals who did all 3 sections themselves... but Josh's time beat all the relays too! Jim was very happy when he got his time today (official times and placing are posted later in the day, broken down into each section and transition times too): he BEAT his personal goal and averaged 3min X seconds per mile, doing all 10 miles in less than 35 minutes. His goal had been to finish in 35-40 minutes. Yay, Jim!

One of the odd things about triathlons is that you often have a distance to cover between sections. For example, Jeanne swam 400 yards (against the current, in rough waves), then had to run/walk about a quarter mile up the beach and through a knee to waist deep tidepool to transition. Jim biked and then had to run/walk 150 yards to get to his relay guy. It doesn't seem like much until you're doing it (or watching people do it!!) during the race.

Another thing I learned this weekend is that the races are much more fun when there's more of a support/cheer team there. The courses are so spread out that it's hard for, ahem, an out of shape person to sprint to each area and get the photos of everyone. Susan's hubby Joe manages to do it, which is pretty amazing.

****

Sunday we slipped into a totally different culture, the NFL fan. We had thought about getting to a Steelers camp, but the timing and prices didn't work out for us. So we visited One Buc Place to see the "home" team. (Yes, I still root for the Bucs, out of loyalty to my Dad and the orange losing days.) Despite the heat- close to 100, I believe- it was pretty neat. They were in full pads, and ran different drills, changing every 4-5 minutes. In the 2 hours, I only saw about 3 "breaks", though they did have a ton of water boys out there with gatorade, water and towels. It was also fairly cool to be "so close" to the action, as they moved around the field a bit. Right in front of us, we saw the QBS and RB/FB drills, and later some defensive ones. There was about 20 minutes of scrimmage, but no real tackling. Some *awesome* catches, though. Afterwards, we got a few autographs and I got a smile and wave from Earnest Graham from about 20 yards out :)

This was also an interesting place to people watch and eavesdrop. The tix were free, you just needed to get them in advance. Most folks wore *something* Bucs colored, and some were totally decked out. Just like at a game! Listening to guys who were obviously talking loudly to impress others... watching cute, innocent little kids asking the MASCOT for an autograph (what does he sign?)... watching older, more calculating kids jockey for autograph position... hearing ladies swoon over players... quite the fun day. We taught Kade how to yell GO BUCS, which he did at the most random times, to the amusement of our neighbors. Jim also had him yelling "Hi Mr Parker" or whoever he was trying to get an autograph from. Kaden was a bit disappointed that "the football guy" got to "color" and he didn't, and he was even more disappointed that no one gave him a "football helmet", but he seemed to have a good time overall. Drinking gatorade straight from the bottle, being able to dump water on himself, and eating a hot dog contributed to the fun, I think!