Lake Worth Tropical Triathlon 2008 Race Report

I participated in the Lake Worth, FL Tropical Triathlon on September 7, 2008, and it was a very fun day! Having recently faced a stressful bout of medical difficulties, it was joyful, humbling, and refreshing to even be able to participate in the (little bit longer than) sprint distance race. There was a good looking, athletic, fit group of triathletes there, so I was among peers, haha! It was a sunny day, hot as hell, and I had a blast. As icing on the cake, I put down a pretty quick performance!

A few highlights:

1) This was my first time doing any type of swimming, at all, since late July. From the Florida 70.3 race in May until July, I had swum maybe 10 times, too. So, I was winging the swim. But, I thrived! It was a choppy ocean, seeing as Hurricane Ike was off shore, so everyone was battling waves for most of the journey.

2) I got passed by the second place woman while running across Lake Worth bridge. She was really, really hot, so I asked her if she had a boyfriend. "I have a husband and a kid!" she replied.

3) I raced in the pink speedo, and pictures will be on this blog soon!

4) The bike leg was 13 miles, instead of the advertised 11. I was, at first, disappointed in my 35 minute split... but it's not too bad considering the longer distance. It had 4 turnaround and 2 climbs over the bridge, too.

5) I approached the race with a completely different outlook than Florida 70.3. Instead of months of planning, I came into this one very capriciously. I went to bed Saturday night telling myself that if I woke up Sunday, I would race. I thought, if I slept in, I would skip the race. I woke up Sunday morning, threw some stuff in the car, skipped breakfast, and managed to make it to the race on time. I forgot my race belt, forgot my sunglasses, and I accidentally racked my bike in the womens' area.

That's it for now. A fun day, and it was particularly enjoyable considering the appreciative outlook my medical complications have given me.

Stay tuned for part III of my high intensity training magnus opus.


Quote of the Week:

"Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today."

-Malcolm X