I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, watching other people do a race is hard work. Bill, Larry, Brenda and I went down to Muncie to watch Brian, Diane, Corrine and Tom do the Muncie Endurathon, a half-ironman triathlon. It’s a six hour race for me, or longer if I have trouble on the run, but, naturally, they all finished it in less than six. I’m amazed at how fit all of the athletes are and I’m still surprised to see people in their fifties, sixties and seventies still doing these races. We knew the capabilities of our buddies, so we were always in the right place at the right time when they came through transition or the finish line.
The tiring part about it is that you see someone and chit-chat for a while before the race, but once they have left on the swim, it’s 30 to 45 minutes before you see them again. Then it’s just for a few seconds and they are off on the bike for two to three hours. Again it’s just for a few seconds and they are off on the run for another hour and a half to two hours. We guessed their finish times within five minutes for each of them so it’s not like we had to hold a late night vigil, waiting for them to finish just before the truck that’s picking up the race cones like people have to do for my races. I was carrying Diane’s bicycle pump for quite some time and Bill and Larry wanted me to let them carry it or take it to the car, but I was trying to build up my arms so I refused.
As we watched the racers come out of the swim, it was interesting to watch the differences in style. Some would leave the water and be “trucking right along” headed for T1 (transition from swim to bike) and others would be walking. We saw many staggering just a bit, either from water in the ears affecting their balance, or the lack of oxygen in their legs since the body sends much of it to the arms that are doing all the work. We saw a lot of people in wetsuits, but quite a few without. Some of those people had just a swim suit on while others had their triathlon race suit on. A few people had “skin suits” which are tight fitting suits that let them glide through the water. One guy had a “skin suit” on that I still think was his real skin that had just been painted. To say that it was revealing was the understatement of the year. Brenda commented several times about what a good job the Mohel had done at the young man’s Bris (if you’re not Jewish, look it up).
Congratulations to the racers. Tom got a second in his age group, Brian got a second in his division, Corrine was fourth in her age group and Diane was fifth in her age group. My title as “King of The Mediocre Athletes” is safe for another year.
The Sunday run was at Judy’s yesterday and lots of people showed up. Judy pestered Kevin for so long that he gave in and came to walk with her. I did my usual six miler, but I misjudged the route and ended up in front of Judy’s at 5.36 miles. Of course I couldn’t stop there so I ran back and forth in the neighborhood until 6.00 registered on my Garmin. The neighbors must have thought I was nuts but, of course, if they knew me they would be sure I was nuts. The X-rays from a month ago showed a fair amount of thinning in the hip cartilage so I’m guessing my long run days are limited. I think it will be a good idea to lose some weight to take some of the pressure off, so I’m now on my 89th diet (lifetime, not this year). By tomorrow Bill and Larry will be selling chances to see who can predict how long this one will last. If you want to wager, you better sign up soon ‘cuz the early times go quickly.
The Green Street house and the cottage still haven’t sold. Every time I think it doesn’t matter whether they do or not, I get an insurance bill or a property tax notice and I change my mind. I was going to bring in the three bags of lake weeds to town yesterday, but when I tried to pick up two of the bags, I noticed that the bottom had rotted through, so I’m heading out to “rebag”. Anyone want to rent a nice house or a cottage for a year?
Just (Rested Up From The Hard Job Of Watching) Jack