A Single Southern Guy in America

August 18, 2004

Trying Triathletes

Your humble correspondent had an incredible weekend. As I reported earlier, I spent the weekend down at DeGray Lake to cheer my cousin on in the Iron Mountain Man triathlon. Now gentle readers, this wasn't a leisurely 5k or 10k. This was a half Iron Man competition. That translates into a 1.2-mile swim, followed by a 56-mile bike ride, and topped off with a 13.1 mile run. Just Damn! Luckily, it wasn't a typical August day and the temperatures were rather mild for such a test of endurance.

I'd never watched a triathlon before and it was intriguing. The transition area was packed with bikes and gear the participants would switch between. This wasn't some sort of amateurish event. Though it's still not clear to me how it all works, but there were folks from all over the country and this was some sort of nationally rated event. We're talking there were folks from as far east as Dunwoody, GA, west to California, northeast to New Jersey, Northwest to Colorado, etc.

At the event, my cousin and two of his club members from Oklahoma City competed among the over 500 contestants. I have to confess, I'm more than a little inspired to get into something like that. I'll probably start by getting back into running and some mountain hiking. Part of that reason has to come from this exchange with my sister who had also come down to cheer our cousin.

Sis: You know there's a bunch of girls here that could really kick your @ss.

SSG: I know! I was just thinking that.

Sis: You better behave yourself. Heh.

SSG: Well, I figure if any of them got after me, I could probably get a head start for a little sprint.

Sis: Adam, these girls run 13 miles.

SSG: Yeah, so I guess I'd climb one of these pine trees and throw pine cones at them.

So, what do you expect your humble SSG to do with so many finely tuned triathlete women roaming around, their bodies glistening in the sultry Arkansas August afternoon? Well, for one thing it's important to remember that a female triathlete is not nearly as dangerous after completing a Half Ironman. You might be able to take 'em.

Now imagine hopping into a comely triathlete's SUV to show the way for a beer run, and she pops in a Rodney Carrington: Greatest Hits CD.

Now you tell me--what is a SSG supposed to do? At this point, there is no more decisions for the SSG to make. His subconscious just takes over. It is out of his control. Besides, can you think of a better way to honor the Summer Olympics?

But, alas, the comely young triathlete had to go home to (Undisclosed location). Longtime readers are well aware that I tend to not kiss and tell except for only the most trusted of friends. And due to certain sensitivities, I'll not provide any details that would betray her identity. Heck, with a name and a google search anyone could be looking at pictures of her in seconds. Maybe some of my more trusted pals at the Jawja Blogger meet-up will hear more of the details.

We rounded the weekend out with an afternoon back at Lake DeGray swimming, playing stickball, telling lies, and sharing jokes with the cousin and his girlfriend, and my sis and brother-in-law. We left the lake and headed over to Hot Springs to share the wonder of the waters with our guests from out of state. We had a fine meal at The Faded Rose. The crawfish etoufee there is excellent and you should have seen the triathlete girl's steak. We finally made it back to Little Rock around 11 that evening, exhausted but happy.

Posted by Adam H at August 18, 2004 06:59 PM ~ Link Cosmos | Trackbacks (0)

Comments

You should DEFINITELY get into triathlons! I'm doing one next weekend...they are incredible and so much fun :o)

Posted by: KR at August 20, 2004 01:44 PM