Thursday, March 18, 2010

I am a Triathlete

Or so my new t-shirt says. I signed up for the Lazy Man Triathlon at our local YMCA. We were given six weeks to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles walking or running), a 2.5 mile swim, and 112 miles of bike-riding. Six weeks is a lot of time, right?

Wrong.

I learned a few things from this experience:
  • Real triathletes - those people who do this in a day - are crazy. Where do they need to go that they have to bike, swim and run that far in one day? Ridiculous. I know people who do triathlons. I really have to re-think how and why we're friends. They're crazy. The most recent DSM has a whole category just for them. Now don't get me wrong. I like watching television coverage of the Ironman competition in Hawaii (the 'real' one) as much as the next person. What these people do is unbelievable. And the ones who really struggle are the ones who are probably the first to sign up again for next year.
  • It would be faster to finish the marathon if I believed in running. I don't. If there's a fire, or someone chasing me, then maybe. Otherwise, it's against my religion.
  • Swimming takes a lot longer when you do some laps using a kickboard. To my Y's credit, they have a regular pool and a warm pool. The warm pool is really nice.
  • I found that I can't bike and read at the same time. I'm generally good at multi-tasking, but evidently not with these two activities.

The man who gave me my t-shirt looked at me as if he couldn't believe I had finished. But he kept a straight face nevertheless and said, "Congratulations. Thanks for participating."

And yes, I can't wait to sign up in 11 months for the next one. It's all about the t-shirt.

4 comments:

Emily Pearl Goodstein said...

This is one of my favorite posts that you've ever written. CONGRATS on completing this feat of endurance.

Emily Pearl Goodstein said...

ps--i wish it was called the "lazy person" as opposed to the "lazy man." women participated too!

Anonymous said...

The true Lazy Man has his wife join the Y, walk 26.2 miles, swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles, get a t-shirt, and collapse in exhaustion; and he uses that opportunity to commandeer said t-shirt.

Look, I had to wait six weeks for it; if that's not a feat of endurance, I don't know what is.

Anonymous said...

Which reminds me, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kJTIbZM9Zo

Quite catchy, no?