Posts Tagged ‘Sports’
Hy-Vee Triathlon: 77 Days And Counting…
It was just a week ago this morning that I sent off my application to be a selected to be a member of The Des Moines Register’s Triathlon Team. A week later, the word is in, and the word is good. Congratulations! You have been selected to be a member of The Des Moines Register’s…
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Will Commute For Food Fun
My friend, Tricia Martin, sent an email on Friday with this blurb from The Des Moines Register: “Are you planning to compete in the June 22 Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines? Are you willing to blog about your training experiences?” “The Register has 10 entries to give away, and we are looking for a cross-section…
Read More2:43:27
There’s a smile on my face in almost every photo of me competing in Sunday’s New York City Triathlon. Which is kind of miraculous, as the race was neither painless, nor easy. In the moments just after my finish, there beneath a canopy of leaves just above Central Park’s Sheep’s Meadow, I said to Chris,…
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In exactly forty-eight hours, I’m diving into the Hudson River, and paddling like hell. Sunday morning is my sixth Nautica New York City Triathlon. My wave — the most sizeable demographic, 35-40 males, and hence the last — begins the 1500 meter (about one mile) swim at 98th Street at 8:15. From the transition on…
Read MoreLeviathan
Funny thing happened in the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn: I got spooked. Not, like, scared. Nah, just spooked. I signed up for the inaugural Brooklyn Bridge Swim on something of a lark. I’ve done a dozen triathlons with swims up to a mile, but it’s not like swimming’s my thing. I run, and…
Read MoreThe Ol’ Philly Tri
“If you think you’re in the top ten percent of swimmers,” the race director said, “Start in the first wave.” I didn’t. But I did. The swim start was brutal: bodies on bodies, limbs flyin’, knees to the back of the head. The pack thinned slowly, as the fluorescent buoys inched closer, leaving me in…
Read MoreConcrete Sky
Halfway through swim portion of the New York Island Foundation’s Freedom Tower Aquathon, I thought to myself, ‘I could win this thing!’ I did my first triathlon in Philadelphia in 1996. I’ve done roughly twenty since then, including New York City, Montauk, Stone Harbor, Malibu, and Nantucket. I’m into sprint (400m/20k/5k) and olympic distances (1.5k/30k/10k).…
Read MoreThis Is Your Life
I did an interview yesterday afternoon with a woman writing a book called “Extreme Sports / Extreme Jobs.” As I told her, I don’t consider myself extreme. Occasionally stupid and sometimes stubborn, maybe. But extreme? No. Still, I’m happy to talk about myself. So I did. For forty-five minutes. The tricky thing about trying to…
Read MoreBittersweet Symphony
I am strong enough, but I am not strong. I’ve long advocated that mental fortitude can carry one any distance: a marathon, triathlon, whatever. And for the last six or seven years, that’s proven true. Yes, I run and ride perodically, every few days even. But do I train? Not a ton. Not really. I…
Read MoreThe Memory Of Running, Part II
I’m back from my first half-marathon of the season. I finished well, and am happy to report that I’m still walking. I’m not a pro, or even much of a weekend warrior. But I’ve been running road races, half-marathons, marathons and triathlons for about eight years. I’ve learned a thing or two. So here are…
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