Okay, you folks who know me really well know that I hate running. Hate hate hate it. I do it from time to time (like when I was training for Kilimanjaro), but I always hate it. In fact, I swam in a race in January where they were selling shirts that said, “I swim because:” and there are checkboxes listed below. The reason I bought the shirt is that the second reason is “It’s better than running.” I should check that box with a permanent marker.
So, it may shock you to hear that I competed in a triathlon last Sunday (25th Feb)! Not to worry, I haven’t gone mad. The competition allowed teams, and I did the swim leg for a team. Colleen and Ralph have friends named Wendy and Wallace. (Wendy was Ralph’s boss when they all lived in Nigeria a few years ago.) Wallace was interested in competing in the triathlon, but decided that he wasn’t fit enough to do the whole thing. Also, he’s not a strong swimmer. So, Colleen (who completed the full, standard triathlon) suggested that we put together a team. A few weeks ago, we were all having dinner with Ziad Khatib, who is from Lebanon, lives in Sweden, and is working here for six months on some sort of HIV/AIDS project (he is in public health). (Ziad's older brother was Wendy's manager in Nigeria.) The subject of the triathlon came up, and Ziad said that he would do the cycling leg if someone could lend him a bike. And thus, Team 140 (or The Internationals, as Colleen registered us) was born.
The race was at Victoria Lake in Germiston, just south of the city. It is the site of the race I swam in January. Colleen’s race started at 7.00 a.m. Wallace, Ziad and I arrived about 8.15 for our 9.00 start. The cheering section -- Ralph and Brody, Wendy, and Wallace’s visiting niece and nephew -- arrived shortly before we started. I started first with a 750 meter swim, then Ziad cycled for 20K, and Wallace finished by running 5K. This was considered the mini-triathlon. It seems do-able for one person, hey? If I ever become really inspired, I might try to do a whole mini by myself. Gotta start running and find a bike first…
After the completion of all the races (there were standard, mini and sprint triathlons, as well as the team triathlon), we all stayed on and had a very nice picnic by the lake. It was a good day.
So, it may shock you to hear that I competed in a triathlon last Sunday (25th Feb)! Not to worry, I haven’t gone mad. The competition allowed teams, and I did the swim leg for a team. Colleen and Ralph have friends named Wendy and Wallace. (Wendy was Ralph’s boss when they all lived in Nigeria a few years ago.) Wallace was interested in competing in the triathlon, but decided that he wasn’t fit enough to do the whole thing. Also, he’s not a strong swimmer. So, Colleen (who completed the full, standard triathlon) suggested that we put together a team. A few weeks ago, we were all having dinner with Ziad Khatib, who is from Lebanon, lives in Sweden, and is working here for six months on some sort of HIV/AIDS project (he is in public health). (Ziad's older brother was Wendy's manager in Nigeria.) The subject of the triathlon came up, and Ziad said that he would do the cycling leg if someone could lend him a bike. And thus, Team 140 (or The Internationals, as Colleen registered us) was born.
The race was at Victoria Lake in Germiston, just south of the city. It is the site of the race I swam in January. Colleen’s race started at 7.00 a.m. Wallace, Ziad and I arrived about 8.15 for our 9.00 start. The cheering section -- Ralph and Brody, Wendy, and Wallace’s visiting niece and nephew -- arrived shortly before we started. I started first with a 750 meter swim, then Ziad cycled for 20K, and Wallace finished by running 5K. This was considered the mini-triathlon. It seems do-able for one person, hey? If I ever become really inspired, I might try to do a whole mini by myself. Gotta start running and find a bike first…
After the completion of all the races (there were standard, mini and sprint triathlons, as well as the team triathlon), we all stayed on and had a very nice picnic by the lake. It was a good day.
3 comments:
I'm still training for my first triathlon. I didn't know they had tream triathlons, where a person could do one leg of the race. That worked out good for you since you hate running. I want to all the legs myself, though. You might want to check out the Triathlon Discussion Forums. Thanks!
Yea Katy! I have never done a tri, because 1)I am afraid of the swimming and getting "over swum" by all the other athletes, and 2) it seems like a LOT of work!
But this way seems sensible! Maybe I'll run the run part for you some day!
Dawn K
Well, Dawn, we'll have to find an event in the U.S. when I come back! Or, you could come to SA... :)
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