1 August, 2011    “Have a good time!”

Beginning today and continuing for 13 weeks I will “have a good time” as I train for and compete in my 9th Iron distance triathlon. This year’s race, like the past three years, is the PPD Beach2Battleship Triathlon (B2B). My goal for this year’s B2B, as in every race I’ve entered since my accident on 5 April, 1988 will be to “have a good time.” “Have a good time” is always a superb strategy. It allows me to focus on enjoying myself and not worry about speed. And when I get back to work Monday after the race and people ask “how did you do?” I respond – honestly – “I had a good time!” They don’t know if that means a fast time or an enjoyable time but who cares? Unpredictable things happen in races that slow you down. Keep you from meeting your clock time goals. Flat tires, wind, whatever. You might just have a bad day. But when I focus on enjoying myself, on meeting fellow racers and spectators and volunteers and officials, when I enjoy the sights and the sounds and the scenery, when I stay in the moment – I always have a good time. I see outstanding volunteers, enthusiastic spectators, motivated athletes, deer, eagles, turtles, sunrise, sunset, stars, the moon, even when it’s cloudy it’s fun.

The day begins with a 2.4 mile swim:

Transitions to a 112 mile bike ride:

And finishes with a 26.2 mile run:

Of the 8 I have completed, my fastest took just over 14 hours. 7:00 AM start. That means I finished slightly after 9:00 PM. My slowest was last year and it took over fifteen and a half hours. I got off the course after 10:30 at night and I was freezing. I registered for this year’s race as soon as registration opened.

As I commence training today, my life will boil down to:  eat – sleep – work – train – repeat. Of course, I’ll still be walking dogs. I have to get my dog/river time. I suppose that’s training. Or recovery, etc. Speaking of recovery, ask any endurance athlete you know – the best “recovery drink” is chocolate milk.

When you train you get to drink lots of chocolate milk. It’s a superb recovery drink – seriously. Ask anybody. When was the last time you had a glass of chocolate milk? That stuff is outstanding. I mean, I can not even believe how much I like drinking chocolate milk. Of course, practically by definition I’m drinking it at the end of a hard, hot workout. So anything I drink automatically tastes more delicious. But chocolate milk is just out of this world.

Anyway. Today kicks off training. I am overjoyed. I will update sporadically as I train, but I will still be taking my river hikes. It’s going to be a fun three months. Happy August!