Race Pics

We made it back to Greenville about midnight last night. The kids were pretty good on the ride, but they didn't fall asleep until about 11 pm. Overall it was a great trip to Raleigh. 4 nights is a long time to keep the girls out of their normal routine. I was suprised how easy it was to work there. Kelley's dad and I have always gotten along really well, and it was nice sharing an office with someone else for a change. He's worked for himself from home for 20 years now, so I just slid right into his office.

This pollen is still screwing with me. Today my head feels as stable as a bowling ball on a golf tee. My sinuses are so stuffed up my teeth actually hurt. massive headache, I'm going to see if I can get into the chiropractor tomorrow. I wanted to get an adjustment after the race anyway, but this head thing is incredibly motivating. or demotivating depending on how you look at it.

Ok, on to the race pics. These are from the Triangle Orthopaedic Association Sprint Triathlon in Raleigh NC this past sunday, April 19th. I might go back and put some of these into my Race Report for posterity's sake.

I got a smiley face put on the other calf as a nod and a wink to Steve Stenzel, who does that for every race. Body marking done, I was bib #123, which I found motivating. Kelley thought it was very strange that I was running as a 34 year old, when I won't turn 34 until July.


Getting the TA setup before start. I always love talking with other racers. It can be tough to find other local people that are as crazy as we are, but they always seem to show up for the race. There was over 200 people running this one.

Kelley kept taking pictures of this guy. Any idea why?

Hanging out before the race. I did take Wes's advice and get into the water long enough to get acclimated and get used to the wetsuit before the race started. Plus I look damn sexy in a wetsuit.

Getting ready to start. Before the race I was hanging out some with the guy standing in front of me. Kelley thinks his ass is perfectly shaped. That's really why she took this picture.

We started from the dock, stepping onto the mat and diving in.

Yep, that's me diving in. this is such a cool shot.

Why so many pics of me in the water? I guess I was pleased with my swim.

I totally chicked that other guy right at the end of the swim. If that wasn't bad enough, as soon as we got out of the water, I was incredibly disoriented and slammed into him.

Coming out of the water, you can see a third green cap right on my feet.

Here I have no idea where I am, what I'm doing, where I'm trying to go and all I want to do is puke. I stumbled into the crowd, they pushed me back onto the mat and it's off to T1.

Finally able to stand up sucessfully again 6 minutes later, we're off on the bike. I love how I look in this picture, but I wish my helmet was on straight. My legs came out really muscular, and the other 2 guys look like they are fumbling around. Really, we are all stumbling like drunk monkeys. I just appear less drunk, I think.

Here I'm coming back in after the 10.5 mile bike route. Hungry but more stable. I drank a whole bottle of Heed on the bike to try and get some calories back in me once I didn't want to puke anymore. Then, after chugging that much Heed while trying to peddle faster, I wanted to puke.

In T2 for only a couple of minutes. I'm trying to catch my breath, change shoes, get ready for the run. Again, the sideways helmet is cool. You watch, in a few months rappers are going to be showing up in nightclubs with bike helmets on sideways like that. It's becoming the "green" thing to do.

Here's "that guy" again. WTH? Why so many pictures of him? Just because my wife thinks I'm gay, she had to take tons of pics of all the shirtless athletes. I think I should be concerned about this. Yet somehow, I just can't be.

In the finish chute, tons of cheering spectators, and my second tri is in the books. It's a pretty good finish line pic, at least I'm not trying to stop my Garmin like most finish line pics. I went with the "both arms in triumphant achievement" pose.

Now that's a happy nerd after the race. It was a great morning, I really gave everything I had. It feels good to know that you did your best at anything, but this face really shows the kind of satisfaction you can only get from personal achievement. I am very pleased with my performance and my preparation, and I can't wait for the next race.

My next race is a mud run with military obstacles here in Greenville May 3rd. I'm dropping the half marathon next weekend for entry fee purposes. Plus a weekend in the garden is long overdue.