Sunday, July 18, 2010

Dr. Chako's Mini-Triathlon

I've never been one to do things half-assed. That also means I tend to go over the top when I attempt something new. Well racing isn't exactly new since I have done many over the years. Most of the races were on the road, including two full marathons, a 15K, many 10Ks and I did one leg of a marathon relay. I also did a duathlon (run, bike, run) in medical school and I did the bike portion of a triathlon in 1986. I've never done a triathlon on my own since I'm such a terrible swimmer. The ironic thing is that my only letter in high school was on the swim team, but that's because I was a diver.

My buddy Josh told me yesterday that he's training to do Half-Ironman. That's over a 1 mile swim, 50+ miles on the bike and then a half marathon (he's nuts, but he's comfortable in his madness). I would never attempt such a silly thing (I think), but I could at least try to do my own version. So that's just what I did. After putting on my silly clothes (seriously, biker clothes are juts plain silly*), I got my Camelback filled with water and put my bathing suit and swim goggles in the back pocket.


*Pic stolen from the internet, but you get the idea


Then I was off for the 2.5 mile bike ride to the gym. It was quite easy actually. Thank goodness for Google Maps with the "show me the bike route" feature.

I quickly switched into my trunks, then I hit the pool. Did I mention I'm a horrible swimmer? I managed 4 laps (down and back = 1) and then it was back into the silly clothes. I stopped briefly to watch Oosterhuistenfingensen win the British Open with a Tiger-esque 16 under (the next closest was 9 under) and had a great flashback to the three times I was fortunate enough to play St. Andrews. Then it was back on the bike for the 2.5 miles back to the house.

Back home, I stretched out really well and took a big swig of water. Then I was off and running. Literally. There is a one mile and a two mile route around my neighborhood. I opted for the one mile. I had enough in me to sprint at the end and it felt great. Only one problem.

I'm still fat.

7 comments:

SirFWALGMan said...

GOOOO FAT!

Shrike said...

I'm going to win a lot of bottles of Scotch this December, whee!

Try harder. Make that target weight!

-PL

BLAARGH! said...

Heh, I'm the complete opposite... I'm a really good swimmer, but my knees are shot, so I can't really run anymore (I can run, but not long distances....)
I do my bi-athalon every day now... 5 miles bike into city as hard as I can without getting hit by a cab (doesn't always work), swim a bit over 1 mile (will be 2 miles by the end of this month) go to work, 5 miles back on my bike.

And fuck all if I still have that damn tire around my middle. I hate being old.

DaveSwaden said...

Your mate sounds absolutely mad!! Can barely complete 45 minutes running on the treadmill, let alone throw in a 1 mile swim, 50 mile cycle, and some more running!!

BamBam said...

Does running from the cops, swimming so I don't drown and riding it like I stole it, (refer to the run portion!) mean I'm a triathlete?

No wonder I'm fitting into those old jeans!

:)

Joshua said...

Seems pretty intense to me. Won't be fat for too much longer fo you keep it up.

The Sister said...

Make sure you run someplace where there are loose, wild dogs. You'll be amazed at how fast your ass can move.