Tri this

I am a marathoner, and while not a speedy marathoner I still consider myself no stranger to athletic accomplishment.

I do not, however, consider myself a potential triathlete. As cool as it looks and as often as I've thought I would love to be able to add "Ironman" in front of my name in my e-mail signature to impress people, the fact of the matter is that I would never survive. I am a terrible swimmer and my last bicycle experience was a wobbly and stressful one in Germany where they ding their bicycle bells at you if you are not going fast enough on the narrow special bike path among cars, trams, dogs, and pedestrians.

All that to say that I find triathlons incredibly cool and I was so proud of my friend Ryan this weekend as he completed his first one! We woke up bright and early to watch Ryan and his dad Doug swim 750 meters, bike 16 miles, and finish it off with a 5k run at the Lake Murray Triathlon.

We brought quite a contingent of cheerleaders, and Sara and I were both out in full force shooting the event. : )

My triathlon experience would be over five minutes into the open water swim. They'd have to send an emergency kayak over to scoop me and my brightly colored swimcap from the bottom of the lake. As you can see, Ryan and his dad were much more successful.











Then it was on to the bike ride








...and just when I am sure their legs felt like complete jello it was time to hop off and run three miles to the finish line.





Ryan and Doug both were AMAZING, finishing about five minutes apart. We are so proud of you!





So I still don't think I am brave enough to do one. For the record there are four levels of triathlons, and I really want the Ironman title- which would involve a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile (full marathon) run.

It's like what Navy Seals, insane people, and ultra-athletes do, but hey, a girl can dream. Basically it's the quickest way to put myself in a coma, but I would at least get to put "Ironman" in front of my name on all my medical charts.

Thoughts, anyone?