Holy Toledo Triathlon Challenge II
by John Fell IV
April 17, 2005
Confessions
of a Type A Triathlete
I won’t entertain you (or bore you,
depending on how you look at it) with great tales of my focus, nutrition, views
of the race, and play by play accounts of Sunday’s events.
But I will tell you that somewhere around mile 6 on the run, I realized
how much fun triathlon is supposed to be. For
once, I didn’t stare at my watch and try to calculate my minute per mile pace
on the run. I felt like a little kid
running up and down the hills, laughing the whole way because the last time I
did this I was barefoot on the backyard sand pile. (Don’t laugh, I’m from
Scott. It’s not my fault I grew up country.) Sure,
there were dicey moments, like finding out that there was no rescue boat, and
that everyone had to stop at the 4-way because there were no sheriffs’ on duty
there. I say to that, “What’s
different about this race that we don’t deal with every day in training?
I don’t train with a police escort, or a boat following my open water
swim. There is definitely a little
adrenaline rush when you realize that no one informed the snakes and other
creatures in the woods that this was a closed course.
Now, the big races with all the glitz, glamour, and shenanigans are cool,
and definitely have a place in triathlon and are on my race calendar.
However, why not explore the other end of the triathlon spectrum?
Let me suggest, as one racer to another, to save the date of next
year’s Holy Toledo race on your calendar.
For one race next year, let all your time goals and split numbers go.
Just come out to