Trying Triathlon

As "team" manager/driver/maintenance crew/motivator/and all around domestique, I'm taking it upon myself to be team blogger too.

Erin, Erica and Andy - all buddies since grade school - decided to do a triathlon this year. After much - er, some - training, the event went down at Medical Lake on August 17th. Much fun was had by all, and a plan is now in place for next year's competition. In an interview with ESPN SportsCenter, Erica commented "I believe that the team put out 100% on the course - we had such a blast. I can't wait to come back next year and kick some tail!"


The team's pre-race rituals seemed to ease the tension on Sunday morning. As the team applied temporary "eagle head" tatoos (for swiftness and heart) and put on their matching jewelry (yellow bracelets), they played loud music and pumped their fists. Fox Sports News asked Erin about the team's preparations: "We felt that creating a good time atmosphere instead of focusing on the competition would relax everyone. And having fun's what it's all about, right?"



Everyone feels that they could have gone a little faster, but the temperature topped out at 100-plus that weekend and those weren't the best conditions for our fair competitors. A Sports Illustrated reporter cornered Andy; "We have had a really hot summer, and it's hard to stay hydrated in this kind of heat." If she wouldn't have had 3 flats prior-to and one more flat during the race, Andy would likely have had an even better time. Asked about the flats, Andy said "I blame nargles."


It's really too bad that they Olympics were happening. Everyone had an invitation to compete in Beijing for the US, but they all agreed that this was a more important meet for the team. As for the team manager, he believes they all deserve gold!


One final note: it turns out that the temporary tattoos set off the anti-theft machines at department stores, which makes everyone particularly embarrassed now. Erin and I went to Macy's the other day, and she beeped multiple times - even after I was holding her purse and all of the items in her pocket.