Tri-Curious

Last Sunday, I participated in my first triathlon. I biked in a team relay. We had five teams from work. Our boss paid the entry fee for anyone that wanted to participate. Have mentioned how much I enjoy my new employer?

Again, it was just biking and it’s not an ironman course, although Chris Legh (of the Gatorade commercial – the one where he bonks, but the bonk was actually his body shutting down, then with Gatorade and modified training, he goes on to win. Pam cringes) was there, it was a great introduction to triathlons. It was a fun time. There were 1200 participants – some racers were pre-teens, some were senior citizens, one was even the mayor of Minneapolis (but according to the results page R.T. did not finish or was DQ’d. Wonder what Heffelfinger would say about that? Stupid media leaks, “he should be pissed” – ok, I digress.). All in all, a wonderful atmosphere at the “Tri Buff.” It was such a good experience, I want to participate next year, doing all three legs of the “sprint” course. It’s like I’ve caught a bug. I’ve found myself following all kinds of triathlon links on the net – finding a new subculture.

With the birth of Fiona, I’ve looking for ways to model active behavior. I used to participate in team sports from age 5 through age 18. The problem with most team sports is that they are not sustainable for a lifetime – I’m not playing baseball, football, soccer or basketball on a regular basis, that’s for sure. However, running, biking, and swimming are things that can be done for a lifetime, esp biking and swiming. I’m not doing this so that Fiona does it, I’m doing it because I like it, but I do want her to have active, healthy parents.

As I’ve started to bike more I’ve realized what a great town Minneapolis is when it comes to bike trails. Although, the shutting down of the Cedar Lake Trail in the downtown area has prevented me from riding to work the past few days. In the past month, I started to convert my mountain bike to more of a road bike – replacing the knobby tires with slicks and using a cyclometer. I also have my very own Timbuk2 bag to carry stuff when I’m going on short rides and errands – if the Bulldog can be an errand.

While it’s not much compared to other cyclists, I’m happy to say that I’ve put on 195 miles on my bike in the past 30 days. The great thing about biking is that when I’m done with a long ride, my hips and knee don’t hurt like they did when I trained for the Twin Cities marathon. By getting ready to participate in races/events – I think I’ll have goals to keep me focused. Outside of nearly getting hit by a car (who blew a red light – Dickhead!!) two weeks ago, I’m really fired up about cycling. Note to readers: I do have a bit of an addictive personality, so we’ll see how long it lasts. I may become addicted to the couch and naps again.

Sorry about the length of this self indulgent post. I have to scoot and put together an early father’s day gift from Pam and Fi – a child carrier/trailer for my bike.

If there are any cycling enthusiasts out there, please let me know when I should make the switch to a true road bike and in the mean time let me know of ways that I might make my current ride more comfortable. I’m having trouble finding a comfortable position for my hands and shoulders with my straight bar and bar-ends configuration. Tri-curious minds need to know.