Fireman Triathlon

Ed did his first triathlon today. He started swimming with me at Minuteman about 8 weeks ago and decided to try triathlons 4 weeks ago. His goal is to do a half-Ironman in mid-September and he started out with an Olympic distance (1500 m swim - 40 km bike - 10 km run) today. He's been training really hard and I'm so proud of him.

So, we went up to Kennebunk in Maine at oh-dark-thirty. I saw a few people I know from bike racing - Kurt P., Sue M., and Lenore I., which was fun. I really enjoyed watching Ed race.

On a side note, the most surprising thing for me was how few of the triathletes wore helmets while riding around before and after the race. On our way to the car after the race we saw a woman riding and carrying a bag full of stuff (including her helmet) crash. Surprisingly she was okay. Just a few weeks ago Ed was on a ride with a friend who hit a puddle-concealed deep pothole and landed directly on her head. She walked away with nothing more than a cracked helmet and a slight headache. Anyway, we all have tons of stories about how amazing helmets are. Lecture over.

Here is Ed, bringing sexy back.





Ed said, "This was like an ice-water crit."



They moved the swim to a sheltered area, which meant a long run on the beach back to transition.



The transition from swim to bike.





I missed getting a photo of Ed's high-speed cyclocross-style dismount. He scared the riders next to him.





Final result: 2:20.06, 26th overall, 6th in his age group.



We both stupidly failed to apply sunscreen after the race and have uncomfortable sunburns to show for it. Afterwards we drove around a bit along the coast near Kennebunk and stopped on the way home for chocolate-dipped cones at Dairy Queen. Yum!