Brief Intermission
We interrupt this England Vacation Recap to bring you a special installment of This Weekend in Sports, in which Simon completes his first Olympic-distance triathlon after taking two weeks off to stuff himself with fish and beer and sleep in until 1 p.m, at which point Kilo wakes us up by clanging a very loud bell and yelling. So Friday after work, we hauled ass at a snail's pace in rush-hour traffic to Monterey, where we arrived at the triathlon registration gate twenty minutes late and were told we'd have to return the next day at five. In the morning. Say what? The hotel looked the same when we arrived as when we left, which is to say DARK.
Note that my suitcase matches the bedspread.
We arrived at registration in time to get a prime parking space, to spot a herd of deer loitering in the middle of the race course, and to be among the very first people in the transition area. Simon had plenty of time to arrange his equipment, gather his thoughts, and put on his game face, and I had plenty of time to distract myself from the numbers on the clock by taking photos of the stunning views from Lover's Point.
Here are some more shots of the area before the racing began. Look for the fog lifting over distant hills, Simon at the water's edge, and rats on the beach, which I think is the planned sequel to Snakes on a Plane.
Simon's wave began at 7:30 a.m. and he finished around 10:30. For those of you remedial math students out there, that's three hours of working out in a competitive, adrenaline-fueled atmosphere. I am in awe, not just of him, but of everyone else out there--from the elite athletes who do the course in just two hours to the old ladies and little kids and dudes competing with artificial limbs. If you're short on inspiration, find a triathlon in your area and then sit back and be amazed.
Here are some of my fellow spectators (and me). Lots of mamas and babies (almost exclusively in jogging strollers), lots of dads too, and lots of dogs. There were also a few competitors who had nobody watching them because everyone in their whole family was racing, down to the eleven-year-olds. Simon says that's the kind of family he wants, which means I better get my butt in gear, eh?
For now at least, I'm content to just snap from the sidelines, especially when I have such an attractive (and colorful!) subject:
I was impressed that among the thousands of spectators that lined the course Simon was able to pick me out of the crowd. He even had the presence of mind, not to mention the energy, to flash me a smile and throw me some horns in the middle of the bike loop.
1.5k swim (.93 miles) THROUGH KELP, 40k bike (25 miles), and 10k (6.2 miles) run. When he finished, he said it was the hardest thing he's ever done,* and that includes a handful of 100-mile bike rides. He was sweaty all over and he said he felt like crying from the exhaustion, but he looked good and strong and, even though he didn't finish as well as he'd hoped, he did finish, which was his stated goal from the beginning, especially after coming off a two-week fried-food bender. I couldn't stop telling him how proud I was.
While he recovered, took advantage of his free athlete meal, and admired his hard-earned medal, we took in some of the sights in the area (including the wave of elite pro athletes) and I got a few more overexposed-because-I-forgot-to-change-my-camera-settings photos of what turned out to be a warm and beautiful day on the usually cold and windy and foggy coast.
Now here's the funniest/saddest part of the story. When we got home at around 5 p.m., Simon wanted to relax by watching a movie and I wanted to relax by taking a nap. "Honey, you woke up so early and worked so hard today," I told him. "You need some rest, don't you think? Let's just close our eyes for a little while and then we'll wake up refreshed and ready to watch a movie, okay?" He somewhat begrudgingly complied, and we napped, but when he tried to wake me up a few hours later, I wasn't having it. So while he got up, watched two movies, had dinner, and then came to bed for the night, I just slept and slept. Fourteen hours, people. Where's my medal for that?
Today we're taking it easy, watching movies (two with Kurt Russell, two with James Spader), drinking tea until we shake, and eating Corn Pops straight from the bag. Simon says I am allowed to tell the Internets that he is a "complete invalid" today, and also that his finish time would have been four minutes faster had he not stopped at a Port-o-Potty to relieve himself during the run section. I think that about covers it for today. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
*A day post-race, he now says it's one of the hardest things he's ever done.
That is awesome! Looking at the pictures is inspirational (as well as enticing..so many fit boys in spandex...) Congratulations Simon!
I totally love how completely supportive you are, Leah.
Monterey is one of three places in the United States I've ever been. I'd forgotten how crushingly beautiful it is.
As I've said before, we have an Ironman every August in Penticton...he's got a year to train!
And I just returned from your fair country to see your postcard sitting in the mailbox...sweet card :)
That's totally awesome, Leah. I only wish I had the stamina to train for something as hard and rewarding as that. Way to go Simon!!!
I am in complete awe! Good job Simon, it hurts me just thinking about doing that kind of exercise.
And my oh my do I love me some James Spader.
PS. Postcard received. Thanks! Now I'm sending it back to your part of the world so Joe can read it too!
Congratulations, Simon! I'm *very* impressed. My brother did an Ironman once when he lived in Hawaii. I wish I could have been there to cheer him on.
I've always wanted to do a triathlon (but a "sprint" meaning short, not fast) and I'm so impressed that he did a full length one. Holy crap.
So, let's recap. He's cute. He sings. And he does traithlons? Hot damn, girl, you got yerself a good'n.
(I have no idea why I had to go hick on that last sentence, but it seemed like a very hick kind of compliment when in reality, I mean all nice things.)
Congratulations, Simon, that's fantastic!
(and lovely pictures as usual, Leah)
I biked 7.5 miles yesterday and ran 1.5 miles this morning and my legs huuuurt. A huge goal of mine is to complete a (sprint!) triathlon, so I'd better get off my butt. :) Thanks for the inspiration Simon!
Simon, you ROCK. Leah - amazing pics!
I'm building a little family that likes to bike, hike, camp together. I'll let your family do the triathlons. :-)