I’m so sorry..........Rained out

Condolences reading “I’m so sorry….” were received from both Zetta Young and Shelly Campbell recently. Had I not immediately understood, I might have feared the word was out about the goldfish which went belly up last week.

But no, Zetta and Shelly were saying “I’m so sorry” not just for me, but for the thousands of athletes who suffered equally from the cancellation on Memorial Day of the 2007 CapTexTri. Mother Nature had her way as she dumped rain on Austin early Monday morning, creating a cold and messy Town Lake. The skies continued to drip even after the swim was canceled, eventually forcing the biking and then the run to be scratched. Wouldn’t you know it? The sun forced its way out in the afternoon and I am sure many wondered what the fuss was about.

Although races all pretty much have a liability disclaimer which all the participants must sign off on, the organizers of the CapTexTri surely made the right decision. The safety of the athletes was clearly the motive, especially considering that the entrants ran the gamut from hard core seasoned triathletes who would have managed the conditions, to first timers such as myself who would perhaps have been just reluctant enough to create havoc. Although I never saw a hard figure on how many participants had registered for the various events (Olympic, Sprint and First Tri’s, plus a Relay), I heard a range of 2-3 thousand. That’s a lot of folks to have swimming in runoff polluted water and with a tricky current. And imagine the seasoned (and fast) cyclists sharing a slippery road surface with hundreds of less sure cyclists! In the end, one must conclude that the decision to cancel was the right move.

I had imagined the CapTexTri experience would be the culmination of this particular blogging topic. After all, there can be only one first time, or First Tri(athlon). But like many others at the CapTri who were also first timers, I remain untried, a tri virgin. So this blog topic will continue. I know there are some readers and lurkers to this blog who also were shut out in their effort and I would love to hear from you.

My experience, for what it is worth, was enjoyable. An old friend who is a swimmer but doesn’t run or cycle came along with me to packet pickup and remarked on how great everyone looked. It’s true, and it’s one of the things I enjoy about going to the gym. It’s great to see fit people, or at least people who are making the effort to get fit. If you are one of those who stand to the side, shaking your head in bewilderment at those of us who distort our daily schedules in order to swim, bike or run, you should join in. As Zetta has told me from the start, the tri community is very inviting and enthusiastic about helping in any way they can. That’s certainly been my experience thus far. So come on! Let’s all get active.

So what now? This is the tough part after all those weeks and months of training. The long faces I saw as I went to retrieve my bicycle from the transition pen spoke of supreme disappointment. I talked after the aborted race with Phil Arno, a former musician colleague of mine who is a seasoned ultra-athlete. He is enthusiastic about a triathlon series being held at Ft. Sam Houston. Called Heart of Texas Triathlon, the series of five events is run by John Purnell of Run-A-Way. Shelly Campbell has also recommended it as “a great series” and she sent this link: Heart of Texas Triathlon.
Seems to be worth checking out and maybe that’s where you will find me come mid-June.

Whatever we decide for ourselves, let’s keep training. There’s always the next run, the next swim or the next bike ride. Let’s fortify ourselves with plenty of electrolyte fluids and soldier on.