I See Thin People

The average body mass index of Lubbock, Texas had dropped dramatically this weekend. For, this is the weekend that the abnormally thin, freakin' fast, Ironskull triathlete crowd comes to town for Ironman 70.3, Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon.

Oh, and I'm here to along with many fellow bloggers like Kona Shelley and Triboomer.

Sers'ly, if you've never been to an Ironman branded race with Kona slots on the line, you don't know what it's like. This is not your local sprint or Oly or even half. Everywhere you look is a muscled up, lean body on a six foot frame wearing a wetsuit or toting a space shuttle bike and a pointy helment. You see things like this:





and this:





and this:




and this:




Oh, and this:







and this:

(She's kind of a big deal. So I'm told. )

We saw Andrea Fisher all rocked up with her long, broad shouldered swimmer chick physique. I am telling you, a woman like that could break a little hobbit like me in half. I don't care who you are, that's just hawt.

Last year, I did my second ever triathlon here and was COMPLETELY intimidated. This year, now that I know I can do the distance, I have the utmost respect for the course, but I just resign myself to the fact that those rock stars are doing a different race than I am. I mean, yeah, I'll be on the same course with Andrea Fischer, Desiree Ficker, Natasha Badmann, Tim DeBoom and Simon Lessing, . . . . you get the picture. I'm not doing the same race that they are.

Pretty much the same with the me and the elite age groupers. They are still as intimidating, but they're going to do their thing and I'm going to do mine. I'm racing me and father time. Father time will eventually catch me, but he'll be clutching his chest and wheezing when he does.

So in preparation for race day, Triboomer, Kona Shelley and I went out to the course for a little warmup swim.




We followed this with a prep bike and run checkup.

I am pleased to report , in a completely unbiased endorsement, that my new 2XU wetsuit, which I purchased with my own jack, is BEEEEYOUUUUUTIMOUS. It is understandably a little tight across the Trigreyhound's massive chest and latimus dorsai, but it's like swimming with a freaking life jacket on. Uber-bouyant. Much better than my crappy old wetsuit. Really helps the confidence and relaxation in the water. I am go for launch to have my most comfortable swim ever, whether or not it is what one would call fast.



After a bit of a swim and a bit of a bike we checked out the run course:


(Uhm, that's me up the road there a bit, droppin' the hammer on Kona Gurl)


The run has some of the wicked hills that dive in and out of the canyon at miles four, five, eight and nine.

(Well, isn't that special)

In the heat of the Texas sun after 3+ hours of work in the water and on the bike, these are truly special.

After the prep work, we went to eat and I got what I thought would be a little bowl of red beans and rice and a baked potato. What I received was enough carbohydrate energy to power the Eastern Seaboard in the form of a potato the size of Rush Limbaugh's head. These potatos have obviously been doping. Trigreyhound just hopes he is not the subject of a random drug test tomorrow.


(Rush is smaller than this potato)

As I was sitting there looking at the excessive food, I was reminded what makes the U.S. great. I spied two native Lubbockians, probably husband and wife, each at least 300 pounds, waiting for a table at the IHOP and passing a cigarette back and forth. Ah, . . . **sniff** . . . that's America. Sharing the love.

Finally, in a side note for the betting public, my Canadian challenger's wave has been moved. Instead of starting 20 minutes ahead of me, she starts five minutes behind. This means we will have more immediate feedback on who is "winning" the challenge she laid down to the dawg. She will undoubtedly pass and drop me in the swim, I will perhaps see her on the out-and-backs on the bike, and I will then have to catch her and put 5 minutes back into her on the run.

Can I do this? I have my doubts given the predicted heat tomorrow. But then, that's why they hold the races.