So, I haven’t posted in awhile… Party because I recently started a new job, partly because I’m lazy, but mostly because I’ve been training my ass off for ParaTriathlon Nationals in Austin, TX next week on Memorial Day.
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This past weekend I participated in the 2013 USAT “Florida Regional” triathlon in Clermont, Florida. If there’s one thing I hate about triathlons, it’s the cold… Waking up at 5:30AM to be ready to compete at 7:30AM, fine… I can handle that. But, add cold weather + 0.5 mile lake swim, and I consider going back to sleep! I learned 2 things while competing this past weekend in Clermont. 1) Hand-cycling up the hills in Clermont was ridiculously hard, and I never want to do it again. 2) Always use Harpix handball resin on wheelchair racing gloves if there’s a chance of rain.. I didn’t apply resin on my gloves the night before, and as a result they had zero grip. I was forced to push 3 miles with bare hands.
Crossing the finish-line at 2013 Clermont, FL Regional paratriathlon
Of the handful of participants in my division I was able to get 1st place. Next paratriathlon is in May. 2013 Nationals is being held Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 2013 in Austin, TX. This will be the true test, as the top elite paratriathletes will be competing, and I’ll be racing for points and rank.
A couple weeks ago I competed in the “Bone Island” half-ironman triathlon in Key West, FL.. To read the blog post CLICK HERE. Since I’m paralyzed in a wheelchair, I competed as the only paratriathlete. A half-ironman paratriathlon consists of a 1.2 mile ocean swim, followed by a 56 mile hand-cycle ride, followed lastly by a 13 mile racing wheelchair “run”… In total it took me 6 hours 42 minutes. The feeling after crossing the finish-line was priceless. Below is a video from race day.
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About 8 weeks ago I decided to signup for the Bone Island Half-Ironman Triathlon in Key West, FL on 1/12/13. At the time, it seemed like a decent idea.. After all, it takes minimal effort to signup online from the comfort of my couch. Registering was the easy part… I trained for the next 8 weeks. Not as hard as I probably could have, but I definitely pushed myself. A half-ironman triathlon (paratriathlon) consists of a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile hand-cycle, followed by a 13 mile “run” in a racing wheelchair (aka “pushrim”).
On race day, just before the start, I looked around and quickly realized I’d be the only paratriathlete participant. The up-side of being the only wheelchair participant is that regardless of how long it takes to finish, I’d still get 1st place in my division:) Then the race director yelled into a microphone “30 seconds till start, get ready!”….. The last thought I remember passing through my head was “what the f@ck are you doing right now”…
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