Endurance sportsy stuff

Last weekend, I volunteered to help at the Sourdough Triathlon, which is a half Ironman. So it's a 1.2-mile (1.93 km) swim, a 56-mile (90.12 km) bike and a half marathon (13.1-mile/21.1 km) run.

Although the Sourdough Tri is not a super-elite event (it's low-budget, and the prizes are plaques carved by the race organizer himself in the UAF machine shop), the participants were still insanely fit. They were also approximately half men and half women. My first job was to write the competitors' numbers on their upper arms and on their calves with a Sharpie. Did I mention that this was a low-budget race? Anyway, the point is, I got to look at and touch every sleek bicep and rippled calf.

I was surprised that, of the 60+ participants, approximately three of whom had any visible excess body fat, there was still a great variety of body types. They ranged from half my size to twice my size, with one woman matching me on the bottom, but with half the upper arm width.

At the end, there was a cookout with potluck contributions supplementing. I have to say, watching triathletes eat is very joyful and entertaining! Not a one of them picked at their food and declared themselves full! They each piled on a mound of food even bigger than mine! It was fantastic!

As for me, my own Equinox training with G is going okay. Last weekend, we attempted to save on napping time by doing our long run (a 15-miler) at night. That way, we figured, we could go right to bed for the night after finishing, instead of taking a nap in addition to a full night's rest, thereby saving on the napping time. That did not work. The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and then looked at each other, eyes glazed over. We then flopped onto the couch and proceeded to nap for the following two hours. So much for saving on nap time!