One Final Post of New Gear West Duathlon Photos

I think this will FINALLY be my last post about the Gear West Duathlon. Drew from Gear West Bike and Tri was out there with a camera all day, he posted over 500 photos in an album on the Gear West Bike and Tri Facebook page. Here are a few I'd like to share:

Teammate Pete trying to stay dry pre-race.


I think this was the first "official" photo of team "Itchy & Scratchy."


After a change-of-shorts after the first run, I tried to stay loose as Pete was biking.
I look like a princess. (Not in a good way.)


Pete looked like a bad ass (in bright shorts) hammering it home on the bike!


More bad-assery.

You all know Jeremy. He's the former student who's been racing with me since the start of the MDRA Grand Prix last year. I teased him in this post from over a year ago that he looked too photogenic at the finish of the 2012 New Prague Half Marathon where he had a big PR.

Well look at how freakin' photogenic he looked a mile into the 2nd run at the GW Du:

IT'S NOT FAIR, JEREMY!

He looks majestic, graceful, and floating on air.... and here's me at the same point:

I look like a hot, wet, horse fart.

I was trying to catch Jeremy who was also on a team. I was about 2 minutes back and TRYING to close the gap. But I didn't even get close.

Another unflattering photo.


Jenny with my camera - she's the one who took all the great photos in my race report!!

Local rockstar Dan Hedgecock took the win by 3 minutes, and that was after crashing on the bike and then taking it a little easy on the final run. When you're that fast, the race can get a little lonely:

You can see a little spray above/behind him - it wasn't SOAKING on the ride, but it was wet.


A lonely ride. #FastAthleteProblems


Jeremy's biker coming back into T2 (just as Jeremy was preparing his photogenic self).

Even though Jeremy looked pretty good in that photo of him running, I teasingly commented on the Facebook album that Kortney should be named "most photogenic" at the race. Here she is GETTING READY TO TAKE 3RD IN A SOLID FIELD on the final run:

Smiling with good form on her way to take 3rd? I don't know how she does it.

And I joked that "least photogenic" should be Jared from GWB&T. A mixture of his paleness, sweatiness, black socks, and the slightly mis-matched reds on his top and shorts makes for a slightly-less-than-sexy photo:

Jared, I love ya, but this is gross. (This coming from the man who just described
himself as a "hot, wet, horse fart," so take it with a grain of salt....)

Here's a final rundown of links from this race:

- My Gear West Duathlon race report
- "Crowning Ceremony" after the GW Du
- Photos from Devon's Mom
- Devon's Gear West Duathlon race report < see his take on the race

And here are 2 recent Examiner articles of mine:

- Photo Gallery from the GW Duathlon
- A local mountain bike time trial series is starting soon

Read more...

Devon's Version of the Relay Race at the Gear West Duathlon

Devon posted an album of photos taken by his Mom from the Gear West Duathlon this past weekend. Here's the story he tells, along with his captions. He's pretty witty.

His album has the caption: "Epic Relay Challenge between the noble Gold Gopher Guys and the notorious Team Itchy & Scratchy. This was probably the most fun you can have at a Duathlon." He's right... teaming up is a blast. I've been saying that for years.

NOTE: Everything under the photos that's italicized and "in quotes" is Devon's caption. Anything else is my rebuttal.

"Last second substitute for Ben, 'Benstitute', Jon Ryss. Jon and I raced as the Gold Gopher Guys. Possibly the greatest duathlon relay team in the history of duathlon relays."


"First wave at the start. Our mortal enemies, Team Itchy and Scratchy, took a massive head-start."


"Gold Gopher Guys waiting 12 minutes until our wave started behind our rivals, Team Itchy and Scratchy. We tried valiantly to close the gap but due to Steve's questionable handicapping it was insurmountable."
That mustache is questionable.


"Our wave was mostly just Jon."


"Pete Webster of Team Itchy and Scratchy (Pete was Scratchy) on the move."
I guess that makes me Itchy. I'm OK with that.




"Steve struggles with poor vision. Without his glasses during races it is quite difficult for him to hydrate properly so upon completion I am always there for him with a refreshing cup of water. To the face."


"Aggressive hydration assistance! Pete lined up behind waiting for his turn."

As I noted in my race report, Devon ran up right after I finished and shouted "EMERGENCY HYDRATION" and nailed me in the face. Then he did it 2 more times for the camera as seen above. I love that you can see Jenny taking photos with my camera in the first photo, and I love Pete creepin' in the 2nd.

I also mentioned that we beat Devon's team by over 5 minutes, but Jon came FLYING to the line. Look at the guy who's being passed by Jon: his body language is saying "Shit!... Where'd YOU come from?!?"

"Teamwork!"


"Team Gold Gopher Guys graciously crowning the champs of the Relay Challenge, Team Itchy and Scratchy. Even though Steve blatantly rigged the race we respected their effort on the day."
You blatantly have... a moustache....... (I'm not good at words.)


"Such pride. Such achievement."


"Team Itchy and Scratchy performing some sort of celebratory ritual."
I DO NOT RECALL DOING THIS. I HAVE NO NO NO NO IDEA WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.


"Proud champions"


"Pretty sure Steve recruited the King of Denmark"


"The agony of defeat."


"Such pain!"


"Steve also struggles with incontinence, as you can see."

That last line is partly true... I mentioned in my race report that I had tummy issues throughout and after the race, but I assure you that THAT is only mud from the nasty off-road racing.

- Click here for my race report
- Click here for the "crowning ceremony" after the race
- Click here for a gallery of photos in an Examiner article of mine

Read more...

The Crowning of the Champs at the Gear West Duathlon

My big race report was on Monday. It tells the tale of Pete and I (team "Itchy and Scratchy") beating Devon's team. Check it out if you missed it.

Devon's girlfriend (yes, he SOMEHOW has a beautiful girlfriend) made some sweet crowns for the winner of the showdown. So Pete and I were formally presented with our trophies:

So formal.


This doesn't look awkward at all.


Clean biker butts (to the left) and dirty runner butts (to the right).


Devon's Mom (in the red to the far right) got a photo of us from under the finish line....


.... and then Devon and Jon showed their emotion over being beat.

Henry LOVED playing on all of the equipment out there. THANK YOU PHARMIE for chasing him around for nearly 3 hours during and after the race!! I love you! (And thanks again to Jennifer for taking all the photos so Pharmie COULD chase Henry around!)

"That's enough of Dad!... back to the playground, Mama!!"


Crowned champs.

Officially, we were the 3rd place team as I mentioned in my race report. Devon's team was first (they beat our time, but we did better based on the handicap start), and former student Jeremy's team beat us by 61 seconds too. So Pete and I figured we should RE-crown Jeremy and his biker Kyle with the crowns:

Third place crowning 2nd place.


Newly crowned champs.


My eyes get creepy when I get that close to tubular meat. And my my nipples perk up.


I went back to find Pharmie and Henry after eating, and they were still playing hard!


Packed up and ready to go.


My 2 pairs of socks from the race still wet on the basement floor 24 hours post-race.

If you missed it, CLICK HERE for my race report, and CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos in an Examiner article of mine.

Back with some awesome photos from Devon's Mom tomorrow!

Read more...