VOTE: Tales of a Virgin Athlete Contest!

The field of 34 contestants has been narrowed to 10 for you to vote on! Remember the prizes?

1st place will win 24 pairs of assorted Drymax Socks
(around a $240 value)

2nd place will win 12 pairs of assorted Drymax Socks
(around a $120 value)

3rd place will win 6 pairs of assorted Drymax Socks
(around a $60 value)

Also, the top “local” entry (MPLS/St. Paul) will win a spot in Charities Challenge 4th Annual MN State RRCA 5K Championship at Lake Como in St. Paul on April 4th.

Enough with the prizes. On to the finalists! Read the following 10 stories, and then vote for your favorite. The poll will only allow each computer to vote once. You can vote for 1, 2, or 3 people. Enjoy the stories! I know I did!!

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“Skin Tights” by Dori Mack
(from http://shedorunrun.blogspot.com)

Standing in the dressing room of the local sporting goods store, I wriggled into my first pair of running tights. At age 49, the days of showing off my body were long past and I didn’t need my mother to tell me that these left nothing to the imagination. The mirror was outside the dressing room and I knew just how the girl of the “Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini” song felt: I was afraid to come out of the locker because somebody would see. Two… three… four… I stepped outside the door.

Click. I was locked out! Cheeks flaming, I slipped past golf clubs and camping gear in search of a clerk to re-admit me to the haven of the dressing room. It was like that dream where you’re naked and everyone else is dressed--I felt so exposed! But winter was coming, so I bought the tights.

Perhaps there should be a class to teach new runners how to dress. For my first marathon, I modestly wore shorts over the running tights. A friend snapped my picture as I ran past and gave it to me later. Horrors! I had about as much style as Britney Spears in rehab. What was I thinking? And did I really wear white crew socks over black tights? Who let me out of the house looking like that?

Sometimes, despite how low we’ve gone, our experience can benefit others. I smile when the newbie women in my running group fret over their running tights or Capri’s and reassure them by relating how self-conscious I felt when I wore my first pair. Now I run in tights or shorts but not simultaneously, wear no-show socks, and never leave the house before first checking the full-length mirror.

“Me, tragically unhip while running my first marathon--Twin Cities 2003.”

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“My First 5K” by Marie-Claude
(from http://runningliving.wordpress.com/)

I got infected by the running virus in October 2007. At first I laughed about it because... me? A runner? I'm far from the skinny-long-legged stereotype, especially the female one. My friends and family tried to discourage me by hanging the Damocles’ sword of injuries and wrecked knees. But before I knew it, I bought shoes, found a training program and went out the door. I was probably running at walking pace for some of you real athletes out there, but I was having fun.

It didn’t take long until I caught the racing fever too. At first I signed up just to see if I could finish the race within the time limits. But deep down, I wanted to prove to everyone, especially myself, that you didn't need to be a skinny-long-legged person to be an athlete.

Fast forward to race day, in March 2008. I made the typical beginner’s mistake of starting out too fast and I had to walk after just a few minutes. I resumed running after a short recovery, but I could feel that something was wrong. My head was pounding, my chest was hurting, my legs were burning. I kept on alternating running and walking intervals. At the 4km mark, I was ready to abandon. Then a woman in the crowd looked at me in the eyes and said in a soft voice: "You can do it, you're almost there!" Her words electrified me! I cranked up the pace and there it was... the finish. I felt a surge of adrenaline like never before as I sprinted faster than ever in my life. I made it to the finish line, all thanks to the encouraging words of that woman from the crowd. And that's how I became an athlete.

“Final sprint of my first 5K - March 15th 2008, City-Pier-City West 5KM Loop, The Hague, Netherlands”

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“From Heroin to 26.2” by X-Junkie Judi
(from http://www.milesandmadness.blogspot.com/)

I used to be addicted to a nasty drug called heroin. I had been strung out on it for about 8 years. Heroin was a bitch to quit. I got sick from withdrawals, but I made it out alive.

That was 9 years ago. I switched my addiction from heroin to running. I started out running by going to the high school track and I made it 4 laps around one day. After a few months I was hooked. Running gave me the same release that heroin did in a weird way and I loved that endorphin rush.

That first year I kept my runs to 3 miles. I signed up for a 5k. I had a blast! Something about the adrenaline, my heart pumping full of nervous energy, ready to explode when the race started.

That winter I got my runs up to 4 miles, then 5 miles, then a 10k. I ran my 1st 15K about 3 years later.

The next winter I entered the 2007 Flying Pig marathon and trained all winter. I followed a schedule and never missed a day. I bought a mountain bike and started swimming laps. I registered for a triathlon.

The day of the marathon I was ready. I ran to my heart's content for 5 hours. It felt so awesome to complete such an amazing goal. To think that a decade ago I was walking the streets of San Francisco, homeless, with a needle hanging out of my arm, and now I am crossing the finish line of a marathon! A true miracle.

Today I am training for Ironman Louisville. Life is good.

“1991, a seedy hotel room in San Francisco - 2007, with my Mom at my 1st marathon finish line”

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“Coffee & Cacti: A Crappy Tale of Woe” by Kym

I have two loves in my life: coffee and running. For some unlucky runners, you may know that these two things do not go hand-in-hand very well. After the birth of my daughter, I decided to become a runner and got a jogging stroller.

For those not familiar with the terrain of the desert, trees in southern Arizona are just tiny twigs about 10 feet tall and with tiny leaves, scrubby little shrubs are few and far between and the cacti are plentiful. My usual after-work run consisted of jogging down a 1.5 miles road and then turning around and running back up.

Before one such particular rookie run, I happened to drink an iced latte. As I started out, I felt fine. But as I approached the halfway point, I began to feel panicked. I really, really had to go. And worse, I still had 1.5 miles to “go” (ahem). I was a beginner runner pushing 40 pounds of stroller all uphill. I was not going to make it home in time.

I distinctly remember weighing my options: I could go knock on some stranger’s door and ask to use the bathroom. Option 2: I could go in my shorts. Option 3: Go into the dessert and hunker behind a stick and hope my large behind would not be seen by a passing car.

I am horrified to tell you (five years after the fact), I chose option 3. I ran out into the desert, found a pleasant little patch of prickly pear cactus, and maneuvered the jogging stroller just right so I could try to at least hide behind it and not be seen by cars. And down came the shorts. To this day, the run comes before the coffee. But I haven’t given either up.

“The photo is of me snowshoeing with my daughter this winter in Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park. To this day, she still joins me on my mostly un-eventful runs.”

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“Too Much” by Anastasia
(from http://stopdropandtri.blogspot.com/)

Im Anastasia and im 10 years old. this a funny story about a triathlon I did in 2007 called the miracles of Mitch. the miracles of Mitch foundation is a non profit charity that raises money for kids who have cancer and helps pay the families medical bills for their kid. I go door to door raising money for the kids. unlike most triathlons where you have a number on your body they put a kids name who is fighting cancer on your leg and arm. Its not a timed event every kid gets the number 1! The first year I raced it was cold and rainy. I was doing good until I was on the bike course it was so cold I started crying and I wanted to quit sooo bad!, but I knew I shouldn’t quit because I thought about the kids in the hospatil.I was so cold I forgot I was supposed to only bike one loop and I accidentally did two! I would have been the first to finish the race if I didn’t do that second loop! After that I also started running with my helmet on! My parents were laughing so hard and stopped me to take it off.

After the race I felt really tired and good because I raised a lot of money for kids with cancer!

I also did the race in 2008. The announcer joked about a big rain storm coming but it was actually really hot. After the swim I was the second person into the transition and I was biking so fast that I accidentally did an extra loop again! I was in first place when I biked passed my parents and I did a second loop! This time at least I didn’t run with my helmet on!

“Here we go again!”

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“For Love (of Running)” by Joselyne, aka “Jawsome”
(from http://jawsome.wordpress.com)

I decided to try out for Track and Field in High School for two reasons. First, the soccer team wouldn’t have me (apparently they like people who have actually played soccer before – who knew?). Second, I was in love. You know, the kind of all consuming can’t live without him OMG he made me a mix tape kind of love. The object of my affection was on the track team, so I had to be as well. I loved going to practice, because the girls always went out after the guys and I could stare at my love-object with googly-eyed intensity all I wanted. After all the close contact, I finally convinced him to hang out with me. Our first “date” consisted of doing pre-meet hurdle drills on a Saturday afternoon. It was bliss, I’m telling you. Sweat is so romantic.

Finally, time came for our biggest meet of the year. My love and I were both signed up for the 300 meter hurdle event (by this time we were serious – I had the mix tape to prove it). I pounded the blocks in thinking how amazed he would be as I leapt over the hurdles like the gazelle that probably only existed in my imagination. The gun went off and I SOARED. It was one of those races where everything just comes together and it’s easy – like breathing. I crossed the finish line well ahead of the next runner, and looked around. My man was nowhere in sight. It turns out that the object of my affection was actually a terrible hurdler, and my time in the women’s race was actually faster than his. Awkward. Our relationship was never the same – but it didn’t matter because I had fallen in love with running. Even without a mix tape.

“Still in love, ten years later.”

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“Please Don’t Stop... Please Don’t Beat Me!” by Gabriel

This happened last year in a small 7 kilometer race near my home. It was one of my first competitions and besides the sport itself I was fascinated with the spirit and camaraderie we can see in this kind of event.

So I was finishing the race and less than a kilometer before the finish line I saw a guy walking, looking really, really tired. Trying to be a good person, inspired for all the good people I’d seen, as I was passing him I put my hand in his back and said “Vamos, faltan solo unos metros para llegar” (“Come on, just a few more meters to get there”), and feeling a little bad for him I continued running.

When there were just 50 meters between me and the finish line I saw that everybody started cheering. It is really common to see people cheering in that situations, I know, but I wasn’t one of the first ones and they weren’t just applauding, they were screaming.

When I realized what they were screaming it was too late.

They were screaming: “come on, you can beat him”… and there was nobody ahead of me.

Yeah, the guy who I had tried to motivate seconds ago appeared out of the blue, running like a bat out of hell, beating me when we were 10 meters away from the finish line.

He got 5th in his category (that was also my category) and got the last trophy.

In the picture you can see the last second I was ahead of him (I’m number 510). Real picture, meters before finishing.

The end

PS: Greetings from Argentina. I really like your blog, and I’m sorry for my lousy English… I did my best.

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“From Half Dead to Half Ironman” by Big Mike Wimmer
(from http://mikewimmer.blogspot.com/)

Andy Dufresne from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" said "Get busy livin or get busy dyin".

For 25 of my 38 years, I was getting busy dying. I lived a selfish lifestyle. I ate what I wanted, I did not exercise ever because I didn't want to, I probably drank too much and I really only cared about me. I did not care if I set a poor example to my two sons. I did what I wanted, and when I wanted to. I laughed at people running or biking past the house as I sat on the couch eating.

In January of 2006 my wife and I went on a very low calorie, medically supervised diet. The doctor told us that we should do 15-20 minutes of exercise per day. We owned a treadmill already and began using it in conjunction with the low calorie diet. My wife and I discovered that exercise was a way to get busy living. After a few weeks, I could walk a mile. After a few months, I could run a mile without stopping. After 6 months, I could run a 5K. The exercise became addicting. We couldn't stop. We discovered biking and bought road bikes and a trainer. We biked and ran all winter. By the following January, my wife and I lost a combined 365 pounds. We did our first triathlon the following summer and joined a local triathlon group. We ran a half marathon. The following year 2008, we ran a full marathon, and did 2 half ironman triathlons. We signed up for Ironman Wisconsin 2009.

I have had the chance to meet some amazing people because of exercise. I would not be writing this had I chosen the selfish path.

Get busy livin or get busy dyin indeed.

“Mike and Jenny Wimmer - October 2005 and then May 2007.”

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“Longhorn Straw Incident” by Stephen
(from http://imsteveb.blogspot.com/)

The Longhorn Triathlon in October 2007 was my first half iron event. Due to my lack of balance on the bike, I had picked up an aero bottle to drink from to avoid messing with the whole reaching down for the water bottle. The swim was what worried me about the race the most. I had never swum that far. I was so stoked to get out of the water. At that moment I knew I would complete the race, so I couldn’t wait to get on my bike. After my transition, I started running out, and noticed my straw was missing from the aero bottle. After a few choice words, I re-racked my bike, and glanced frantically about trying to find my straw. I decided that it was best to carry on and tossed the aero bottle to the ground with the rest of my stuff. Slightly rattled, I settled in and started enjoying the race. I had the biggest smile on my face. After about 10 miles, after my huge smile and quick word of thanks passed a volunteer, he called out, hey nice antennae. The missing straw was found.

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“Heart Disease vs. Cancer” by Carolina John
(from http://trainingsmoker.blogspot.com/)

I am a former smoker - a pack a day for 15 years. I’m also 6’1” and got up to 235 lbs. I ran my first triathlon last year, a sprint that I finished in 2:02:30 and was happy about that. I actually blame my kids for this new endurance push. My youngest girl was born in May 2007 and it created a real turnaround point for me.

But the real push came from my grandfathers. My dad's dad turned 60, and about a week later had a massive heart attack and died in his office. I've got his same body style, attitude, cholesterol, work habits, lifestyle, you name it. My dad is 62 and healthy as a horse. But he's still scared that what happened to his dad is in our genetic makeup and can catch up with him at any time. I'm 33 years old now, and I made the decision in December 2007 that if my life was more than half over, I was going to do anything I could to help fight the genetics that came from my grandfather's side.

My mom's dad died of lung cancer about 10 years ago. He was a heavy smoker too. So really for the last 10 years (at least in my mind) heart disease and cancer were having some kind of cage match to see which one could kill me first. I like to think heart disease was winning. Now I'm trying to beat them both. It's really very empowering!

"I'm still alive!"

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Now, VOTE! You can only vote once per computer, but you can vote for up to 3 people/stories.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Voting is open until late Saturday evening (March 21). Good luck to all 10! And thanks for sharing your embarrassing/inspiring “Virgin Athlete” stories! Thanks Drymax Socks and Charities Challenge for sponsoring this super fun event!!

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Friday Funny 27: Those Stupid Animal Things

I LOVE this next one! If you live with a cat (or have been around a house cat before), you should enjoy this:

Finally, here’s a good note to go out on:

I got one of those from stuffthatmakesmechuckle.blogspot.com - I think we’ve got the same sense of humor...

Happy Weekend everyone!! Stop back Sunday - that’s when the public voting starts for the “Tales of a Virgin Athlete” Contest!

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Submission Deadline!

All submissions have been... well... submitted! There were over 30 submissions, and let me tell you, I've REALLY enjoyed all of these stories! They're SO GOOD!! Over the next 48 hours, a "board of athletically-minded people" will be narrowing these entries down to make it possible for the public to vote. Voting will start on Sunday!

Now, I'm off to do a swim/bike brick workout. Only to save time, I'll be doing them both at the same time:

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Drymax Loves My Wife (and Contest Countdown!)

This weekend, there was a package on the step from Drymax. No, not more socks for me. This time it was an assortment of 9 pairs for my lovely wife:

Bob (from Drymax) sent this package to Pharmie for... well... I really don’t know why. Maybe he’s just a nice guy. Maybe he knew I’d post about it. But whatever the reason, Borsch said that he’s willing to start sleeping with me as long as people start sending him free stuff too. ;)

And BTW, the deadline for submitting your story for consideration in the “Tales of a Virgin Athlete Contest” is midnight TONIGHT!! (Wednesday, March 11, 11:59:59 PM.) So far, I have 23 entries, so I’ll have a “board of athletically-minded people” help narrow it down to a smaller number to make it easier for the public to vote. If you’re still interested in taking part in the contest, click here for entry guidelines. Remember, we’ve got LOTS of goodies from Drymax Socks and a free race entry from Charities Challenge for the top vote-getters!

To get everyone excited about this contest, I thought I’d re-post a few photos from previous posts that show my love for Drymax Socks. In my most recent race (the Indoor Triathlon on Sunday) I was wearing Drymax. Remember this photo from the run?

Well, if you look close, you’ll see I’m sporting Drymax running socks:

Here I am changing between my 2 favorite pairs of Drymax (from the black “trail running” socks to the red “cold weather” socks) before running my most recent half marathon:

Here I am finishing 2nd in my Age Group at the “Winter BeGone Duathlon” last spring, while wearing my black “trail running” Drymax socks:

And finally, here I am finishing the Osceola Duathlon (as part of “Team Tighty-Whitie” with Borsch). Our team shattered the old team course record by over 8 mintues. And yep, I was wearing Drymax socks:

So, in case you haven’t noticed, I love my Drymax socks! The winner of this competition will get 24 pairs, 2nd place will get 12 pairs, and 3rd place will get 6 pairs! How sweet is that?!? But I haven’t forgotten about our other sponsor! Charities Challenge is giving a free race entry, race t-shirt, and special finish-line announcement to the best local entry (MPLS/St. Paul area).

So, as the “crème de la crème”, here are photos of me running great Charities Challenge races WHILE WEARING my great Drymax Socks! (If this doesn’t make you wet, I don’t know what will!)

Here’s Borsch and I before running the CC “Joe Plant 5K” last year (wearing my “trail running” Drymax):

Here I am in October finishing the first lap of the CC “Challenge Aging 5K.” Here, I’m sporting the shorter Drymax running socks:

Finally, here I am at the halfway point of the CC “Giving Thanks 5K” on Thanksgiving a few months ago. YES, I’m wearing tighty-whities over my running tights. YES, my shirt says “I’m thankful for tighty-whities.” And YES, those are my favorite Drymax socks on my feet:

Anyway, click here for entry guidelines if you have a funny / inspiring / embarrassing story and photo to submit (you’ve got until midnight to submit!). The public will start voting on their favorite this Sunday! So even if you have nothing to submit, make sure to stop back to read some great stories and VOTE!!

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Top 3!! Yay!!

So, the results came in from our Indoor Triathlon on Sunday. In my race report I said I hoped to finish in the top 3 overall and have the farthest run. Well, DONE and DONE!

Swim: 9th overall
Bike: 5th overall
Run: 1st overall

Overall Finish: 3rd out of 60 athletes

As I pointed out in my last post, I was with 5 others who were doing their first triathlon. Borsch finished well and was 21st overall (with the 2nd farthest bike!). All of my students did SO WELL in their first triathlon, and their results are highlighted as well in the results above.

Looking at the results, I realized that if I was able to go 0.1 miles farther on the bike, I would have earned 2 more points, and I would have been tied with the overall winner!! D’oh! SO CLOSE! I should have pushed harder on the bike, because I won the run by 0.21 miles - I didn’t need to save so much for the run.

These results can teach us all a little something about doing well in a triathlon. The top swimmer, biker, and runner placed 2nd, 5th, and 3rd overall respectively. The person who won the event did NOT win any of the 3 disciplines. Huh... what does that tell us? I think it says that we don’t need to be THEE best at one thing; what we need to have is a solid balance across all 3 events. Just like B. Korb, the winner of Sunday’s event (6th place swim, 3rd place bike, 4th place run).

If you missed the race report and all the photos, scroll down to the post below. Thanks!

(BTW, Pharmie and I had a great swim date last night. I did 60 laps [3000 yards] in 51:28 [1:42.9/100 yd]. Freakin' sweet. These next 2 weeks I'll be ramping up my effort and distances as one final push for IM NO 70.3 in UNDER 4 WEEKS!! It's "go time" baby! Julia, wanna take me out for a good 3-4 hour ride?)

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LTF Indoor Triathlon Race Report (w/Virgins!)

Or, “Turing 5 Newbies On To Triathlons!”

Or, “Doing JUST Worst Than I Had Wanted.”

Yesterday was my first triathlon of 2009. It was the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon. I had done one of these at the start of the last 4 years. But the last 3 were in Chanhassen, MN, and this was my first one in Eagan, MN.

I was feeling sick the last few days of last week, and it got worse on Saturday night. So I set out anything I might need:

(I didn’t need the pain-killers, I took a big swig of the generic NyQuil to help me sleep the night before, and the nasal spray was a LIFESAVER as it kept all the snotty-snot at bay.)

Anyway, I showed up to the race with Borsch and 4 current/former students of mine. All 5 of them were going to be doing their first triathlon! I was excited about this the whole week leading up to this race!! We all met in the lobby of LTF, watched the start of wave 2 in the pool, and then got changed and ready to go. Here’s the 6 of us about 10 minutes before our start:

We had to take another photo without Borsch so I could send it to the college where I teach and all these women are students. You can tell I’m trying to be prim and proper because I know my boss and my boss’s boss will be seeing this photo:

Swim: 10:00 in a 25 meter pool:

We all hopped in and had a few minutes to warm-up. Borsch and I shared the far lane. I kept looking over to my students, giving them a big “thumbs-up.” We heard the whistle, and we were all swimming! Each lane had a “length-counter” to count... well... lengths (duh). I was hoping to get 23 lengths (575 meters) in those 10 minutes.

After 6 laps (12 lengths), it had been 5:18, so I didn’t know if I’d be able to hit my goal. But I wasn’t about to let up. I focused on my form and my “entrance,” and hoped for the best. But when I heard the final whistle, I had only covered 22.5 lengths. SO CLOSE to my goal.

Here are my 100 meter splits (4 lengths each):

1:39
1:47
1:51
1:48
1:45
1:10 (2.5 lengths)

T1: 10:00:

We’re given 10 minutes to get out of the pool, through the locker rooms, and onto a spinning cycle upstairs. I high-5ed a few of my students on the way to the locker room. Borsch and I got naked and then threw on our bike gear. We were up in the spinning studio with about 2-3 minutes to spare. All of my students came running in JUST as we were told to “GO.” (Those 10 minutes go by FAST!)

Bike (spin): 30:00 on a spinning bike with the resistance set and taped down:

All 6 of us ended up in a line. Nothing too exciting: we spun. Borsch and I chatted off and on. I asked one of the volunteers to snap a few photos of us (we were about 15 minutes into the ride - about half done). Here’s the 6 of us:

Here’s H “raisin’ the roof:”

Here’s H again looking drunk over-worked, and Borsch looking determined:

Here’s Borsch and I. Borsch is hunkerin’ down, and I’m getting a drink. Notice my sweet boob-sweat formation:

The bike was tough. Borsch eeked out a better ride: I had 15.0 miles, and he had 15.2 (these are NOT equivalent to street-riding; we are NOT that fast!). All my students did well, and a few of them commented that they thought the bike was going to be easier than that.

T2: 5:00:

Basically, we hopped off our bikes, walked through an empty studio, and hopped on treadmills that were right there. I wondered if my students were having any fun, but then R (the one “flexing” in the photos by the pool) thanked me for bringing them along, so I knew SOMEONE was having a good time!

Run: 20:00 on a treadmill:

Someone shouted “GO!” and we were running. Here’s the crew at work on the run:

Borsch


M and K


Me, R, and H.
I was completely sweated through at this point.

I asked the volunteer if he knew what the longest run had been. He said 2.7 or 2.8 miles. I smiled and thought I might be able to beat that. Last year, I did 3.19, and this year I was shooting for an even 3.25 miles. (Technically, that’s not even - it’s odd. I know. But “3 and a quarter” is a nice “even” number. Stop making this difficult. Jeez.)

I started off at 9 mph. After 5 minutes, I bumped it up to 9.5 mph. At about 13 minutes, I went up to 9.7, then 9.8, then 10.1, then 10.3, and I ended the last 2 minutes at 10.5 mph. Here were my mile splits:

6:40
6:18
6:00
1:01 (last bit)

I had covered 3.21 miles. Better than last year, but (just like my swim) just a LITTLE shy of my goal. Dang. But I was still happy. And I was SUPER PUMPED that 5 people around me had just finished their first triathlon!!

Overall (without trying to jinx myself), I’m HOPING to have finished in the top 3 (of about 65 total athletes). And there were still 2 waves after us, but I’m HOPING to have had the farthest run. We’ll see how it all looks when the results come in.

On the way home, I had a much needed stop at Chipotle for post-race refueling:

That’s it folks! Thanks for reading! CONGRATS to the 5 NEW triathletes among us!! I’ll be back with results as soon as they come in!

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5 New Triathletes Have Been Born!!!

Just a quick note to let you all know that our crew ROCKED the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon this morning!! I went with Borsch and 4 current/former students of mine, and all 5 of them KILLED IT!! Here are all of us before starting:

(I don’t know why R is flexing...)

I’ll be back tonight or tomorrow with a bunch of photos, so stop back shortly!! Congrats R, K, M, H, and Borsch!!

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Snot-riffic

Yeah. That’s the way I feel right now. I’ve had a sore throat since Tues/Wed, which made it a little tricky to breathe during my swim on Thursday, and it all suddenly started getting worse tonight.

Now, I feel the way that this kid looks:

The bad news is that I have an indoor triathlon tomorrow, and swimming while sick really sucks! You feel like you can never get enough air! The good news is that my wife is a Pharmacist, and she knows exactly what to give me to make me better without hurting my performance. (And in case you didn’t know, that’s why she goes by “Pharmie” in the blogging world!)

I just hope I can get a good night’s sleep tonight! Wish me (and the 5 triathlon virgins racing with me tomorrow) luck!!! Back with photos Sunday afternoon.

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AND DON’T FORGET: You still have about 4 days to enter the “Tales of a Virgin Athlete” contest and take your shot at winning 24 pairs of sweet Drymax socks (or 12 for second place, or 6 for third place) and an entry to a great local Charities Challenge race! So get me your short story and photo soon!! Click here for entry guidelines.

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