A bicycle, also known as a bike or a pushbike, is a vehicle that has two wheels and is propelled by pedals. Bicycles can be dated back to 19th century Europe, and have evolved gradually into several designs and models available today. Bicycles are an ideal means of transport--non-polluting, quiet, small, easy to maneuver, light and inexpensive. They can be used by anyone, from a 5-year-old to a 70-year-old. Bicycling is also a very good form of exercise. However, there are a few disadvantages of bicycles: they cannot be used for great distances and they also tire out the rider after sometime. This is the reason for the evolution of the engine-powered bicycle or motor bicycle. Bicycles are still being used a chief means of transport in most countries. There are also some jobs where employees depend on bicycles, like postal services, police services or retail delivery.

A bicycle works on the simple mechanism of pushing the wheels forward by driving the pedals in a circular motion. The pedals are connected to the wheels by an iron chain. A steering rod helps to keep the bike balanced. The main parts in a bicycle are the main frame, the drive train, steering rod, the seat/seats, brakes, and optional gears.

Bicycles can be categorized into many kinds based on the function (mountain bikes, racing bikes, messenger bikes, touring bikes, utility bikes, and Randonneu or Audax bikes), number of riders (tandem/twin, triplet bikes and multi bikes), construction (penny farthing, upright, recumbent, folding, moulton, exercise), gearing (internal hub gearing, shaft-driven bicycles, single-speed/fixed gear, retro-direct, and Derailleur gear Bicycles), sport (track, time trial, cyclo-cross, BMX, Triathlon etc), means of propulsion (pedal, rowing, hand-cranked, motorized, shaft-driven, flywheel etc), and several other types, like cruiser bikes, freight bikes, cycle rickshaws, clown bikes, velomobiles/bicycle cars, hybrid bikes, art bikes, unicycle and so on.

The most common causes of ankle sprain include a previous history of sprains, inadequate shoes, lack of conditioning and lack of warming up. But preventing ankle sprains is a bit more complicated. While you can't guarantee that you'll never sprain your ankle, here are some things you can do to make your angle stronger and reduce your chances of injury.

Warm up exercises

Adding warm up exercises to your daily routine helps your body get ready for activities. Not only will a good warm up get your muscles and joints ready, but it also helps your heart and lungs prepare for the exertion.

Balancing Exercises

Anything you can do to help your body balance will help prevent injuries in your ankles and other joints. By challenging your balancing abilities, you strengthen your proprioception, which is the ability of your body to be aware of where your limbs are at all times. In regards to ankles, your legs have less of a chance of stepping down wrong or making another mistake that could injure you.

Plyometric Exercises

These types of exercises including skipping, jumping, hopping and other activities that involve bouncing off the ground. This is a great way to condition and strengthen the muscles as well as the ligaments and tendons in your ankle joint so they are prepared for strenuous activities.

Choose Ideal Footwear

Try out different types of shoes until your feet feel like they are supported and comfortable. The right pair of shoes stabilizes your ankles while also providing comfort to your feet. They should also support your lower leg while you're walking, jogging or running.

Strapping

If you have a weak ankle or one that has recently been injured, wrapping it in tape can give it some extra support and stability. If done correctly, this method can even provide support to injured ankles so you can still walk on it.

As with all muscle joints and ligaments, a few preventative tactics can prevent injury or lessen the impact that an injury could have on your body. With the complexity of the ankle joint, keeping it supported and flexible helps reduce the risk of a serious injury. A few preventative actions can keep you from getting a serious injury that could have a lasting impact on your body for months or even years.

The R.I.C.E.R. Treatment

Even with precautions, injuries do happen. Applying immediate treatment at the first signs of an ankle or other joint injury reduces its negative effects. The most effective treatment for a soft tissue injury of any kind is the RICER method. Not only does it relieve pain and swelling, but it's also the most effective in reducing your recovery time. It's essential to any successful recovery. Following is a simple explanation about the RICER method.

• R stands for "rest." You should not walk on an injured ankle. In fact, keep your ankle as still as you can to allow it to heal. Keeping it still slows the blood flow to the joint and helps to prevent anymore immediate damage.
• I stands for "ice." This is the most important part of recovery because it reduces bleeding, pain and swelling. The sooner you can apply ice to an injured ankle, the easier the healing process will be.
• C stand for "compression." Place a firm elastic bandage around the ankle to create a small amount of pressure on it. This step serves two purposes. The first is to reduce the amount of bleeding and swelling that occurs around the ankle. It also gives some support to the ankle joint and the lower leg.
• E stands for "elevation." While sitting in a chair, elevate your leg above your heart level to reduce blood flow to the area. This also reduces swelling in the joint. Ideally, place your foot on a few pillows, but anything soft will be fine.
• R stands for "referral." With serious injuries, consulting a physical therapist or other qualified professional will give you an idea of recovery time. They can also evaluate the seriousness of your injury. If you're unsure about how serious it is, consult a professional anyway to get an accurate diagnosis. They will give you the ideal recovery program and other methods for complete recovery.

What to Avoid During Recovery

Now that you know what to do to aid recovery, there are some things to avoid for a successful recovery. These things increase swelling and bleeding, making your injury worse and taking more time for recovery.

• Heat to the injured area
• Movement and massage in the injured area
• Excessive alcohol consumption

Following the R.I.C.E.R. method and staying away from certain things is the ideal way to a full and fast recovery. In case of an ankle injury, immediate action gives the best results for getting your ankle back to normal as quick as possible. Consult your doctor immediately and follow his or her directions.

Article by Brad Walker. Brad is an internationally recognized stretching and sports injury consultant with 20 years of practical experience in the health and fitness industry. Brad is a Health Science graduate of the University of New England and has postgraduate accreditations in athletics, swimming and triathlon coaching. He has worked with elite level and world champion athletes and lectures for Sports Medicine Australia on injury prevention. Brad is also the author of The Stretching Handbook, The Anatomy of Stretching and The Anatomy of Sports Injuries.

I am 56, an ex-triathlete and Green Beret, and new to bodybuilding. In 1991, I gave up triathlons after suffering a heart attack in a warm-up race for an Ironman event, and I had a second open-heart surgery in 1993. I stopped training and went from 150 pounds to more than 200 in the ensuing 12 years. With some dietary changes and workouts, I got down to 162 pounds. Finally, I made a heavy investment and put a complete free-weight gym in my basement, got a trainer and started lifting. FLEX, MUSCLE & FITNESS and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding became my daily reading material. In the course of 12 months of six-days-per-week workouts, I gained 15 pounds of lean muscle mass, but still struggle to gain the mass and definition I hoped to achieve. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding supplements, but I can't get a straight answer.
Is there hope for a 56-year-old to get the size, strength and definition of a 30- or 40-year-old, or have I started too late? I look good and feel great, but small gains promote the desire for more. I find the "Brute Strength" program (March-August 2005 issues) extremely valuable. Lifting heavy for size is all relative to the strength one has, and gaining strength is why following the Brute Strength workouts and the right supplement and diet plan are so important to us older guys. There are many of us who want to be the best we can be, who work out hard and want to get the looks the young guys get when we are on vacation at a beach with our young wives (my wife works out five days a week in the free-weight basement, too).
CHARLES WILSON

CITY WITHHELD

Most of the same bodybuilding principles apply to everyone, regardless of age. However, you might find "The Over-35 Club" in the January 2005 issue useful. In addition, see our "A to Z of Supplements" guide in the August issue--each supplement is rated and explained.

THIS MAN IS GONNA BE HUGE

SO who's the star of $140m summer blockbuster The Hulk? A glance at the poster, the merchandise, the computer game or the dinky little plastic goblins free at Burger King strongly suggests that it's a not- so-jolly green giant, a musclebound behemoth who looks like Frankenstein's monster after intensive triathlon training. A glance at the credits, though, and heading a cast of experienced hands - grizzled Sam Elliott, even-more-grizzled Nick Nolte and Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly - is a Hollywood greenhorn: Eric Bana. A tall, lithe, likeable Aussie bloke, Bana plays Bruce Banner, a repressed brainiac who transforms into an enormous mute brute when he gets agitated.
Today, on a flying visit to London, the 34-year-old could pass for a Bondi lifeguard, Popeye-esque forearms busting out of a casual, dark, short-sleeved shirt. But despite his obvious strength, he seems happy not to be carrying this movie.

"I was most relieved when I saw the poster," he says in his rolling Melbourne accent. "It's kind of nice. You get to play the lead role, you get to play the Banner character but at the same time it's an ensemble. You get the benefits of having a great role without the same weight as a Spider-Man because you're not really the superhero, you're just playing the human element." He chuckles. "I'm more than happy to hide behind the green guy."
Today, on a flying visit to London, the 34-year-old could pass for a Bondi lifeguard, Popeye-esque forearms busting out of a casual, dark, short-sleeved shirt. But despite his obvious strength, he seems happy not to be carrying this movie.

"I was most relieved when I saw the poster," he says in his rolling Melbourne accent. "It's kind of nice. You get to play the lead role, you get to play the Banner character but at the same time it's an ensemble. You get the benefits of having a great role without the same weight as a Spider-Man because you're not really the superhero, you're just playing the human element." He chuckles. "I'm more than happy to hide behind the green guy."
Unfortunately, being an entirely computer-generated character, the Hulk doesn't do many interviews. So while it's his ugly green mug on the lunchboxes, it's left to Bana to take the promotional strain. And with The Hulk being the latest addition to the burgeoning genre of comic book-sourced movies (after recent hits Spider-Man, Daredevil and both X-Mens), there's been a media tsunami.

"I try to roll with it because you can't change it," he sighs. "I don't do movies back-to-back, so hopefully I can talk about each of them in an enthusiastic, fresh way because I have a genuine affection for them. But there does come a point where you start to go insane. The first day of the US junket, I did 65 television interviews, which is, quite literally, a form of torture. It would have been a quick solution to the war if they'd threatened Saddam Hussein with that from day one: if you don't reveal your weapons of mass destruction, you will be subjected to a US press junket."

And one of the questions that would come up all the time: what the hell is Ang Lee - the acclaimed auteur responsible for Eat Drink Man Woman, The Ice Storm and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - doing directing a movie based on a Stan Lee comic book?

Bana can't answer that one, of course. Nor can he definitively say why Ang Lee cast him, virtually unknown in the US despite an excellent turn in Black Hawk Down, as the bottled-up Jekyll to a lumbering CGI Hyde. "I didn't test in the traditional sense," says Bana. But it's a good bet Ang saw his debut film performance Chopper in 2001, a biopic of charismatic Aussie sociopath Mark "Chopper" Read. In the movie, Bana - already famous in his native Australia as a sketch show comedian on TV - demonstrated his range by convincingly playing a violent bear of a man with a hair-trigger temper. Bana dominated the screen; attempting to control violent impulses but all too often unleashing them with horrific results. In short, maybe Ang liked him when he was angry.

But in The Hulk, Bana never actually gets to blow his top. His Banner - all tortured angst behind brown, millpool eyes - knows he's got something dangerous inside of him but doesn't dare open up, not even to his beautiful co-worker Betty Ross (played by Connelly). How do you approach that sort of internalised performance, especially when everyone who's read the comic or seen the successful 1970s TV series is sitting in the cinema eagerly waiting for you to flip out?

"It is intense and it's gruelling," he says. "Anxiety and that level of stress is a very difficult thing to do, it's not like you can come up with tools to fake that kind of stuff. It's taxing but at the end of each day, it feels like you've done a day's work. You don't feel like you've walked through it."

But wasn't it frustrating, working up to a point of Vesuvian anger but never getting that orgasmic release?

"I'd just go and wreck my trailer," he laughs. "In a way, it helped to just stay in that realm all the time and not be allowed out of it."

And the best things about the role - apart from the inevitable profile-raising? Well, Bana got to butt heads with his acting hero Nick Nolte, who plays his unhinged father with near-feral relish. Plus, the considerable amount of CGI scenes meant days off while his green alter-ego trashed tanks, grounded helicopters and tore up half of San Francisco. Bana gratefully spent this down-time with his wife Rebecca and their two young children, who'd relocated from their Melbourne home for the duration of the shoot.

"It also meant I wasn't exposed to so many of the special effects," adds Bana, "so I got to watch the finished product as an audience member."

I hope this article finds all of you having another successful overseeding. It's that time of year again, when the days turn into nights and the weeks turn into months. Some of us are fortunate and have only 18 holes, while people like myself get to do 27 holes, and the breadwinners are those with 36 holes. From mid-September to sometime in December, our fellow superintendents will be hard at work. It is during these times when stress and anxiety levels rise, so be safe and smart, and give yourself a little break from time to time. Also, you may be called upon for a favor, or you yourself will need something. Let's try to work together and help one another out, I know I've been there many times.
As many of you have already heard, the 2006 Golf Industry Show (GIS) has been relocated from New Orleans to Houston. The dates remain the same, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

I would also like to talk about the 2005 Annual Election Meeting that was held at La Quinta C.C. and The Citrus Club. Thanks again to Tim Putnam for allowing us to play such a great course. There was a nice turnout and the day was very enjoyable. As far as the election meeting, I would like to thank all of you for voting and attending, and big thanks for reelecting me President. I enjoy very much the opportunities that I have been given, not only as President, but also being a board member and a superintendent of this association. I've been able to meet and become friends with many of you, and I look forward to representing you for another term. I am grateful to have a wonderful group of guys assisting me to run the association. We are all very fortunate to have Cindy Neal as our Chapter Manager. She is one dedicated individual who is a tremendous asset to our association. Again, we thank you all for the support we've received.

The Hi-Lo will be partnering with our neighbors to the West, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Southern California (GCSASC), starting January 2006 with a joint monthly magazine. As with any change, we hope that everyone will see past any growing pains to the positive future. The outlook is very bright for both chapters to co-exist, and working together with one monthly magazine will allow us to do that. The format will remain similar while allowing more information to reach our members. The number of members will be in the several hundreds, meaning that advertisers will benefit greatly with more "bang for your buck." Informative research articles and research updates will be published, as well as articles from UCR, Cal Poly, and PACE to name a few. I feel that this format will benefit everyone in one way or another, and it is something that I personally will see that it does. Monthly inserts will be available for those who wish to supplement their advertising budget.

Along with this change, we are welcoming companies who wish to sponsor golf holes at our monthly golf meetings. This gives the company an opportunity to be out on the course, and personally say hello to potential new customers as well as the old ones. Sponsorship of meetings is also available, and there have been a few who have done this already. If you'd like to sponsor a meeting, please contact Cyndy Neal or any board member.

Here are some of the goals that I would like to see through for our chapter and myself. Perhaps you may fall into one of these areas, and you too could make a goal as well. First goal is that I would like to see our membership numbers increase, specifically with superintendents and assistant superintendents. We need to be proactive and get people who aren't members to join. If you have an assistant who isn't a member, see if your club will allow him to join. This is one way that we can grow the association. I know when I was an assistant, my boss signed me up and I was very thankful. It's basically any easy way for those positions to begin networking with other members.

Some examples of why you should join are quite easy. We've got a great research tournament every year, good monthly meetings and education, and a wonderful holiday party. Those three reasons alone should be enough to persuade someone to join, not to mention the friendships and camaraderie you'll develop. Second goal is to see that the new magazine is successful and useful. We've decided to make a change, and it'll be for the better.

Third goal is to re-develop and implement Standard Operating Procedures for the Board of Directors. This was developed several years ago, but never finished. It was a great idea and I think that Gerry Tarsitano and others were right to implement such tools for these types of positions that change over quickly. Fourth goal is that I would like to see all superintendent and affiliate members show some support by attending at least two monthly meetings. I know for a fact that many of you have this money budgeted and the club will pay for it. The meetings are very fun, educational, and informative, not to mention you can receive all sorts of credit hours for GCSAA and DPR. I've been to many other meetings throughout the desert and state, only to see many of you at these functions, and I wonder to myself what it is that gets you to attend. I would hope that you think about what's important to you and your peers and support the Hi-Lo Desert GCSA.

SAN FRANCISCO -- FindArticles Proves the Easiest Way to Search for Pinpointed Content; A Top Destination for Free Articles on the Web

LookSmart (Nasdaq:LOOK)(ASX:LOK), an Internet search company, announced today a re-design of FindArticles (www.findarticles.com) including tools and functionality that will ease frustrations often associated with search, and improve the specificity and quality of the content returned. FindArticles is the most dynamic search engine for comprehensive free and premium content on the Web, providing the pinpointed results searchers need, not an exhaustive return of information they don't need.
To be truly productive, search results have to provide an essential return including both prominent and "hidden" (hard to find) content. FindArticles' features include the ability to search by topic, or view only "Free Articles," making it easier for Web searchers to find what they want without having to scroll through pages and pages of search results. Once searchers find what they're after, they can save the entire page with Furl -- LookSmart's personalized, online bookmarking service.

FindArticles gives searchers the ability to sort through a comprehensive collection of reliable sources that includes more than 1,000 publications. Searchers can sort results by article date, length, relevance or publication name, and can refine the relevance of their results by inserting new search terms as needed.

Other new features include "hot new articles" and "top articles ever" for each of FindArticles' neatly organized categories: Arts & Entertainment, Automotive, Business & Finance, Computers & Technology, Health & Fitness, Home & Garden, News & Society, Reference & Education, and Sports.

"There are different kinds of searches. You can cast a wide net and see what you catch, but we believe there's a better way," says Debby Richman, senior vice president of consumer products for LookSmart. "Why not rely on credible free and paid content you can trust? FindArticles is a real gem for anyone who wants to search for, save and share personally meaningful -- and free -- content on the Web."

After finding the best articles for their search, many users take action by saving or sharing search results. FindArticles utilizes the power of Furl, a free Web page archiving service, to round out the experience. (LookSmart acquired Furl in July 2004.) Furl members can bookmark articles, creating an individual archive that can be recalled instantly from any computer. With five gigabytes (GB) of storage, each member's virtual library holds tens of thousands of searchable items.

About FindArticles and LookSmart

Owned and operated by LookSmart, FindArticles has articles from thousands of resources with archives dating back to 1984, and millions of articles not found on any other search engine. By working with the best sources, FindArticles has compiled all the essential publications covering a wide range of subjects -- and is continually adding to the collection.

LookSmart is a leader in commercial search services and a developer of innovative Web search solutions. The Company provides consumers with relevant search results through a distribution network that includes FindArticles.com and LookSmart.com (owned and operated by LookSmart), as well as Lycos, CNET, InfoSpace (Excite, MetaCrawler, Webcrawler), Cox Interactive, Apple's Sherlock, and U.C. Berkeley, while delivering high performance sales leads at a reasonable price to online businesses. LookSmart is based in San Francisco, California.

I had the body of an out-of-shape, degenerate lineman. I was strong and muscular, but with a healthy dose of jiggle and even, dare I say it, wiggle. I had been working out (mostly aerobics), for the last several years as a result of my high cholesterol: high as the sun high…Ozzy Ozbourne high…Rocky Mountain High. Well, I found myself getting bored. This feeling kind of swam around in me like a persistent little goldfish looking for a way out.


I found myself leaving workouts early I was skipping my organized classes and losing my momentum. The 20 or so pounds I had lost in the last year were stretching their legs and barking at the back door while I sat on the porch pretending not to notice. I started to feel some real pressure and a little panic to do something different.

Then a friend sent me an e-mail with a link to Team Alamo, a local athletic group here in San Antonio. I looked around a bit and like a glass of lemonade on a hot August day, I saw it: Triathlon. No debate and very little thought. I already ran and biked, though never together, and I felt comfortable in the water, so, why not? Like a first kiss, it just felt
right. I routinely went on 30 to 50 mile bike rides and could run 5 miles with medium difficulty. The swim? Well, I’d swim some! When is the race?!?!

32 days for the next Olympic tri. “Uh….”

Even with my over-blown self confidence and questionably high sense of self-worth, I knew that I was in for trouble. I thought it through. “No need to push it, the whole point is to develop a new exercise program, right? Ok, when is the next race?” The next race wasn’t for 2 months, but I settled for that.

My next step was to buy every book I could find on Triathlon, and there were quite a few. I devoured them. I walked around the house with them like a demented student, with several planted strategically for a “Triathlon fix” at a moments notice. In less than a week and one swim of 400 yards later, I had made the decision to do the earlier race in less than a month - at the end of March. All I would have to do is a crash course in the swim and I would make it. I even went on-line researching Tri’s and swimming methods. At Beginnertriathlete.com, I posted my goals and got some good advice ranging from what to take on race day all the way to “sounds a little rushed to me.”

For the next 3 ½ weeks I ran, biked and swam my butt off, both figuratively and literally. My main focus was the swim. Who knew it would be so difficult? (The folks who answered my postings at BT did, but let’s leave that for now.) I didn’t remember the crawl being this difficult as a kid! I would swim 25 yards and stop for several minutes, trying to breathe again, and then do it again. My second swim was 1500 yards - none continuously.
I was scared and started to going to the pool 4 times a week, a crazed and feverish look in my eyes. By week three and less than a week from my “taper,” (actually, my taper started 2 days before the race) I could do 1000 with minimal stops. I felt that this was ok. Adrenaline, I thought, would give me the extra umph I needed to get me through the swim. Once on the bike I knew (or thought I knew) I would be able to recover whatever damage the water did.

I did a couple bricks a week: one wate- to-bike and one bike-to-run for a total of nine bricks in 32 days. My confidence in the bike and run were so strong that all of my mental energy as well as my emotional angst were focused through the magnifying glass of my brain on the swim.

I took a perverse joy in dropping the news to my friends and family who, at the very least, looked at me as if I announced I was moving to Mesquite Texas to become a rodeo clown or at worst said “Thomas, I always knew you were a little off the beaten path, but you fell over the cliff. I mean look at you for god’s sake!”

I was unfazed. Undaunted. Unconcerned. Unflappable. Unapologetic, and underrated.

“Can you pass the salt? I’m doing an Olympic triathlon in two weeks.”

“Well, I certainly hope she feels better, I’m doing an Olympic triathlon in two weeks.”

“I like you too and dinner sounds nice, I’m doing an Olympic triathlon in two weeks.”

Well, race day came and we hopped in my SUV (yes, my car was finally getting an upgrade from recreational vehicle to the pinnacle, SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE!) and drove the 45 minutes to the lake where the event was being held. I drove my companions a little over the edge by playing Trance music for a good portion of the trip, but I finally gave in and played Radiohead. According to them, only a mild improvement over the trance, but “at least,” they said, “there were words.”

I stopped and got a 44oz big gulp of Dr. Pepper and ate a power bar (peanut butter, of course). I was very relaxed, and I had no trouble sleeping the night before.



“Bring it on!”

I felt good until we were about 15 minutes from the lake, at which time I started to question my own sanity Now I am no stranger to questioning my own sanity, but this time I didn’t like the answer I got! Driving in a
caravan of triathletes with some of the most incredible bikes I’ve ever seen, I was worried and felt under prepared. And I was. It wasn’t that my bike was chopped liver, or even chopped beef for that matter, but it was a road bike. Just a road bike. I wasn’t the typical body type for this type of race, I hadn’t done any open water swims and I didn’t have a wet suit. The water temp was supposed to be around 60, but the outside temperature
wasn’t even at that chilly mark…. Maybe I wasn’t crazy. Maybe I was stupid.

I wheeled my bike to the transition, my fan club in tow, and followed the younger, sleeker bodies like a sheep to slaughter. They drew numbers on me, fastened not one, but two ties around my ankle and left me to wander into the transition area. At this point I was grinning like a madman, watching all of these “real athletes” get their gear set up and prepare their stations.

These are some of the thoughts that occurred to me:

“Why is everyone putting deodorant all over themselves?”

“I am by far the fattest person here.”

“Why does everyone have wetsuits?”

“She is so HOT”

“I think I have 30 pounds on the next heaviest person here”

“I’m screwed.”

The weather was about 58F and the water temp was 55F. I looked at the buoys and immediately looked away. Damn, that’s a long way. 1500 hundred in the pool didn’t look anywhere near as vivid as this did. I stubbornly refused to look at the water for the next 45 minutes. If I was talking with someone, I would walk around them so I didn’t have to look towards the lake. A buddy suggested with trepidation “Maybe you should go test the water?” I refused with a shake of my head and a grimace, whether at him or myself it wasn’t clear.

I watched as 300 people changed into their wet suits. I took off my athletic shorts, exposing my Jammers to the cold. (Should I have said swim shorts here?).

Despite my reservations, I smiled most of the time. I saw people looking at me, some with wonder, others with skepticism, but they looked. And I smiled. Occasionally I would bark out a short guffaw, sounding embarrassingly like a barking dog. I’m sure there are people still talking about the big barking guy at the Texas State Tri.

Waiting for the start, I chatted with a lot of people, some who introduced themselves as fellow Clydesdales, some wondering how many Tri’s I had done, still others wishing me good luck in the cold water. “Did you know the water temp is below 60?” they would ask.

“I’m much more worried about the nest of poisonous snakes I just saw.” I’d reply. “Have a nice race, and don’t head out to fast!”

Anyways, the race started and I was forced to look, really look at the water. Were those white caps for god’s sake? My wave was in the middle, 30-34. Clydesdales swam with everyone else. My chest was tight and the
adrenaline was pumping some serious octane through my veins. I felt like I was going to pop. My fellow competitors regarded me with bewilderment and a little awe. “Where is your suit?”

“Why does that water look uphill?” I wondered aloud.

Internally, though, my thoughts were something like this:

“This is it.”

“Damn.”

“Oh no!”

“That water looks soooo cold!”

“I’m, too sexy for my swimsuit, to sexy for my swimsuit, when I’m disco-dancing.” Huh? Never mind.

“Wave six, into the water!” the announcer said.

I got in and started laughing out loud. The wind was 20-30mph, the water was freezing (did I say it was 55F?) and there were waves lapping my shins. I could feel the current coming directly from the first buoy. I swear the
water was uphill.

“One minute!”

“Jerk”, I thought. I would later think I had been too nice to the announcer, especially when I came out of the water and he yells over the PA “Let’s hear it for the Polar Bear!”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The gun goes off and…pandemonium! I submerge and couldn’t breathe even a little. My whole body went into shock. I swam in a kind of panic amidst all the kicking and splashing,
trying to calm down. “It will even out. Swim to the outside, they will thin a bit.” It never happened.

The swim course was a 1500 meter half oval, but the first and last 500 meters were into the wind, waves and current – and I couldn't breathe. I settled for the breast stroke. Shivering the whole way, I almost dropped
out before the first buoy. Others did it, were doing it even as I thought about it. I was actually going to, but just before I changed momentum to head for shore, I glimpsed the first turn and it was almost exactly the same
distance as shore was.

Screw it, I’ll make the turn and see how it is with a tail wind and current. It was easier, if not by much and I stayed the course. It was a struggle and I still found it too hard to breathe. About half-way through my legs
started to cramp - bad, leg-locking cramps that would be with me the rest of the day. In my 30 day crash course, I had rarely swum the breast stroke and I paid for it big time. I locked my knees and ankles and went through the last half with mostly arms. Ugh. 49 minutes. Not last despite the slow stroke, but most importantly, I did not DNF.

Out of the water I transitioned well (despite the punk comparing me to a polar bear). I threw on my bike shorts over my freezing Jammers… err… swim shorts. Talk about shrinkage! I took my time with a relatively clear transition area and was onto the bike in about five minutes. I was so happy and relieved to be out of the water. I can’t remember being so happy! 26 miles on the bike was going to be a vacation and for the most part it was. Despite the name of the bike section, (Devil’s Backbone) I had a great time. I knew I was going to finish and the bike is by far my best leg. I managed to catch quite a few people despite the hills. But the thrill of all thrills was that I got my speed on a downhill to 45 mph. I was on a definite high.

My mood was dampened a bit when, as I road down the long stretch to the transition area, there were several racers walking around with beer and sausage. Are you @%#$!!# kidding me? I still had to do a 10k and these freaks were done. They would probably be home by the time I finished the run.

When started the run, I didn't have jelly legs, but I started cramping almost immediately and I spent the next hour dealing with a body that was paying for the swim. I drank a bucket load of Gatorade and then spent the next couple miles with a tearing stitch in my side. What a mess. I didn’t know what to do. The cramps never left so I had to ignore them.

It is funny how I never considered quitting during the run as I did during the swim. I was in pain, sure enough. Maybe I had tapped into reserves I didn’t know about? Some primordial juju? Or maybe it was that I would
have had to drag my butt back to the transition regardless, so quitting would be a little, well, pointless. I like the first choice!

I teamed up with a guy and we ran together for a couple miles. He was having a hard time with the hills and I was having a hard time with the cramps so we chatted and jogged at about a 12 min pace. We eventually
separated as he had to answer natures call.

Though I offered bribes to the volunteers to push me and then complained about seeing mile marker five twice, I really had a great time. There was nothing like rounding the last hill and seeing the finish line. Nothing. The stitch in my side skulked away. The cramps got bored and went home. I cruised across the finish line blowing kisses to my gallery and fans.

What a thrill! 3:30 for an Olympic Triathlon, not the best speed, I know, but it was my FINISHING time. I FINISHED!

I kind of walked around in a daze, put my bike away and headed to the main pavilion for beer and sausage, surrounded by well wishers. After about four beers, I was something of a zombie, but I had a great time watching the awards being handed out. The winner came in at 1:55. What a stud.

Now, a couple months after my first triathlon, I am training for a Half-Ironman in September and am as excited as I have ever been. I weighed in yesterday at 250. That’s 20 pounds from my March triathlon weight and 41
pounds from my peak. Nothing I’ve ever experienced has paid off in so many ways.