Chuck Norris? No, Sean Wilson!

What's faster than a speeing bullet? SEAN IS!! Ok...maybe he's not faster, but he certainly has more stamina and determination. And he's no slow-poke, either.

Yesterday Sean competed in the Lake George Triathlon, which is an Olympic distance tri sanctioned by the USAT. For those of you not familiar with the world of triathlons (myself included), this means a .9 mile (1500 meter) swim, 24.8 mile (40km) bike ride, and 6.2 mile (10km) run, or in other words, torture on a stick. People do this for fun, you ask? Yes! Apparently large numbers of them. Just ask my uncle Josh and aunt Daran and our good friend James, who are triatho-masochists in their own right. In fact, we have James to thank for getting Sean involved in the triathlon circuit to begin with, but that's a whole other post...

Sadly, I had to work both Saturday and Sunday, so the Littlest Wilson and Sadie and I held down the fort and rooted for Sean via BlackBerry Messenger. Not very effective, but what can you do. Here is what I've pried out of Sean about the whole experience:

Going in to it, his goal was just to finish, seeing as how he's never competed in an event like this before. He did a lot to prepare. Already an avid runner, he loaded up on all the gear for the swim and bike legs. He trained at the pool at Stevens Institute and put in a lot of milage on this contraption that turns a road bike into a stationary one. He even read a lot about swiming and biking techniques, the best ways to rehydrate, and other helpful tips and tricks. When it came to race day, though he says he's not in the best shape of his life, he was incredibly psycologically and emotionally prepared, which in the end was what gave him a leg-up.

As for the race itself, the most difficult part was the swim, which was the first leg. Half way through he had to take a breather by floating on his back, but he powered through the rest and made it to shore in one piece. Apparently, having sprayed Pam on his thighs and neck did wonders for peeling off his wetsuit. Did I mention that it was pouring rain the entire time? This made for an exciting bike leg. Sean was advised in one of his books or magazines to let 10psi out of his tires in the event of rain, and to look out for certain obstacles on a slick road. The course for the race was very hilly, and paired with the rain, this caused several contestants to hit the pavement. Sean erred on the side of caution by not speeding through the downhills and managed to avoid any wipeouts--not even a skinned knee! The last leg of the race was the run. Thanks to James, Sean knew to expect to feel serious fatigue in his thighs which he might have mistaken for cramping. Luckily he was able to push through it, and by two miles into the run, he says he was feeling really good. He was even passing people left and right, and sprinted a little towards the end. His overall time was 3:21. 

Shockingly, Sean woke up today a bit stiff but totally energized and fully mobile. He said he might even go for a run. In retrospect, he thinks he can definitely improve his bike and run times by not being so conservative--and drier weather would have helped, too!  I'm pretty sure there will be future tris during which he can test these theories. We both foresee this being a family event in the future. The next tri posting will include a picture taken at the actual race, not here in our living room.