Dumb? Yep……

Run. Run. Run. That is all “WE” do. How about changing it up and trying something new? This was a simple question that the CLUB discussed on many of the 216 laps around the track during last months Big/Dumb stunt. A valid and interesting question. The answer? A small triathlon. 600 meter swim, 14 mile bike ride and a 5k run. Great plan. Only a few problems- I don’t swim, I don’t ride and I don’t have time to properly train. Luckily, the VOICES are great problem solvers and we figured out how to work around these small speed bumps in the plan.

I do own a bike. It is a 1994 Schwinn High Plains. An antique- not a very valuable one either- but still it is a bike, which has been retired to the great outdoors (sat in the rain, snow and sun) for about 14 years. The VOICES decided we could throw a few band-aids and shoot some WD-40 on it- good as new. Uhhh, not exactly. PRO-fessional help was required. Sure I COULD have got a new bike but that takes the fun out of it. Hopefully it will be finished tomorrow and ready to roll for Sunday.

Swimming. I do own a pool. It is a round, 18 ft x 4 ft, Sam’s Club pool. Training for the swim portion of a Tri in this would be just as dumb as it sounds. I live very close to a couple of lakes but with work, my sons baseball games, family time, and RUNNING- that just seemed like too much of an effort. Fortunately, I have swam before. Like over 15 years ago. Marine Corps swim qualification. That should be sufficient training, how hard can it be? Genius.

Running. Yeah, WE know how to do that. Sure, it will come AFTER the dog-paddle and falling off the bike a few times but it IS still running. No problem.

I know that it is probably not the smartest thing to do- attempt a Triathlon (even a short one) without training, but it will be FUN. Hard? Yes. Humbling? Probably. Why? Why not? This should be interesting and for the first time I am going in with the mind-set to “just finish” not to race or try to be competitive- that would be just plain dumb…….hmmm……