Today was even MORE glorious that last Friday's Swrun (Swim to bike Workout). My new tri club, the Greenwich Tri Club, actually did a formal swim today with kayak support. How awesome is that! There were about 15 of us swimming out there. We swam out to the Red #34 buoy around .5 miles or so out. The water today was a lot colder than last week and my feet actually went a little numb. Fortunately you get used to it.
When we started getting close to the buoy, it kept moving further and further to the right.....or rather I was going further and further to the left: i.e. CURRENT. That was fun though cuz you got to figure out how to cut it to meet up with the buoy. So we get to the buoy and we are treading water waiting for other folks to catch up and before you know it the buoy is 5-10 yards away! Wow, this current is really moving us! Awesome swim. Not sure if I swam through a field of tiny little jelly fish or globules of something, cuz I started freaking out @ one point! haha! I prefer fresh water.....
The swim back to shore otherwise was uneventful.
I threw on my running stuff and headed out in the correct direction this time. i.e. views of Manhattan :).....or the Bronx, but! I could see the Empire State Building.
Towards the end of my run, there is an older guy that I was coming up behind. He moved over to the other side of the road, I passed, then he switches back over and comes up behind me. He says, "I think I will draft off you for awhile." He was way taller than I so I look back and say, "I think it should be the other way around. You are bigger than me!"
That is when I see his hat. It says "IRONMAN" with the logo. I ask, "So which hat does that Ironman belong tooooo.........ooooooh god......that says World Championships!" Awesome.
We talk. He has been to Kona 7 times, the first time in 1993 and the most recent in 2006. I was humbled and honored to run with him. He has done Lake Placid and qualifed for Kona @ Lake Placid, so that is even MORE inspiring, since that is on the radar for 2011.
Another glorious Friday morning out on the beach in Greenwich, CT.
Stumbling across a Kona qualifier like you did is like finding a four leaf clover in the forest. I forsee your luck improving over the next year!
ReplyDeleteGreat swim....and great group you have hooked up with!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I would be in awe and scared, something about that race makes you look at that person is "rockstar" envy
ReplyDeleteGreat when you meet someone who has an interesting story!
ReplyDeleteWow! Great swim, and how cool to meet and run with a Kona guy! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know, others are saying how cool it is to run with you.
ReplyDeleteThat is just awesome.
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks like my little blogger bro is going to be kind of a big deal:) See, look at you running with the big dogs....how awesome is that!?! I love it when stuff like this happens:)
ReplyDeleteHave a fantastic weekend Jon!
I keep noticing more and more IM shirts/hats/tats these days. I don't know if it is because I am more aware of the prestige or what. I actually passed a guy with an M-dot calf tattoo and IM Louisville shirt in a 4.5 mile race I did on Sunday. Now that was a good feeling! :)
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