The Nation's Tri -- Will it be Fenty's Last (as Mayor)?

"Whatever you do, don't pass the Mayor"

The Nation's Triathlon was my first tri three years ago, so it will always be near and dear my heart (both for endearment and agony).  The Nation's introduced me to cycling as a sport, opened up the Potomac River as a vast treasure trove for swimming and SUP (Stand up Paddling), and most of all introduced me to a whole host of wonderful friends who are excited about endurance sports and what it can offer to DC and the rest of the country.

And we are making advances -- For the third year in a row, DC was ranked the Fittest City in the US by the American College of Sports Medicine (ASCM) -- I hope I made my small but significant contribution to this ranking.

I remember seeing Adrian Fenty at a debate with Vincent Gray in the St Elizabeths campus a month ago.    I commented about how he has passed me at the Inaugural DC tri and asked him if he was going to run the Nation's, and he responded adamantly, yes.  His love for the sport and event clearly showed in his excitement.

Then he said, "Whatever you do, don't pass the Mayor."  That wouldn't be an issue if you saw my PR, but his brash, ambitious style clearly showed through.  

From TBI to Triathlon: Journey of a Combat Injured Athlete

Political Sports-Crazed Town called DC

"A day in the life of this crazy, cultural and conservative city is like a firestorm. 

DC never fails to amaze me."

Only in DC, will you see an internationally-acclaimed triathlon occur right next to a major political protest, and nothing seems out of place.

Many of the reenactors wore colonial-era clothing

With the primary election coming up and Glen Beck's historic rally just two weeks ago, Sept 12th marked another well-attended Tea Party rally.  The crowd didn't care about the morning drizzle, and they surely wasn't concerned about the record-breaking Triathlon.

There was not much moral support going on. Interestingly, some of the Triathletes were competitively jeering at the protesters and vice versa.


Everyday, I live and thrive in this unique, culturally-entertaining city, DC never fails to amaze me.

Oh, BTW, also in DC that weekend was the Black Family Reunion and the Mexico Festival at the Kennedy Center.

9/11 on the Potomac

Damone Brown does a cliff jump into the refreshing Potomac as part of the 9/11 swim practice for the Nation's Triathlon.  Damone enlisted in the Army after 9-11 and eventually became a coveted Green Beret (Special Forces).  

Damone starts the 700 meter swim at East Potomac Park.  Damone served three tours in Afghanistan and was injured in an IED explosion.  While recovering stateside, he was diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury which seriously curtailed his training activity.

Damone quickly went from being in the best shape of his life to the worst.  In May of this year, Damone committed to training for the Nation's.  This is a major accomplishment for Damone who is running in memory of his fallen comrade, SSG Mark Maierson another Special Forces Green Beret who inspired him to become an endurance athlete.

Rick Bosi, a 14-year DC resident, is participating in his first triathlon in DC.  Earlier this summer, Rick participated in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.

Rick also has an MBA from George Washington Univ.

Inaugural DC triathlon

The sun rose over the Potomac River, bathing the water with soft, amber light. The National Anthem was played and the fireboat shot its water canon sending a mist of spray and foam into the murky River once sadly forgotten, but now happily revived.

Julia's Journey

The Nation's Triathlon Swim

The Journey for Baby Julia: The Nation's Triathlon

Triathlons are full of inspiring stories.

Wendy and Steve Spohn's story is a perfect example of one.

Steve and Wendy’s daughter, Julia, was born on June 9, 2006 in a small hospital in Bamberg, Germany.

One day after Julia was born, Wendy and Steve discovered that Julia had a severe birth defect--she had been born with three heart chambers instead of four.


Both Wendy and Steve were Soldiers in the Army and the entire family was relocated to Washington DC. There, Julia was treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where doctors diagnosed her with Heterotaxy Syndrome.

Since the Spohn's and their one-year-old son, Lukas, had left all their belongings in Germany and had no duty station to call home, they were homeless, until the Ronald McDonald House of Washington DC provided them shelter and food.

“It was a blessing to have a place for our son to take a break from the hospital and just enjoy being a toddler,” Wendy said.

Julia had undergone two major surgeries and was waiting for a liver transplant when sadly, she acquired a hospital-borne infection and passed away at 4 months old.

After Julia’s tragic passing, Wendy and Steve tried several times to have another baby, but each time they miscarried, four times in two years.


During this time of grief and suffering, Wendy was determined to do something challenging and different to pay tribute to the pain her own daughter Julia had endured in her short life.


Wendy decided to embark on an intense physical training program to bring her body fat back under the Army’s requirements and finish a triathlon in honor of her daughter Julia.


Wendy did some research online and discovered that the Nation's Triathlon would be held in DC, on her birthday.

So with only three months till the triathlon, Wendy and her husband Steve embarked in an intensive training program that culminated with their first sprint triathlon last month.


"All the pain that we went through was in honor of her," Wendy declared. “I can gain closure from this experience and be able to move on as we move on to our next duty station."

"We completed this journey together as a family; it means a lot to both of us," Steve Spohn stated with pride.

KC's Triathlon Angel

Nation's Triathlon:Barefoot in Georgetown:

Reflecting

If you know me, you wouldn't have believed I was walking around barefoot all around town. Barefoot with balega socks, but with a bike helmet for safety.

Many people stared and I'm sure many of them thought that I was crazy. Many taxis just drove by as if I didn't exist when I waved and hollered for them to stop.

It all started on the Clara Barton Parkway, at Lock 6 to be exact during the Sunday of the Nation's Triathlon.

Understanding

That's when I saw a rider wipe out: her rear derailleur had completely detached from her bike. I instinctively stopped to give her a hand.

I sensed despair -- I knew she had trained hard to complete her first Olympic triathlon. I saw determination in her eyes. So I gave her my bike; I felt almost compelled.

Negotiating

She turned down the offer at first because she couldn't believe that I was for real.

"I'm not in this race," I explained. "I'm riding to shadow a fellow triathlete who I'm covering to write a story."

I had captured her graceful exit out of the water, but in the panic of rushing to transition, we had lost each other.

"Please, I insisted. Take the bike. I want you to finish. What's your name?" I asked.

"KC"

"Nice to meet you. Now go knock 'em dead."

And after some time to get adjusted, she was off like a speeding zombie.

And I was barefoot somewhere in the dense woods near Glen Echo, Maryland at least eight miles from the start line.

Inspiring

Luckily, I met a nice couple who lived just up the street and had come down to watch part of the race.

They gave me a lift to Georgetown and I felt very fortunate. I hoped to get back to the start in time to see KC finish.

Navigating

From there, I caught a bus to Foggy Bottom, then a cab to Constitution Ave, and walked the rest of the way through the Lincoln National Memorial to T1.

On the way, I met some Sisters who were in town visiting the Memorials. We chatted a bit.

Then I met some triathletes and supporters who had just completed the run and were returning home.

I exchanged greetings -- by now, she should be arriving at the finish line. So I pushed on quicker, faster.

I was glad to see that she had made it back to transition and had already hit the road.

I was also glad to see my bike, and surprised to see hers right next to mine.

But you should have seen the smile on my face when I learned that she had crossed the finish line.

That's whats great about the family of triathletes -- we're always looking out for each other and we will always lend a helping hand, if we can, when on

BTW, my new friend also helped out another triathlete. A few minutes later, someone had a flat and was able to borrow my friend's spare tube -- a friend helping out a friend.

Today's fortuitous incidents helped me realize that we're all one another's keepers: whether on or off our bikes. This was a reminder that:

"When covering a story, slow down to smell the roses. You never know when you will be part of the story."

My First Olympic Triathlon -- Will it be my Last?

Today is a day that will live in agony.

I rose lethargically from my sleep number mattress at 0430 wondering what I was doing up so early on a Sunday morning and why I had put myself through this regimen over the last few weeks. I even contemplated blowing it off and staying in bed. "What if I chocked water, what if I cramped," I thought. "What if I made a splashing fool out of myself because I was too chicken to do something I had already committed to do." I certainly had not trained sufficiently, but it didn't matter now.

And today, Sept 14, was the big day and there was no looking back now. I headed to the kitchen to prepare myself a huge breakfast: cereal, pasta, peach, coffee. Goodness knows, I needed this nutrition today, every stinking ounce of it.

Then with a full gut and sleepy head, I headed downtown on an almost-empty tank of gas to the Nation's Capital for the fourth annual, and emergingly-popular Nation's Triathlon. http://www.thenationstriathlon.com/index.html

Lots to do to prep my bike, my running gear and my swimming gear. A lot on mind--it had the ingredients of a complex military exercise and I was both the General and the foot soldier about to get shot.

Arriving at the Race area was no small feat. Getting my body marked, my chip, even waiting for the porta potties took almost forever. I could pee in the water, but I had to take care of number two, and Number two couldn't wait.

And when my wave finally meandered on deck, I plunged into the brackish Potomac River, wondering if I would end up regretting this whole experience. Wow, the water temperature was nice and warm in the mid-70's but trying to stay afloat while waiting for the start was a challenge and now I was wishing that I had worn a wetsuit to keep me bouyant.

The 1500 meter swim was off and the greatest thing about this race was that you get to swim about 700 meters all the way under the historic Memorial Bridge, hearing the eerie echo sound of waves splashing against the steel beams. Almost immediately, I started cramping in my stomach, probably due to all the hard food I ate just a couple hours earlier. Shouldn't have eaten that spaghetti --but I pressed on. The next challenge was that the visibility was poor and I kept on running into people and got kicked hard a few times. It was literally chaos in the Potomac.

Under the bridge, passerbys cheered and that made me feel good, until I started tasting the diesel from the Police vessels nearby and that tasted quite bad.

(Photo courtesy of the Washington Post)

On the down leg, the current was on my side and the swim improved dramatically and I could go 20 strokes without stopping to take a look.

As soon as I got out of the water and sprinted to transition to the cheering crowds ashore, my legs locked up. I was kicking way too much and now had to hop on the bike for a 40Km ride. What a delight.

Yes, past the White House, to the Capitol, up Rock Creek Park and all the way along the Whitehurst Freeway and along the scenic Potomac River Freeway, all the way to Maryland and Glen Echo and then back down. I had never rode this length non-stop, let alone having to swim and run, too.

The bike ride wasn't so bad but it was only on the return route, did I realize that I should shift up on my front gears instead of just using my rear gears. This made me go much faster and I was finally passing a good number of the women who passed me on the way up. Yeah! But no shame.

I also used my aerobars a great deal. Didn't really make me that much faster, but it rested my upper body for the ensuing run. Part of the strategy of a triathlon, you have to conserve your muscles for the next sport -- this was important if you wanted to survive.

So, I was ecstatic--I did not fall, I did not hurt anyone and I had a good ride--not bad since I just bought the bike just barely a week ago and I had never used aerobars in my life, didn't even know how to spell it.

Then the transition, which took me over 8 mins -- way too long. And finally the run -- which should have been the easiest for me since this is my sport, but this time, it was a Bear. My legs locked up and the temps were already a blazing 95 degrees in monotonous Haines Point. I was so glad that I brought my sun visor with me -- this was a life saver.

This turned out to be my slowest run ever, and I stopped and walked at every water stop, all 5 of them. I was completely out of breath and that was probably the worst feeling I've ever felt since boot camp.

Then finally down Penn Avenue for the Finish Festival -- what a delight. Ate lots of pizza, got a massage and dipped my feet in ice. Oh so, good.

Only after the run, did I realize how hot it actually was and that today was one of the hottest days of the year. If I had known that, I probably would have just walked the entire route.

And oh yeah (how can I forget), my final time: 3 hours, 21 mins, about halfway of all the 3800 finishers. Nothing to write home about, but not bad for a benchmark for my very first Triathlon -- something to strive to beat for my next right? Right :)

I took the rest of the day off and likely won't work out on Mon. Even ate ice cream and drank a beer. But will be back at it on Tues. Marine Corps Marathon is next in 5 weeks. Yes, the fun never stops.