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the Jeff Lutton Triathlon Experience
My triathlon career started full time in the Fall of
2001 with the Fat Tire Triathlon in Thurmont MD.
My inspiration came from watching Sandy compete at various
events. My next sports career was born after rugby.
This is a record of my results.
"In the beginning it's hard to understand that the
race is not against others but against that little voice
in your head that tells you when to quit." - Unknown
Lessons From the Smartest Triathlete
Alive
How one rookie's mistakes helped transform her into a
better athlete, by Kathryn Bertine
When a fellow triathlete once asked me what my background
was, I told him that I was from New York. By the time I
got around to my French Huguenot ancestry, the man
clarified himself. “What I meant was, are you a swimmer,
biker, or runner?”
Oooooooh. That background. I mumbled something about
running in high school, and then quickly slunk away. I had
a lot to learn about triathlon, including how to spell the
damn word so that it has only three syllables.
Three years have passed since I did my first tri-ath-a-lon.
Although I have a lot more to discover, my understanding
of the sport has grown considerably. I have learned that
with flip turns you will get superior momentum if you push
off the wall with your feet instead of your head. Hence,
the flip turn should be performed before you hit the wall,
not as you do so. Goggles do not need to be
asphyxiate-the-eyeball tight, and goggle marks should
disappear after a few hours, not a few months. Learn the
metric system: one lap of a long course pool is not 100
kilometers – it is best to find this out before you swim
with others. Bathing suits do in fact have a life span,
and if you try to convince anyone otherwise, they will
quite literally see right through you. When racing, if you
are on a first-name basis with the man in the kayak, you
need to practice swimming a little straighter.
I have also learned a thing or two about bikes. It is
possible to fall off your trainer and have a near-death
encounter with the coffee table. Helmets with big vents
let in lots of nice, cool air. And small, mean bees. Spare
tubes work best when taken with you on a ride. That spongy
thing that comes with an aerobar water bottle is there to
keep the water from splashing out over your bike and body.
Do not throw it away thinking it is part of the packaging.
The Big Chain Ring and the Little Chain Ring like to leave
constellations of grease marks on your calves, which can
later be observed on the southern hemisphere of your white
couch.
A derailleur is not a French dessert. Every bicycle
component has an actual name, but the best bike mechanics
are fluent in “thingy.” Odd entities appear in bike lanes,
and the discarded Happy Meal toy can be just as deadly as
the bulky two-by-four, although more fun to collect and
trade.
I have learned that for best results while doing a brick
workout, you should change out of your cycling shoes
before the run. Drinking or chowing down too much before
going on a run is not advisable, but you have to do it
once or twice to fully understand the repercussions.
Eating or drinking too little will trigger an
energy-depleted, ego-sapping condition known as “bonking,”
the athletic synonym for “duh.” Running is most enjoyable
with thin socks, cool weather, a hydrated body, and a
well-fitting sports bra, of which only the first three
exist.
If it is true that we learn best from our mistakes, then I
just may be the smartest triathlete alive. The best advice
I can offer fellow rookie tri-geeks is to laugh at these
moments of absurdity, because if you stick with triathlon
for a while, you’ll have some good material for the
self-deprecating comedian in you. Laugh at the goofy
mistakes now, and you may be smiling at some pretty savory
successes in the future. After all, if you are tough
enough to collide with a cactus in practice, do you really
think that a sweaty, thornless human competitor is going
to be as difficult to pass during a race? Every beginner’s
mishap is destined to be a positive deposit in the
experience bank. Except road rash. That’s just plain
awful.
Links:
Organizations
USA
Triathlon
International
Triathlon Union
Races
Dewey Beach
Escape
From FT. Delaware
Spud
Outerbanks
Race Results
Piranha
Sports
Lin-mark
TriAtlantic
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from Fort Delaware
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