Rianman

So I saw my first Olympic distance tri this morning. Note, I said saw, NOT did.  My friend Rian, aka Rianman, was doing it as a prep race for the Ironman 70.3 Kansas in a few weeks.  I gotta say, it was amazing to watch and part of me wanted to be out there with them.

It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous course in and around Longview Lake.  The first thing that I saw this morning was the swim course and frankly it scared the crap out of me.  “0.93 miles – holy crap, that’s flipping long!” I said to myself as I looked at the buoys way out in the lake.  Rian, forever the optimist, responded, “Hey you can do that – heck the half ironman swim distance is only 1.2 miles.”  Sure enough, when Rian came out of the water 31 minutes later, he looked really good – just a tad worse for wear, but looking strong.  It’s going to be a bitch, but I know that I can do this. 

Seeing Rian and the rest of the competitors out on the bike and run portions of the course made me want to be out there even more.  I’m a much stronger cyclist and runner than a swimmer, so seeing all of the guys and girls whiz by was an incredibly cool experience.  I was out photographing Rian, and was able to see him zoom by twice on the bike and twice on the run.  The four times that I saw him, he looked really good and seemed to be having fun – the way I’d love to feel when I do my Olympic this August.

Rian – congrats on having a great race.  I’m looking forward to seeing you kick some serious butt in Lawrence!