PARTICIPATION TROPHY...

WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHere KIDS ARE GIVEN AWARDS AND RIBBONS JUST FOR SHOWING UP. NO MATTER HOW BAD THEY ARE OR THE TEAM IS, THEY EARN A PLACE ALONG WITH A MEDAL, RIBBON OR TROPHY. SURE, GO AND THINK I AM A TOTAL D FOR THINKING THIS ABOUT YOUR KIDS BUT WE AS SOCIETY ARE NOT DOING THEM ANY FAVORS. TRUTHFULLY, MOST OF US RUNNERS AND TRIATHLETES ARE JUST OVERGROWN KIDS AND HOaRD FINISHER MEDALS. DID WE WIN? MOST LIKELY NOT BUT WE WILL WEAR THAT MEDAL ALL DAY AND THEN HANG THEM UP ON OUR WALLS. GUILTY! YES, I HAVE EVERY SINGLE MEDAL EVER HANDED OUT TO ME ON A WALL. AS YOU'LL SEE BELOW, I'M TOTALLY GUILTY OF THESE PARTICIPATION AWARDS.
​

EVERYONE RUNS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. SOME FOR FITNESS, PERSONAL REASONS OR MAYBE YOU'RE GIFTED AND ACTUALLY RACE TO WIN. SHOULD THE PERSON WALKING A 5K IN 55 MINUTES EARN THE SAME FINISHER MEDAL AS THE PERSON WHO JUST SET A PR AT 16 MINUTES? SHOULD THESE MEDALS REWARD SPEED OR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT? MAYBE THE 16 MINUTE GUY IS A COLLEGE TRACK ALL AMERICAN AND THE 55 MINUTE GUY A CANCER SURVIVOR WHO GAVE IT 110% (NOT POSSIBLE, another topic up for debate) JUST TO FINISH IN UNDER AN HOUR. ARE EITHER OF THEM MORE DESERVING THAN THE OTHER?
​

LAST SATURDAY AT GRANITEMAN CLEARWATER THINGS DIDN'T START SO HOT. THE SHERPA AND MYSELF HIT THE ROAD AND FOUND OURSELVES WITH TWO ISSUES RIGHT AWAY. MY HINT AT PACKING SNACKS WASN'T CLEAR AND I NOW FOUND MYSELF WITH A HANGRY SHERPA WITH NO FOOD IN SIGHT AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, NO COFFEE! THIS LITTLE ISSUE WAS 99.9% MY FAULT! I HAD TO DROP OFF STEALTH AND MY GEAR TO T1 THEN FIND THE CLOSEST PLACE TO GET SOME BREAKFAST AND COFFEE FOR KIA. THIS IS WHEN I ALSO NOTICED I HADN'T PACKED A BIB HOLDER, WOOF.

ONCE THE SHERPA HAD FOOD AND COFFEE IT WAS GO TIME. I MADE A FEW LEFTHAND TURNS AROUND THE YELLOW DUCKIES AND HAD A NORMAL SWIM OF 27:36 FOR 1:47/100YD TIME. STILL STRUGGLING TO GET FASTER IN THE WATER! FOR ONCE I HAD A QUICK T1 AND WAS OFF ON THE BIKE. I HAD A GOAL OF AVERAGING 21MPH ON THE BIKE AND KNEW MY BODY HAD THE ABILITY TO DO SO, JUST HAD TO PUSH MY LEGS. IT WAS A TWO LOOP BIKE COURSE WITH A FEW LITTLE ROLLING HILLS. THE FIRST LAP WE HAD SOMEWHAT OF A WOLF PACK GOING ON WITH ABOUT 7 BIKES. AFTER SOME DRAFTING AND LEAD CHANGES, LAP 2 CAME AROUND AND IT GOT PRETTY LONELY OUT THERE AS MYSELF AND ANOTHER BIKER TOOK OFF AND COULD ONLY SEE ONE OTHER BIKER A WAYS AHEAD OF US. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, YOU FEAR THE WORST AND ASSUME YOU ARE SLOW AND EVERYONE IS AHEAD OF YOU. LUCKILY FOR ME, THIS MEANT MOST OF THE PEOPLE WERE BEHIND ME! STEALTH EARNED A BIKE TIME OF 1:21:18 AND AN AVERAGE SPEED OF 21.1MPH. JUST SNUCK THAT ONE IN!
​

THE RUN. USUALLY MY FAVORITE PART AND BEST PART. I GUESS WHEN YOU START OUT AS A RUNNER, this makes SENSE. THIS RUN COURSE IS UNIQUE AS IT'S PART TRAIL RUN PART OPEN ROAD. I'D SAY MAYBE 1.5 MILES THROUGH THE WOODS AND THE REST ROLLING HILLS IN THE COUNTRY SIDE OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA. COMING IN ALONE ON THE BIKE ALSO MEANS A LONELY RUN START. I WAS ABLE TO PASS ONE GUY IN T2 WITH A QUICK SWITCH AND THEN STARTED TO CALF WATCH. THIS IS WHERE YOU CHECK OUT THE AGES SO NICELY CRAFTED ONTO PEOPLES LEFT LEG. I WAS ABOUT 4.5 MILES INTO THE RUN AND NOTICED ANOHER 30! I TRAILED BEHIND HIM FOR A MINUTE OR TWO TO FEEL HIM OUT THEN PASSED HIM GOING UPHILL AND NEVER LOOKED BACK. I WAS PRETTY HAPPY WITH THE RUN, a time of 49:07 or a 7:56/MI PACE.

IM PRETTY SURE ALL THREE SEGMENTS WERE FASTER THAN GRANITEMAN BUFFALO AND FELT GREAT TO ACTUALLY START TO "RACE" THESE THINGS. TIME TO DIG DEEPER AND KEEP IMPROVING. MOST IMPORTANTLY, clearwater brought more than a participation award. IT BROUGHT SOMETHING MORE, A 1ST PLACE AGE GROUP MUG. THIS IS THE FIRST PODIUM OF THE YEAR AND WON'T BE THE LAST!

next stop? HOOT LAKE FOR SURE, who knows what else! 😉

#TRIBERULES #TRIBERACING #TREKBIKES #WATTIEINKHITSQUAD