Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Newbie vs Veteran??


I have a friend and colleague who is a phenomenal athlete.  Not sure how to sum up his athletic abilities but he is a beast in the pool and won at least a couple of national titles at the 2011 US Masters Meet.  For a couple of years now he has talked about doing the Chicago Tri but has never followed through.   Knowing how competitive he is (and I am), I challenged him to race and bet that he could not beat me in the Sprint distance. 
 At first it was a joke, now it is ON.  Loser buys dinner.  

Here is what he has going for him:   He is a great swimmer, a natural athlete, and he is a really good swimmer.  I can't really think of anything else.  Oh, except that he is a guy.

Here is what I have going for me:  Over a decade of experience, solid at all three sports, I actually know how to do a quick transition, the right equipment...I mean, seriously, this list could go on and on.  

My Chicago sprint time last year would have placed me 41st out of 1024 men.  Do you think that a tri newbie can come in and actually beat someone who is a pretty decent triathlete with years of experience?  My prediction is he will beat me by 4 minutes in the swim and that lead will be completely gone about halfway through the bike.  Or, I could be totally blown away by what happens when I place a bet with someone who has the competitive spirit of a warrior.  Either way, this bet and all our friends/colleagues knowing about it, could be just the "spark" I need to have the race of a lifetime.  

What do you all think?
-Coach A  www.sparkmultisport.com