Tucson Tinfoilman Triathlon

My oldest son, Michael, is 45 years old. And of course, he does things I can only dream of. At 65, I do pretty well when it comes to playing baseball. It is pretty well documented by previous blogs on Bookemdanosports, that I take the field and continue to play the sport I love. And, I like to think I'm not too shabby for an old timer...going up against other old coots in my age group, of course. But Michael, he is over the top and gets involved in all kinds of stuff. His latest adventure: The Tucson Tinfoilman Triathlon, held this morning on the University of Arizona campus.

For Michael, it all started at 7 a.m. as he nervously prepared for the first event, a leisurely swim (just kiddin') at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. My goodness, 825 yards of swimming (that's eight football fields...plus a couple of first downs). I would need the fire department to pull me out, after that event alone! Of course Michael is a Captain with Rural Metro Fire, so I would have an in there, at least. Next up: He crawls out of the pool, races over to his lightweight, European cycle and takes off on a 12 mile bike-ride around the UofA campus. He battles his way in and out of traffic, completes the race, scoots into the transition area, takes off some of the gear he no longer needs and then proceeds to boogie by foot -- off on a 3-mile run thru the UofA campus.

At this point, I would not only need a fire department to my rescue, but probably an undertaker. Michael completed the triathlon with only a minor hitch -- a muscle spasm at the end of the running event. Still, he reached his goal of 1 hour and 28 minutes. Pretty darn good for his first attempt at a triathlon. I'd still be back at the Hillenbrand pool...coughing up water! Michael, job well done!

Triathlon Update: The Tucson Tinfoilman Triathlon is sponsored by Holualoa Real Estate Properties and is put on by Trisports of Tucson. The race is a USAT sanctioned event. Read more about such events at www.TriTucson.com or at trisports.com.