Shimoda Triathlon

It continues to be challenging to actually do a triathlon.  

I miss the registration deadlines in several spring/summer triathlons I had hoped to enter. Carrying a bike and wetsuit around is such a hassle, and so unlike with running events, I am unable to casually jump in to races during journeys to San Francisco, Cambodia, Singapore, Seattle etc.  

Last week’s Oshima Triathlon is completely washed out by bad weather.    

My fellow triathlon teammates have come to scoff at me, saying I am merely a “runner with a cross-training problem”. 

Fortunately David organizes the Shimoda Triathlon last weekend – an informal, Olympic-distance team event in idyllic Shimoda. 

It is a wonderfully scenic course – as spectacular as any triathlon you will find anywhere in the world – we swim through crystal clear ocean water to a beach turnaround in an amazing cove.  The bike route is along breath-taking cliffs, and the run takes us along a quiet trail/road through dense forest and picturesque farms. 

It is not necessarily a fast course – my time is like 2 hours and 40-something minutes. I manage a pretty strong bike ride and finish 2^nd among the 8 of us doing the event.