I Would've Beat Him...

...if I wasn't such a dope!

Yesterday Andy and I decided that we needed to do some serious training for triathlons. We've been working out routinely, but haven't been doing many "bricks". A brick is when you do two events back-to-back to prepare your muscles for the change of events and to practice transitions. For example, you go for a swim and then jump on your bike. And you practice the transitions as well, which is going from swim gear to putting on your bike gear as fast as you can. So Andy decided that we should do the full triathlon (similar distances to the one coming up in a few weeks) to see if we could do it and if we'd want to do the race in July.

We jumped in the ocean for a 1/4 mile swim. After practicing with one-mile swims, it seemed like we were out of the water before I even got wet! I was first on my bike and raced away as fast as I could. My goal in the bike was to stay ahead of Andy, of course. I kept looking back for him and I could see he was gaining ground. Then when I looked back again he was gone! That's when I realized I rode right past our turnaround point! This is when you're supposed to yell "Dope!" really loud so I can hear you! So....I tired out my legs more by adding another mile and a half to my ride. Even though I did have a good run yesterday, I'm sure my time could've been even better. After Andy did all of his calculations to try and make our two races comparable for time/distance, I think I could've beat him...if I wasn't such a dope.

We received an awesome reward for our efforts, though. The Turtle Patrol was out yesterday morning. Two loggerhead turtle nests had hatched and the staff helps to ensure that all of the babies get out of their nest safely and before the heat of the day hits. So we got to watch a group of the hatchlings scramble across the sand, with flippers spinning wildly, and into the ocean. They are only about 4" long. A couple got tossed about in our mild surf before they disappeared. One had us nervous as he floated directly toward a watching seagull. But the staff told us that that seagull would be too small to eat him. Years ago we had seen momma turtles come to shore and dig their nests and lay their eggs, so now being able to see the hatchlings swim off to the Gulf Stream has completed the cycle for us. We were so lucky to be there at the right time.