Iron Pol

One very notable thing about triathletes is their ability to laugh at themselves.  And before anyone disputes that fact, I acknowledge there is a comparatively small group of hardcore athletes who lack that ability.  That's okay, the rest of us will laugh at them.

To prove I am not in that group, I present the following "WTF?" quandary.  Exhibit A is this picture from the Bellin Run 10K.  We're breaking this in slowly.  Please note the relatively good running form.  Head up, legs moving, shoulders relaxed.  But am I, perhaps, TOO relaxed.  I think a few more pictures might answer that question.  I'll allow you, the faithful reader, to be the judge.  And don't worry, I'm already laughing at myself, so you can't offend me.

Besides, I'm sure it's a conspiracy by the photographers.

Consider the next picture from a nearby camera.  Have I gotten perhaps a bit TOO relaxed.  Granted, I'm moving at a pretty good pace and have clearly blown by the guy in the red shirt.  But is it TOO laid back.

It would be nice to think this was an odd occurrence in one event.  Perhaps I was overly tired or took one too many muscle relaxants prior to the race.  Maybe it was an unguarded moment of sheer exhaustion never before experienced.

That might be comforting, but someone is bound to bring up my Green Bay marathon finish line pictures.  And they do nothing to support the comforting theories.  They simply add to the conspiracy.

This picture was snapped by a friend as I approached the finish line for a 15 minute marathon PR at the Green Bay Marathon on March 18th.  I must have been very tired (or relaxed) here, as well.  Rubbery, in fact.

Sort of like George Schweitzer and the "flying duece" (peace sign) he flashed all last season, I seem to be afflicted by a much less flattering "flying limp" problem.  And like George, I need to work on being more photogenic at races.  Or I need to by something to provide support as I go completely limp.

Finally, just to show that not EVERY picture of me running exhibits the same limp-wristed pose (which is, by the way, very counter IRON Pol), a final picture from the Green Bay Marathon.  As you can see, the arms and wrist are in a very normal position.

Of course, it's tough to tell exactly WHAT is going through my mind at this point.  Is it:

A.  MAN, I shouldn't have had all that cheese for breakfast!

B.  Where's Casey?  I'm going to kill him.

C.  Are we there yet?

D.  Is anyone missing a stick?  I found it.

A normal post, tomorrow.  Promise!

Leave a Reply