Ricky the Rhino

Ricky's first ever triathlon was completed on Saturday. He was awesome! After giving up on tennis and soccer for staying fit in New England, Ricky has turned himself into a triathlete. He jumped right into the Olympic distance, which was ~1mi swim, ~25mi bike, ~6mi run. Not only was it fun to see Ricky compete, but there were so many other people out there of all ages (one guy 69!), one paraplegic, and one visually impaired (rode tandem bike). I can't get over how impressive these people are, especially Ricky.

The Swim: This was Ricky's steepest learning curve, having never swam for sport, but we both had the most fun with it. After I smoked him in the pool, he started contemplating the bananahammock, but thankfully, we learned that the options are plentiful, and the best one for triathletes is a padded spandex (swim-bike-run) suit. We also learned that without a wetsuit, most people can't finish the race because they're so cold. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I saw him in it. By the way, he's definitely wearing it to the next batman movie.

The Bike: He trained mostly indoors and on an old clunker (so old they don't make that size wheel anymore), and at the last minute he decided to risk being a poser and rent one of the sleek triathlon bikes from a local shop. It was a sweet bike, one of the ones you can lift with 2 fingers. My favorite part was the big smile he had after completing the race.

The Run: Ricky irritated his ileotibial band about a month ago, and he hasn't been able to get it under control, so he had to walk most of the run, but he finished with a smile and a somersault for the crowd.

The Rhino: There is a special heavyweight group in triathlons, tactfully named "Athenas" for women >150lbs and "Clydesdales" for men >200lbs. Ricky's hoping to establish a new group, the Rhino.