Shot of Christophe and Alex walking to set up Saturday morning.
We all had a wonderful time. Pics and Video after the jump.
All of the pics and video we collected will be posted in roughly chronological order. Litl’ bit has some pix as well. Keep checking back to see all the fun we had over the weekend!
On the way down, Topher, Squeeky and Sandbagger were stopped completely on I-40 due to an accident. We had a few minutes to conduct business. (Topher, we are awaiting your answer on “How *do* you measure that?)
Finally cruising again, I conducted a quick interview. (Who was driving?!?) Sandbagger asks Squeeky to expound upon the race predictions, Squeeky spills the beans on Litl’bits drinking habits, Topher talks about his search for the Immaculate Triathlon and shares his T2 secrets, and more! (How could you NOT want to watch this one?)
Litl’bit, I think you need to post the Sangria recipe.
What the heck is Topher up to?
‘What u got there in dat bag?’
Scrambling to get ready Saturday morning.
Have you ever seen an Elite Triathlete put their goggles on upside down?
Me neither. Topher interviews Sandbagger right before he almost misses his 15 second slot while warming up. All credit for his swim goes to Topher for saving the embarrassment of leaky goggles.
Rap Master Sass coming out of the pool. Sass had an amazingly fast T1. I took this shot, then ran around the other side of the tennis courts to catch a shot of him leaving the transition area. If you notice in the shot, he already has his shoes on. With clips, he was able to jump right on the bike. By the time I made it around (maybe 10 or 15 seconds later than Sass) he was *GONE*
The last we saw of Rap Master until the run.
Topher eternally smiling throughout the day heads out on the bike. He was going so fast the camera couldn’t keep up.
Litl’bit providing moral support, taking pictures, and cheerleading all at the same time.
Here comes Squeeky. On the way down, he taught me and Topher how to recirculate the energy from our arms back into our palms by lightly circling our fingers back into our hands. At the same time, he said, you need to sway your arms in small circles rather than pumping them link an oil rig – one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. Don’t forget to lean slightly forward and only run in a straight line. If he hadn’t of hooked me up with Speed Laces I might have forgotten how to tie my shoes.
Squeeky heads for the finish line in very solid form.
Rap Master Sass takes off for his run – smiling and ready to High 5 anyone.
Squeeky looking for his Coke. Not sure what happened to it. He had to slum it with a Pepsi.
Topher blasts through T2 (still smiling of course)
Rap Master Sass bringing it home!
Look at this guy! It was a breeze in the park for him! If anyone else deserved the nickname Sandbagger…
Group photo take #1
Group photo take #2
10 responses so far ↓
1 litl' bit // Mar 31, 2007 at 10:29 pm
What a beautiful day! They did great. Tropher smiling the whole time. I was so happy to be there to cheer them all on.
2 rap master sass // Apr 2, 2007 at 10:11 am
Could not have done it without you. Glad you did not see my swim. My “turns” consisted of pulling the lane divider over my head with one hand, while flailing madly with the other.
If I had not done the diabolical shoe stash, I would have been a minute slower.
Congratulations to Rama for a most impressive first effort. Probably would have won the Novice division.
Christoph’s omnipresent grin really defeated the whole Sopranos thing he had going on.
All those bricks Alex has been doing are paying off. It’s hard to tell now whether he is a better runner or biker.
3 Alex // Apr 2, 2007 at 1:19 pm
What a blast it was! It was great to see everyone, especially Lit’l Bit, who was there to cheer us all on to the finish. And Chirstophe, who no doubt traveled further than anyone else to compete. Sandbagger stayed true to his name with an awesome result in all respects. Rap Master led his division, as usual. Thanks, Rap Master, for talking me in to doing one of these last year. They are like potato chips.
Now if I can just get my mental mojo (and stroke) corrected for the next pool swim.
4 Rama Polefka // Apr 4, 2007 at 9:27 am
well topher finally registered for the blog. well, not exactly. mr VP of an IT company needed some help registering
but ‘topher’ is now live, and ready to type the smackdown.
5 KarenG8r // Apr 5, 2007 at 11:36 am
Good Job Guys…..judging by race times you each have something to be very happy about. And it looks like you had a little fun too. I loved the upside down goggle video of Sandbagger!! Topher is your hero. I’m glad Lit’l Bit was there as the official Mitterling Miler cheerleader!
6 Triangle Running Group » Azalea Festival Post - A few more pics // Apr 8, 2007 at 10:00 am
[...] A few more pics up on the Azalea Triathlon post. [...]
7 rap master sass // Apr 8, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Great pictures! Oh yeah, and you did manage to smoke through your first ever triathlon as a warm-up to the photography duties.
8 topher // Apr 10, 2007 at 12:02 pm
For all the curious minds out there, wondering what I am holding in the picture above… This is the latest in tri-bike seat technology: slide towards the front for speed, slide back to resume blood flow once the area “down there” is totally num. Repeat as needed. PS: Squeaky, yes they make a pink and purple glitter model that matches the little Mermaid streamers we’ve ordered for your Cervelo. A zebra model is on the way for Sandbagger to match his cute new tri outfit.
9 Alex // Apr 10, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Topher, do they make a transparent version so you can ride your bike and keep flashing the entire crowd with your see-thru tri shorts? You know, we’ve been getting complaints about that French guy ever since we got back from Azalea.
10 Rama Polefka // Apr 10, 2007 at 8:31 pm
about those shorts – i think we know now why they were so thin. see his above comment:
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
“slide towards the front for speed, slide back
you know… after awhile there is only so much those shorts can do for you.