Camp Pendleton Tri spectator report

The other weekend was the Camp Pendelton Triathlon. No, I didn't race. It's much better to watch other people exert themselves. Steve and I left at Oh-Dark-Thirty to drive two hours to get there before the race started. Not fun.

There were a bunch of old-timers doing the race, but the big story was that this was the first Olympic Distance for Stewart, Tommy, and I think Amelia as well. Great job!

The swim course does a U around some breakers so this is a rare race where you can actually get pretty close to the swimmers. We were excited to see Stuart come around the corner and I was thrilled to be able to get some great action shots during swim.



Well, at least until he got out the water and we realized that wasn't Stuart at all. Some total stranger got a lot of cheering from us.



Poor, poor Tommy. He ran some other races with the Tri Team (he's a very fast runner) and he probably should have been prepared for the kind of... "support" our team provides as non-racers. It was a small transition area, so Heather was able to get pretty close to him. Some Tri Teams might support their teammates by clapping and saying "good job", but that's not how we roll. Telling people they're doing fine isn't going to speed up their race. So sweet little Heather offered help the only way she knew how: "MOVE IT!!! Get those shoes on! Don't look at your watch! GO GO GO!!!" After the race, Tommy said to her "you were mean to me in transition!." Mean? Perhaps. But this WAS a military base. AND she probably shaved 30 seconds off his time.

I asked Stewart now that he did an Olympic Tri, what his next race would be. He gave me a nervous smile and said "an Ironman." Poor bastard.

The highlight of the day was seeing the World's Cutest Puppy. The big floppy ears completely sold it. The owner told us it was a "puggle": part pug, part beagle. Now then, I do not like pugs. Or more correctly, I do not like pug owners; they are insane. And before you get offended, tell me: how often does your pug sit at the dinner table with you? How many different outfits does your pug have? Insane. But the puggle hybrid is just too cute for words.