The sport of triathlon just keeps growing, worldwide, nationally, and
in the bay area. No surprise there. It's a
natural progression for many runners, swimmers, and cyclists. The number of participants in all distances of triathlons continues to
grow, but the distance growing at the fastest rate is the sprint
distance, no doubt because people can
maintain adequate training for these events while still having a normal
life.
I did my first triathlon around 1983. I had been running for
several years and had experienced some success, but I was not placing
in my age group. I mainly ran to stay
fit and lose weight after Wendy was born. However, along about that time my brother, Milt Bedingfield, did
his first Ironman Hawaii. He was one of only a handful of triathletes
in central Florida back then. Not long after that, the sport of
triathlon took off in the by area, and we were both on the board of
Team Tampa Triathletes.
With a swimming background and lots of
coaching experience, Milt started Forest Hills Aquatics because there
were many triathletes back then who desperately needed swim coaching.
With very little training, I
did a sprint tri at Clearwater Beach and placed third in my age group.
It turned out that my swimming background gave me a
huge advantage. Well, I participated in triathlons for a year or so. Then I became too busy with my kids and beginning my
teaching career to do anything but run.
So, I took a 23
year hiatus from triathlons.
Well, now my kids are grown.
Actually, they have been grown for a while. Ben lives in Palo Alto and
doesn't compete in any sports except San Francisco's annual Bay to
Breakers 10k Race; however, he is an avid outdoorsman. After growing up
in competitve swimming, now he chooses to snowboard and hike.
Wendy
lives a mile from me - thank goodness - and, like me, enjoys running,
particularly trail running, which isn't surprising because she is a free spirited earth girl, cherishing all that is natural. We both
prefer to trail running. Anyway, Wendy is also a very good swimmer and
logs lots of miles on her beach cruiser, so I am encouraging her to try a tri.
In the meantime, I have taken the leap. I
did Madeira Beach, placing 8th in my age group, Morton Plant, placing 3rd in my age group, and last weekend's Publix Tri at Ft. Desoto, placing 2nd in my age group. I've always loved competition as much as I love to challenge myself. So, I've decided it's something I
want to continue; I'm committed now.
I will still compete in road
races year round; in fact, I am also training for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. Too, I am a self-admitted baby when it comes to cold weather. I don't
see myself doing any tri's or much swim training when it is cold - or
even cool - outside.
When I swam at Carrollwood Village (back when Carrollwood Village Golf and Country
Club was located on Waters Avenue) and at Chamberlain High School, I was a
distance swimmer. The longer the distance, the better I performed relative to the competition. Therefore,
I feel like I should train for a longer triathlon before too long. I'm
already thinking of a 70.3 next spring.
So, this website is going
to undergo a minor change, which is that it will be geared to
triathletes as well as runners. That will benefit all.
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