Pour One Out for Diesel

Bottle
Originally uploaded by jjactive2.

As Jan wrote yesterday, Diesel is one tough hombre. When we went to pick him up in the ER after discovering his blood-splattered bike resting against a fence in the transition area and then getting the story from a police officer, the scene wasn't for the queasy, i.e., me. A sunglasses-shattering, helmet-cracking direct face plant at 25 MPH doesn't leave beauty marks, that's for sure. But Diesel's calm demeanor and incredible pain tolerance made the bloody scene more comfortable. When we dropped him off at home and his wife came to the door to view the carnage, Jan and I felt like Pinto delivering the passed out girl in the shopping cart to her parents in Animal House. But Mrs. Diesel was as calm as her husband-- their three kids must have icewater in their veins. The scars will heal and Diesel will be back; he's already plotting to get out and run this weekend and to keep his appointment with the Chicago Marathon course in October. Diesel: For extreme toughness, you have been Activated.

My first triathlon in about four years went OK: kind of like a wary lunch date with an ex-girlfriend during which you remember what you liked about her. My hope was to get a good workout and still be able to complete my scheduled long Chicago training run two days later without feeling the effects, and that's what happened. One observation: The level of competition has gone up a notch since I've been out of the game. Improving triathletes: You have been Activated. I have big-time respect for Jan, reader Mary (winner of the women's short-course race), and all the other athletes competing at such a high level, where every second counts.