Dalai Pop sets World Triple Sprint Record in Age Group.

I used to be a lot of things that I no longer am.  I used to be lost in my sin, now I am saved by Jesus. I used to have a big Afro, now I am bald.  I used to have 20/20 vision, now I have tri-focals and a detached vitreous humor in one eye.  I also used to run, and race occasionally, in 5K or 10K runs, or even an 8K ski race once.  I used to stand on my head, but now a herniated disk in my neck prevents this and reminds me to keep my head from being held for too long in an twisted or craned position.  Even an extended period on the bike can get my neck irritated.  These days, I don't do distance, and one of the reasons, besides the neck issue, is that I used to be a sprinter.  I used to be pretty fast.  I never liked slogging out several miles at some "pace" that allowed me to complete a boring distance.  I used to love the feel of pounding down the track or the trail for a short distance, just as fast as I could go. Pushing the ground away behind me. Chasing down a runner ahead of me. Giving a max effort until my vision closes in and I fall down at the finish, gasping. I liked that, and I have missed it.  Age catches up with us all.  I have hiked and walked and occasionally jogged a bit over the years, but I haven't sprinted hard in a long time.  I REALLY have missed it.

Well, now my son Joel has invented a Triple Sprint 500 that is made to order for the sprinter at heart.  It's a triathlon of the attentuated, intense variety.  The concept is to make a three event race that doesn't take a whole day, that caters to those who can't or won't do long distances, and one that is family friendly in that it each event can be watched in it's entirety.  Also, there is no hectic transitin from one event to the next. The competitors get to change outfits and go to the next event, warm up and go, after a recovery period.  They actually complete each event with a bit less than an hour between events. Joel selected the swim, bike and run to be completely different than any previous competition.  The total distance covered is only 500 meters, and the ultimate goal for a young, really serious sprint-minded athlete is to complete all events in under one minute aggregate time.  The 500 meters is broken down into a 50 meter swim, a 300 meter bike, and a 150 meter dash. 

So when Joel announced the first Triple Sprint 500 to be held Nov. 21, 2010, I signed up!  I haven't been swimming much, again neck issues allow swimming, but not distance. I used to be a strong swimmer years ago.  I have been biking short distances, say 3-4 miles fairly often at a brisk pace, and I actually tried to sprint about a month ago, and it felt good but very odd.  So I did what I could to get ready, within the physical constaraints of being a 58 year old who has to watch out for certain things like the old neck, who gets sore a LOT easier than I used to, and who still has it in his heart to BLAST OFF at top speed for just a few moments at a time. 

The race day came and went.  In the end, I was fairly happy with my results.  I maxed out all three events, not leaving any energy for the next event, but was able to recover between events enough to do the next one.  I didn't have anything left after the run, except to go eat, then sleep, then get progressively more sore form the lactic acid of anaerobic torching.  So here are my times: 50 meter swim: 45.xx sec. 300 meter bike: 33.xx sec and the 150 dash: 24.xx sec.  Total time 103.xx sec. This is literally a NEW World Record in the 55-60 age group. Joel has the exact figures written down.   A far cry from the ultimate 60 sec mark, but Joel managed to do all three events in about 75 sec.(also a World Record for all age classes) so 60 seconds is probably acheivable by a top athlete.  Another plus to this race is that a small amount of money will be collected from each contestant from now on, and the total will continue to build in a fund. The first person to break 60 seconds for the whole competition will get the jackpot!  I am content to be the World Record holder for my age for now, and hope to beat my own record next year, and hope someone else beats it by a big margin also. 

If interested in the next race schedule, let me know.