The stakes were high and the terms were set. Two all-star NETT triathlon relay teams went head to head at the Sudbury Sprint Triathlon, pushing each other to phenomenal results.
Team 1, aka the Wang Dynasty, of Nicholas (swim), Frank (bike) and Tina (run) was unbeatable head-to-head. So in a show of true sportsmanship, they agreed to provide a 10-minute cushion (thanks in part to the Montreal Canadiens' Lars Eller) to NETT team two, aka the Chow Dynasty, which consisted of Dave's niece Julie (swim), Crazy Dave (bike) and Doris (run).
The Wang Dynasty was first up, with Nicholas swimming his 400m pool leg like a marlin covered in butter. Fast and smooth despite having spent 6 hours doing hard labor the day before. Frank headed out on the bike and put down the Danish hammer, and laying down the second-fastest bike split in the relay. With that Tina took off looking like she'd never even heard of the Boston Marathon, throwing down a sub-16 minute run for a total relay time of 40:27.
If the Chow Dynasty was going to win the bet and a free breakfast at Helen's Restaurant in Concord, it would need to put in a 50:27, no small task for two first-time triathletes and a "cyclist" who looks more the part than acts it. After a long warmup, Julie took off on her first-ever triathlon swim leg like a pro. She beat her seed time by 30 seconds and ran like a started deer out to the transition area to send Dave off on the bike leg. Dave, extremely concerned he would be the weak leg on his team, gave it everything he had, but still gave up more than two minutes to Frank. The race was in Doris' hands, er, feet.
Doris sped off on the run leg, knowing she'd have to work hard to keep her team in contention. With the bet on the line, Doris knew it was close and kicked it in the last 300 meters like there was a shoe sale on the other side of the finish line. When the dust settled, it was close, but the Chow Dynasty kept it to an 8:41 gap with a 49:08, thereby winning the bet!! Breakfast at Helen's to the victors!! (Special thanks to the Chow Dynasty team mascot, M, and of course Emma for her undivided attention as a spectator).
Also putting in great performances at Sudbury were Big Al Prescott and his wife Judy. Al, who even took a spill on the bike ("It's boring if there's no blood!") put down a 49-minute effort while Judy put in a 1:02 solo effort. Great job by both.
All in all it was a fun event--the pool swim makes it a great first-time event, and the weather cooperated nicely.
6 comments:
There might be sand in your breakfast - sandbaggers!
You put down some amazing splits - riding almost 21mph with little bike training is impressive. Breakfast is well-deserved
"like a marlin covered in butter" classic
Can't believe we missed seeing the match up of the century! Give us a heads up next time!
Shot out on the bike course like a cannon went Hannon!!
Great job guys!
I can't decide if my favorite line is "like a marlin covered in butter" or the reference to "Nicholas's 6 hours of hard labor"!!
Wow, good work folks. Sorry to have worked you all so hard the day before. Or maybe it was a good warm-up. In any event breakfast at Helen's I'm sure soothed all wounds no matter who paid. Triathlon eh? hmmm... sounds familiar....
-Jerry
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