Ft. DeSoto Park Triathlon- Sibling Style

A few months ago my brother Chris sent me a text out of the blue that basically said, "I am fat and lazy and need to do something. How about a triathlon?"  Heck yes!  And so I started training for what would be my fifth overall sprint triathlon but my very first in the ocean.  My last triathlon was in 2009, so the fact that my swimsuit and bike shorts still fit was one of the best parts of this entire experience.  And doing this with my brother wasn't half bad either.




Pay no attention to the Old Spice guy behind me.  But do pay attention to Chris' game face.

But first, let us take a selfie

The drive in to Ft. DeSoto at 5:30am was dark yet full of lightning.  There were some storms way off the coast that were giving us quite a light show.  By race time, however, they had all faded away to produce a lovely sunrise.  This picture was taken just after we had waded into the water to test our goggles and then watched a guy step on the wing of a sting ray.

Thanks for the goggles, bro!

The ocean swim turned out to be nothing more than a glorified lake swim.  Winds were calm, no waves and I was thrilled with how my weeks of swimming had really paid off.  I was not happy, on the other hand, on how I got stuck in a pack of backstrokers (really??!) or the saltwater that basically sets your throat on fire by the time you get out, but hey, look Mom, no sharks!


This course had a pretty good bike route.  Mostly flat and at one point you have a gorgeous view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  AND, no hairpin switchbacks! I know I could be faster on the bike, but considering I use no clips or cages and my bike is 117 years old, there is only so fast I can go and it ain't half bad!

Look at me go!

I won't sugar coat it- the run totally sucked.  I made a rookie mistake and did not actually take at least a full minute or two after the bike to let my thighs un-seize and by the end of the first half mile, I was pretty much done.  The good news is that it was also like being on the surface of the sun, so we thought this through.  

Feels so good.  To be done.

This race was uber cool because they gave each participant a print out of their official times.  I came in 8th place for my age group- and as you can see, the run was just horrific.

But just look at us, man!  Who would have thought that Binghams could do this??!

Way to go, Chris!  And you're not even wearing an ice vest!

(For the record, this triathlon had great finish line food.  Once the feeling of vomiting left, the burgers, fruit, cookies, bagels and beverages were fantastic.) 

That makes five

So will Chris and I be back in action together soon?  Stay tuned...