Saturday, March 31, 2007

Guys with No Legs and Dogs

I'm at work today. I just had a long conversation with one of the police officers who is also interested in triathlons. He did a couple last year and wants to do more this year. Biking is his strong point and swimming his weak. He was telling me about doing his first triathlon in the ocean and how the water was so cold, he said, it took his breath away. "I got hit in the mouth with a wave and down I went. I almost drowned in three feet of water." The triathlon also let people do relays so one of the swimmers had no legs. "His partners had to pick the guy up and heave him into the water." He said the guy with no legs almost beat him in the swim, and that if he wasn't just slightly ahead, "I would have drowned that guy to keep him from beating me, losing to a guy with no legs." He said he was so cold when he finally got out of the water, he couldn't change the tire on his bike, which he discovered was flat. He definitely recommends getting a wet suit. "Dude, trust me on this. You know how long it takes to recover from hypothermia."

I was asking him about riding and whether or not he thought it was safe for me to ride a bike to work, he said no problem, but then he goes on and tells me about all the times he has been hit by cars, chased by dogs and had other problems. "I went right over the hood of the car. Good thing I do jujitsu and knew how to fall or I'd have been fucking dead."(He goes on 20 mile bike rides at night wearing a black tee-shirt and camouflage pants without a helmet.) He says he no longer tries to outrun dogs, he gets off his bike and "kicks the shit" out of any dog that attacks him. This guy is like six four, two hundred thirty pounds of solid muscle. He is a cop you do not want to try to outrun or get in a fight with. If I was a dog, I would not chase him.

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I'm hoping to do a 1-2 mile asphalt run after work.