Wussing Out

So I have this friend, I will call him...um, Dave. Dave, whose last name is a euphemism for a certain part of the male anatomy. This is sort of funny, because some of us are currently thinking that he is missing a couple of parts to his male anatomy.

Anyway, Dave kicked butt last year at the Spudman Triathlon. He finished it in about 2 1/2 hours, he nearly beat Fish and wallopped my time. He would have beat Fish actually, but he couldn't tie his shoes fast enough. Dave trained while leading us to an impression that he really wasn't training. Basically he was lying about how well his training was going. Dork. But, that is in the past and a new season of tri is coming upon us.

Dave over the past few months has talked about doing a full Ironman. Fish is doing one, so he probably thought to himself that if big guy can do it, so can he. The thing is Fish has a residence in the Pain Cave. I think that if one needed to perform a service of process upon Mr. Fisher that you could go to his home in Utah or to the Pain Cave. Bad joke, but you get the point. The dude is a diesel engine that just goes and goes. I feel I can take Fish on shorter stuff, like cross, but I doubt my ability over the long haul. Anyway, Dave likes to piss Fish off, and beating Fish is something that I believe Dave very much enjoys. It doesn't happen often. The fact that he was faster than Fish at the Spudman if you remove the transitions was a source of pride for him I think.

Well, Dave came first to a realization that it was probably too big of a jump to go from the easiest Olympic distance triathlon in North America in his first year of triathlons to a full Ironman the next. I am doing the Vikingman half Ironman distance tri in June and, frankly, I am a little scared. What Dave was thinking is beyond me. Oh yeah, he was thinking if the big Hawaiian guy can do it, so can he. Whatever.

Then he was going to go to Kona to do a half distance tri out there at the end of May...or not. That fell through too. Then he was going to do the Vikingman with Fish and I....or not.

Hmmmph. I know that he says he is busy, but I think that if he really wanted to do it he could. Maybe he feels that he doesn't have enough time to be competitive. For me, Vikingman is all about finishing. I just want to finish without walking. Dave said today that he could probably train so that he could finish, but that was about it. SO!?!?! Isn't that the point? I really don't care if I beat Fish. I am planing on him beating me actually. I would like to continue to beat him in cyclocross though. In fact, I will be sorely P.O.ed if he ever beats me in cross again. But, I have learned that completing this Vikingman is all about participating and sticking with something in order to meet my goal. Fish be damned. I am happy he will be there, but his placement compared to me means nothing.

I feel a bit like Dave has been stroking me and Fish and really himself. I would give more credit to the lack of time thing if he had been training and only now didn't have time. But the fact is that (unless he is lying again) he has not been training at all--he says he has only ridden his bike basically a little over a dozen times since Spudman in July. That is it. No running no swimming. No, the business excuse is a convenient excuse so that he can continue to avoid training--which is uncomfortable and painful at times. He wussed out. Lets all call a spade, a spade.

The funny thing is he still wants me to get him a deal on a tri bike...I am just thinking why bother?

Last year I participated in the Spudman after not being able to train for 5 weeks prior to the race because of a bad case of bronchitis and the bar exam. I still went out there and took my medicine. I wanted to not do it, but I am going to pat myself on the back and say that I did it though it sucked(actually it sucked,as Fish likes to add, "...the thick one"). This year I hope to not have a similar experience of bonking, but I am going to be there ready or not. Dave you said you were going to do it. So man up.