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Buff Girl, Smoker Boy....

Friday, 04 February 2011 04:00

bon By Bonnie Repunzel

There he was, standing at the edge of the shore line, watching the elites go crashing into the water like a flock of geese going after the prize fish. Like a pillar of pure athleticism, he wore his "onezy" with pride for all the world to see. It was white. And it was tight.

I walked down to him to make light conversation, neither one of us glancing to the side to see what the other looked like. It didn't matter. We were wearing swim caps.

He was spry and I was old so his wave took off first. That was the last time I saw him. Until I passed him on the run. I could hear him huffing and puffing as I sailed up behind him trying to recall if this was the same guy I saw earlier on the shoreline wearing semi illegal clothing. Yep, same guy. "Stay up with me!" I encouraged him. "Gasp! Puff" was all I heard from behind me...

At the finish line I waited. And waited. Finally I saw the perfect picture of "I think I can! I think I can!" steaming up the road and hunkering down across the finish line. The onzie guy made it! I let him walk in circles for a bit then went over and introduced myself. He looked very hot and very tired. I took him over the to food tent and we plopped down on the grass. I wanted to keep an eye on him just in case my CPR class would come in handy after all.

Nice kid. He needed to quit smoking if he wanted to live to see another triathlon. He had a big laugh and a wide grin.

That was nearly 3 years ago. Next week I will marry Mr. Onezy. I've had a couple of podium finishes but this is the what I consider a true First Place prize.

mike By Mike Borracho

There I was. About to do my first triathlon. I stood there, watching the elites and admiring their grace, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. Suddenly she appeared out of no where, startling me like the boogie man jumping through your window on a dark, stormy night.

"Are you scared?" she asked. "Nope." and then she launched into a myriad of how scared she was. I then became scared. Scared of her. I tried to steal a quick glance to see what kind of woman would spring out of no where and talk to a stranger. At some point in the endless chatter I was able to decipher her name was Bonnie.

As I ran this easy race with fury, I was pretty sure I was going to take home the gold trophy, or whatever it was they had at these things. Until she passed me. "Is that the same girl that snuck up behind me on the beach? She's..... BUFF! Wait a minute!......Didn't her wave take off like 15 minutes after mine??" and then I almost passed out. She called to me to keep up with her. I would have if I could have. Trust me.

When I crossed the finish line, I decided to have a look around to see if I could spot this scary girl with the buff arms. I saw her hanging out near the van so I casually approached in my smooth fashion, being the athletic stud that I am, sure that my cool, new onzie was sure to please. We hung out for awhile in the grass and then I invited her over to check out my cool bike. On the way, we passed the results board and I discovered I had placed 5th in my age group.....with only 4 participants.

I knew that day that this woman would be the death of me. Three years later, she's living proof. I smoke now more than ever. Okay, that's not entirely true. I no longer smoke. I drink.