Ah... the memories...

I personally look forward to having a few physical memories of the race events I participate in, so I love that most events hire professional photographers that dot different parts of the course to catch each athlete in motion. At least I love the idea of it… don’t always like the results though, especially if those photographs come back making you look a little less like an athlete and more like a middle aged guy trying to be an athlete. Prime example… my recent race, the OC Int’l Tri... I still contend that these were just bad shots…

Here I am coming out of the water in full form… What I was hoping for was a dramatic photo of me in triumph getting ready to take on the bike… instead, a photo of me obviously trying to get some of the water I inhaled out through my nose… just not right…

Here’s another gem of me on my bike… it’s sort of an action shot, right?

I need to get a new helmet, because obviously this one is too big… makes my head look larger than it is. The lighting seems to be off too, because I know I don’t look that “sausage” like normally when wearing ultra tight spandex. And the photographer must have had a great motion capture lens or something, because they somehow captured me in mid-bike when I was screaming down the bike course… funny, because it almost looks like I’m barely moving…

Alright… run portion. Not horrible photos, but they somehow made me look like I’m sixty… and white!...

Oh wait!... I’m behind that guy! Yes ladies and gentlemen… a permanent record that shows me getting beat by a 60 year old… totally awesome.

But the the truth is this… when I go through the motions I really feel like I look like this…

But God is absolutely hilarious and gives me glimpses of reality that dig into my ego with shots like this…

Ah… lessons in humility with generous doses of reality...

But at the very least, I could say that I do share one thing with the elite triathlete or top age grouper… and that is the desire to push myself further and farther than I’ve ever thought possible… and that I do with the best of them...

By the way... occassionally I do get a photo I love... a memorable moment that I'm glad was captured... no matter how raw...