the Deuceman Experience, Day One

So today we arrived in Show Low, and went to packet pickup.

Can you say GREAT? SHWAG?

In my race packet: Deuceman headsweats running hat, Tyr gear bag, technical T, sundries, and of course, the usual tattoo, and other items.

I bought a new 70.3 sticker for whatever car I wind up with to replace the Fit. I had a great collection. Dammit.


Now it's time to intoduce a new reocurring character: Miguel. We adopted Miguel, age 55, earlier this year. He's our oldest son. He holds a Ph.D. in recreation or something like that, and works for the city of Albuquerque. He's wiry and fast. He's been champion of his age group in the southwest challenge series a couple years in a row, I think. He was a national swimming champion in Columbia, and won the triathlon in the senior olympics in our area last year.

He speaks rapidly with a thick Columbian accent, and always punctuates things he feels strongly about by saying them three times.

Oh, my goodness ju gonna be so fast, fast, fast!

And ju know de land around the area is so flat, flat, flat!

Miguel is famous among our little group for several things, such as:

• He eats a lot of straight salt during races. Once he left a race course and ran through a picnic asking for salt. they kept trying to give him food. He just wanted salt. The day before the race he pours salt all over his food, chanting, "no crumps! No crumps!"

• He gets more flats than anyone I know. Sometimes twice during a sprint. Once, we were all standing around at the pre-race meeint, and his tire spontaneously exploded. Ever hear that? It sounds like a gun going off. Anyway, nobody was even near his tire. It just decided, "I'm Miguel's tire, I'm going to go flat anyway, so why not just get it over with."

• Last year, at the Buffalo Springs half iron, he and Sweet Baboo ran it as a team. He did the run leg with Sweet Baboo doing the swim and bike. BUT he did a sprint triathlon first. Miguel ran the Tri-raider sprint, which took off after the half iron was well on its way. He won grand master champion on the sprint and then immediately went back out and did the 13.1 mile run, and he and Sweet Baboo placed 2nd place in the team category.

Anyway, he's bunking with us and is runnng as an age group in the Deuceman 70.3 tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.


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