Bug Light

On Thursday of last week, I went down to the lifeguard station and asked if there were any organized open water swims planned. They referred me to the Rehoboth Beach Running Company for more information. So, I walked up there and got to talking. There was going to be a swim on Friday at noon and there was going to be a brick that evening. I decided to do both and said I'd be back ready to clip in at 5:30 pm that evening.

When I got there, it appeared several other tri geeks were "in the know", too. About a dozen of us were there and headed out. After the ride, we returned to the shop and started to transition for the run. A young woman was kind of spacing around the store and we got to talking. She was peeved that she missed the ride but expressed interest in a run. Turns out, she had just got into town from Charlotte, NC and had her running gear in the car. She changed real quick and we headed out.

Kelsey (the girl from Charlotte), Mary Beth (owner of Rehoboth Beach Running Company) and I set out at a fast pace for a half hour run. Getting to talking, Mary Beth let it slip out that she was doing Ironman Florida with her husband this year. Small world, huh.

Then, on Saturday's ride, I caught this guy on the ride who was obviously a triathlete (the tricked out Orbea, one piece tri suit and really fit physique were the dead giveaways). We got to talking while making a quick water stop and he's doing Ironman Florida, too. He had done Ironman Louisville last year so this is his second Ironman. Guy's name is Brandt Chi. Strong rider but an even better runner. We might hook up again later this year for some training time together.

The point of this post is that long bike rides, open water swims, running stores... these are like bug lights for triathletes. We all seem to congregate around these activities and make connections.