2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. For a while now I’ve wanted to see it in person, and as it turns out, this was the year! A good friend of ours participated, and it was incredible to see his commitment and sacrifice over the past 12 months pay off on race day as he crossed the finish line to complete his very first Ironman.
When I started doing triathlons a few years ago, I never thought I’d have any interest in going beyond the standard sprint race – .5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 3.1 mile run. This year, I completed my first Half Iron – 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Somewhere in between, I realized that I liked running more than the once-around-the-track I did in high school. And that a few hours on the bike was in fact how I wanted to spend my Me-time. Not to mention if your training partners are training for marathons, century rides and voyages across the sea, you tend to lean in that direction yourself.
Still, an Ironman is nothing to kid about! Being there the full 12+ hours it took many to complete the event made me realize just what an undertaking it is. But it also reminded me of the many reasons why I’m so attracted to this sport. I’ll skip the list, but highlight a key point. Triathletes represent a variety of ages and abilities, and I like the idea that anyone who sets personal goals and puts in the required training to reach those goals – whatever the distance – can be successful.
Jon Motondo of Camillus (stars and stripes cap) high fives Cory Fahey of Syracuse as they and other patrons react to the first USA goal, tying it up with England 1-1, during a televised game of the World Cup Saturday at Kitty Hoyne’s Irish Pub in downtown Syracuse. On the left are Megan and David Collins of Marcellus. On the right is Dave O’Connell of Syracuse. Lauren Long / The Post-Standard
Not a humongous baseball fan – although I do pride myself on having attended game 5 of the World Series back in 1995. (The Cleveland Indians beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 and the city went WILD!!!) I have however been paying some attention to all the hype over pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg, especially after his major league debut with the Washington Nationals yesterday. Just a week or so ago he was pitching his final few games as a minor leaguer with the Syracuse Chiefs. I’ve never seen that stadium packed so tight! Thought I’d post a few so I can say “I knew him” when.
More photos here from the 5/29 game. And photos from Strasburg’s major league debut here.
A photo of mine recently won the Distinguished Sports Photography category for the New York News Publishers Association in the 50,000-175,000 circulation class. Awards are presented for 15 traditional print categories (including sports, feature and news photography) in addition to several online/multimedia categories in five circulation classes. P-S reporter John O’Brien was also honored for Distinguished Investigative Reporting as well as Dave Tobin for his blog “Following Orion.”
McLain Ward’s horse, Phillipa, refuses a jump in the Pasmore Stables Horseman’s Cup during the Syracuse Sporthorse Invitational October 30, 2008 at the Onondaga County War Memorial. Lauren Long / The Post-Standard
I cover a lot of Syracuse Crunch games for The Post-Standard. The minor league hockey team (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets) has some pretty devoted fans, and yesterday, had a few thousand more (21,000 plus!) as the team played Binghamton in the AHL’s first-ever outdoor game at the New York State Fairgrounds. It turned out to be a really great venue.
