Smells Like Team Spirit

I've been working out at Stay Fit Studio ever since I moved to Key West two years ago, and this year the gym sponsored the first ever Key West Triathlon. Several of my friends trained faithfully for months and completed the full Olympic length triathlon: 1 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 10K run. This is not their story.

Meet The Team:


Mary and I had been planning to compete all along; we even went to some training sessions: open water swims, long bike rides, but as the training threatened to interfere with our social calendars, we decided that we would find a third and be part of a TEAM! Yes, that's it! We couldn't manage the rigorous training to compete individually, but with the pressure of being part of a team, we would surely press through with whatever training our schedules permitted. We couldn't, we wouldn't let the team down.

We did find a third. However, three weeks away from the event we discovered his devotion to "The Team" was even weaker than our devotion to training. I begged my significant other, John, to please, please, please fill in for this slacking ne'er do well who let the team down. John had been on swimming teams through high school, and his level of commitment in all things matched our team philosophy completely. He agreed and a new team was born.

So on the morning of December 5, 2010, the very last person to jump in the water was John:


Biker, Mary's team affiliation was in question...are we team 619 or 617?


And finally, the senior member of the team crossed the finish line....I know, it looks like I'm walking, but if you look closer, neither of my feet are touching the ground...pretty cool!


We had a blast, didn't make too bad of a showing at all, and we've vowed to do it again next year. We might actually train!