I wasn't last, there's that.

I watched a frog die and it made me laugh.

That was just one of the curious things that happen during a triathlon. I was riding in the Mountain Lakes triathlon last Saturday. I really was in no real shape to be doing anything, let alone a triathlon. I'd only had three hours of sleep. But I promised myself I'd do the Rocketman triathlon this year and I had to get at least one other triathlon under my belt. This was to be my training run for Rocketman.

So here I was pedaling down some road along Lake Guntersville with a few hundred people trying to prove - I don't know what - on a Saturday morning. I've been riding along for some time, trying not to count the number of super-athletes passing me on their carbon-fiber bikes with the wheels that rumble as they pass and I see it. There's this frog who decided to cross the road. I just caught a glimpse of him as he hopped. Once and then...ding! He jumped right into the back wheel of the rider in front of me. The spokes move pretty quickly at 20 mph and I'm afraid the frog just didn't have the luck. He hit the spoke and went flying high into the air. I just laughed. I just couldn't help myself. I mean, what are the odds that a frog in Lake Guntersville would die by spoke? Nobody around me could understand, or maybe they didn't care, why I was laughing. But, probably because I was so tired, I just thought it was the funniest thing.

On the same ride portion of the tri a rider was being loaded into an ambulance. Its never good to see a cyclist go down, believe me I have seen more than my fair share of bike crashes. When I finished the triathlon, I asked a paramedic what had happened. He said it was a bee. A bee? Apparently a bee flew into the cyclists helmet and stung him. As the paramedic said, "After that, physics pretty much took over." I can't imagine the mathematical equation of a cyclist and a bee crashing. He said the rider was going to be ok. I'm glad. I hate to see anyone hurt, but what are the odds?

I almost puked on the run. I got kicked -hard- in the chest during the swim. I got passed by a 13-year-old on the run. I got passed by a 63-year-old on the run. I watched a frog meet its death on the ride. But, I did survive the triathlon. It wasn't pretty. I won't even tell my time. I wasn't last, there's that. I like triathlons, they give me a goal for my workouts. My goal for the next triathon? Don't throw up, and finish. Honestly, I'd be happy if I just finished. Who cares if I puke.