RaceAthlete B-Fit B-day Challenge

The website simply states:

Swim, Bike, and Run your Age! The raceAthlete B-Fit B-Day Challenge is a celebration of your life, health, and fitness on your birthday.

I've never thought of celebrating health and fitness on a birthday, just cake, gifts, parties, balloons...and cake! The wife did bake a scrumptous cake - marbled fudge with funfetti sprinkles...mmmmm.

The B-Fit B-day challenge included some groundrules (which had changed from the time I registered in January):

1) Swim the number of yards in the first number(# multiplied by 1000 yards),
2) Run the number of miles in the second number,
3) Bike the number of miles in the combined number.

So a 45-year-old athlete would:

1) Swim 4000 yards
2) Run 5 miles
3) Bike 45 miles

If you choose to accept the B-Fit B-Day Challenge you must....

Bronze: Do all three (swim/bike/run) during the week of your Birthday.
Silver: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in the three days before, after, or on your B-Day.
Gold: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in 24-hours to celebrate your B-Day!
Platinum: Do all three in miles (swim first number in miles not yards/bike/run) in 24-hours to celebrate your B-Day!

You can see that this challenge could be done in 7 days, 3 days of 1 day, depending upon the endurance of the athlete and mental fortitude. Sometime this summer the aforementioned rules changed to allow athletes to swim the first birthday digit (x1000) in meters. The thought that a 45 year old would have a difficult time swimming 4miles (6600 meters) but could eek out 4000 meters (2.42 miles). For those intrepid athletes willing to test their mettle, a Platinum level remained that would challenge athletes to complete all three events in miles in a 24-hour period.

My 25th birthday fell on a Friday this year, and a week after my most recent race, the Nation's Triathlon in DC. The Bronze level allows an athlete to complete all distances in the week leading up to the birthday. Going into Friday I only needed 500 swim meters to capture Bronze.

I planned to swim the entire 2 mile set (3300 meters) in one session. It is often I am the only swimmer in the three dedicated lap swim lanes. Unfortunately this was not one of those days. The YMCA was open to the community this weekend and of course the three open lanes were open swim so it was rather loud and crowded with children crossing under lane lines as they pleased. Three times I collided with a child who felt the need to try and dive under me while crossing the lane. But that wasn't the worst of the swim session. After 18 laps (900m) the lifeguards called everyone out the pool. It wasn't raining (as they draw everyone out if lightning is sighted) so I had no idea what was going on.

I pulled myself out while everyone gazed to the far side of the the pool. No way I thought outloud.

No way.

No. Way.

That's not...


a floater!

It really looked like a Baby Ruth bar, just without the chocolately-goodness and more sulfuric vapor.

The standard operating procedure in this situation is to:

1) Close the pool
2) Net out the sewer-bass
3) Add a truck load of dry chemicals, r
4) Re-generate all the water through the pumps
5) Add enough chlorine to burn everyone's eyes

Following a cleansing shower I went home to complete the 5 mile run, with 2400m left to swim.

The sun was high in the sky, but the temperature was a nice 74 degrees. I completed the 5 mile run in a solid 38:10. The route was my typical tour-de-neighborhood (no traffic). Nothing too noteable on the run, like losing a brake pad on the bike.

Yeah, I rode the last 15 miles of the 25 mile bike with no rear brakes. I had to cut through a few parking lots to make some tight right-hand turns, but finished the course in 1:18:14. I managed to hit 38 mph on the Creighton Rd downhill! Solid.

With two events fully completed it was time to finish the swim. Checking with the front desk the pool was open. One could sense the chorline fumes wafting off the surface. Perfect. I finished the 2 mile swim in 1:21:40.

My times were:

25 mile bike: 1:18:14
5 mile run: 38:10
2 mile swim: 1:21:40

Total: 3:18:04 in 24 hours. Platinum Challenge complete.

Let's eat cake!