Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Triathlon That Almost Killed Me

Sylvia entered her first triathlon, which was held last Sunday.
I worked the night before, getting home at 3am--we left the house at a little after 4am and arrived at the location just before 6, which is my normal bedtime.

A rare pre-sunrise photo. I don't do mornings even though the light is great (as seen in the follwing shots).



The temps were nice, and the man-made lake at the Texas Ski Ranch had some interesting things around it for me to shoot as the sun came up and people started to arrive.












The swimmers started to hit the water at 8am sharp for a 300 meter swim, followed by an 11 mile bike ride on the IH35 frontage and some farm to market roads, and then a 2 mile run.
I got most of the action shots Sylvia wanted for the group she trained with, so everyone is happy.

Except that by 10am it was already in the 90s and I was sleep-deprived and a little hungover.
Got to bed at noon but had to get up 4 hours later to prep for another show.
Made it to bed again at 6am Monday feeling like I had swam, biked and run the damn thing myself.

Or hit by a truck after falling down some stairs.

2 comments:

Keith Alan K said...

Of course, I'm extremely proud of Sylvia for not only entering a triathlon but finishing with a good time. Like an idiot I thought I didn't have to proclaim it on my blog in addition to saying it. Boy, we men are dumb.

Matthew Robertson said...

Yes, we are. Congratulations to Syl -- that's a big accomplishment.

I've photographed a few triathlons myself, and it can be a challenge. But as with all photography, it's all about timing: in this case, knowing how long you have to get to the next point before your subject does.

If Syl decides to become competitive (i.e., competing with the goal of shaving a few more seconds off of her time to improve her rankings) remember that you can use your camera to help coach her. Simply photographing her as she moves through the transitions will help her know how long she takes and where some time can be saved. And don't forget the video and multi-burst photo mode on your camera, which makes training for form and posture much easier.

You know what they say: those who can't do, teach.