Triple Threat At Old Colony Triathlon

A stellar performance was turned in by Dan Cooper, Denise Murphy, and Patrick Smith at this past Sunday’s Old Colony YMCA Triathlon (1 mi. swim, 24 mi. bike, 6.5mi. run) in Middleboro, MA. Competitors had the choice of participating as individuals or as part of a relay. There were approximately 200 individuals and 16 teams at the race. Our Wicked contingent planned to all participate solo, but only Denise ended up doing it “all on her own.” And what a performance! Despite forgetting her wetsuit and having to borrow a men’s medium from a friend, Denise ended up achieving a PR for her swim. Fantastic! Perhaps a larger size wetsuit may be in the offering for Denise. Once ashore, Denise proceeded to bike and run well despite a nagging back ache. Denise finished in about 2:54, very impressive considering the fact that anything under 3 hours is considered a good time for this distance. She was 6^th out of 15 in her age group and 117^th overall. Congratulations, Denise. A tennis mishap last week resulting in a twisted ankle for Patrick dictated a change in his strategy. Patrick realized the swim and run would be difficult with his injury, so he asked and Dan graciously agreed to help Patrick out with a team effort– Dan tackling the swim and run and Patrick taking on the bike. What a combination it turned out to be! As Patrick stated, “We smoked!” Unsure of how he’d stack up against some elite swimmers—Collegiate Champs, US Masters’ Champ, Dan gave a solid middle of the pack swim. Patrick took on the bike with a vengeance, rolling in with a 25mph. average speed, placing 2^nd overall! Dan took it from there, passing their last competitor in the All Male Relay category with a sub 7:00 min./mi. run, finishing 1^st overall. They finished around 2:12 claiming 1^st place in the All Male Relay and 2^nd overall for all relay teams. Outstanding, guys! And both Dan and Patrick were out there at 5:30 AM for the usual Tuesday morning run. We wish Patrick a speedy recovery and hope to see that tape removed from his ankle soon. And, in case you were thinking Denise must have been home sleeping at this early hour, she was returning home from a swim at the gym just as we were concluding our run. You are all so wicked!!!!