This past weekend I was checking a multisport website to see if registration had opened for a June Tri I want to compete in. While on that site I noticed that pictures were up from the previous year. Since this is an event that I participated in, I thought it might be fun to see if there were any pictures of me. Unfortunately there were.

In triathlon training we all focus on going fast. Fast in the water, fast on the bike, and fast on the run. Some of us even practice going fast in the transitions. With all of this focus on speed, we rarely take the time to consider how we look while we are competing. I know what you are thinking, "how vain!" and "why should we care about what we look like?". I'll tell you why, because even in small sprint tri's in Delaware Ohio, there is some joker with a camera snapping away so they can post your picture on the internet for all to see.

So back to the title. Exit the water like a hero. After the swim leg of your next race, make sure you run (not walk) out of the water. Arms should be up and slightly flexed with hands balled into light fists. You should have a smile (even if it's forced) or at least a look of determination. There should be a Bay-Watch sized splash at your feet and you should look like you are ready for action. In short, you should look like this guy.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/swim2.jpg

What you want to avoid is looking like you just got your ass kicked for the past hour. Staggering out of the water, arms limp at your sides, a look of exhaustion and defeat on your face which no one can see because you are looking at the ground, walking without the Bay-Watch splash (hardly any splash at all). Almost crawling out of the water; people would guess you had just swum the English Channel and not an easy half mile. In short, try not to look like this.*

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/swim.jpg

As you may have guessed by now, the second swimmer is me. I got a good laugh from the photo and thought others might enjoy it. To be honest, if you really care about what others think about how you look you should probably pick a sport where you don't have to wear spandex.

Disclaimer *This post is in good fun and I don't really believe you should care what you look like while racing. If you follow the advice given above you are a poser in the truest form of the word. If you naturally look heroic when racing (as I'm sure many of you do) my hat is off to you. The super-hero look becomes inevitable after so many miles of hard training.