Denny Shines at Santa Cruz

Competitors leap into the surf to begin the 1.5 km swim. Santa Cruz. 2003

Readers may recall my hope, plaintively expressed earlier, that I might at least keep Denny in sight during our Laotian biking in November. My hopes seem now to be squelched with finality.

Denny competed in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Triathlon on September 23, finishing the three part event in a total time of 2 hours, 42 minutes, 1 second. He finished 369th in a total field of 839 participants. He was competing in a much stronger field this time. His finish time would have ranked him 16th in the Kings Trail Triathlon on Maui, where he competed last June. His strongest event was the run, where he ran a 10k in 48:46, after having already completed a 1.5 km swim in the cold Northern California Pacific Ocean, and a 40 km bike ride!

I've exhausted myself, just writing about it. I'm no longer worried about whether I can keep up with Denny in Laos. I now realize what a truly high class worry that was. My concern now is the effect on my morale as I watch Denny ride circles around me, a grin on his face and casually chatting, as I pant slowly up the 35-mile incline!

Congratulations, Den! Great job. We're all proud of you!

Maui no ka oi

Denny writes from Sonoma that he is busily boxing up his bicycle for shipment to Hawaii. Next weekend, June 9, he participates in his first triathlon, the Kings Trail Triathlon, near Makena, Maui. This little event will demand that he swim in the ocean for 1500 meters, bicycle for 40 km (24.9 miles), and finish off with a 10k foot race (6.2 miles).

This will be Denny's first triathlon, and the first by anyone in our family, so far as I know. He warmed up for the event by his very respectable finish in the Los Angeles Marathon in March (4 hours, 26 minutes, 37 seconds). The best finish in the Kings Trail Triathlon last year was about 2 hours, 12 minutes, which is very comparable to a typical best finish in a marathon. So the two events are equally demanding in endurance, with the triathlon also requiring effort not only in the legs, but in upper body muscles that I doubt that I myself even possess!

Recalling that the Great Dens has had four arthroscopic surgeries on a bum knee makes his endeavors even more amazing and admirable. We all wish we could be in Maui to cheer you on, Denny. (Of course, we all wish we could be in Maui anytime!)

Good luck, le'a le'a! (have fun!), and bring home another medal.