Open Up And Say BLOG!

She was busy...WINNING GOLD MEDALS!

Today I got to celebrate an ass kicking that my wife laid on the field of sprint competitors.

Corinna is modest; but I do not have to be. Winning feels good...and, quite frankly, without me there to cheer her on, I'm not sure it would have happened! Okay, I should clarify that at this point, I think that I should mention that I feel like a groupie. Or a roadie. You know...hang out with the band, maybe get to go backstage once in a while...and, although I do nothing to contribute to the success, I get to trick myself into thinking that I'm the reason for the gold medal...

Saturday day was Corinna's one and only day to practice open water swimming. You see, that was the only unanswered question about this whole triathlon... Lane swimming in a covered pool is one thing; but swimming in a lake is quite another. Swim practice was treacherous. Not only did Cori not know where to go, but she had to contend with all the leaches in the water! (Ewwww...).

As for the bike and swim; well, she had that covered. She has been working out a LOT lately. An insane amount of running, and biking, and all the while her personal trainer has been getting her into a weight lifting program to get her ready. He was nervous too...while he has trained many people, he's never actually trained a triathlete before until Cori!

I'll skip the words and just jump into the pictures:

This is what a Triathlon Staging set up looks like!

Morning of the event...this is the start area.

Another "morning of" shot. Check out the lake!

It is very important to stretch ahead of time.

Introducing your athletes!

Everyone lines up for the swim...

The start is just mass chaos!

This is Cori coming out of the swim. I would be dying; she looks really strong. She is passing some dude here.

How is THIS for inspiration? Yes...this lady really is handicapped.

I am ashamed to say that I missed the first transition...Cori got changed QUICK. Here she is going onto her first lap of the bike -- 20 KM long!

In triathlon, the transistions are EVERYTHING. This guy was a prostar...had his shoes in his pedals and everything. Unfortunately, he couldn't get them on. The guy crashed his bike and then bent down to put on his shoes. I grabbed this shot after the crash.

This is the bike-to-run transition. Notice how Cori is the first one in her row to make it in?

This is the end of lap one of the run. Cori has vaulted from third to second overall at this point. She is only about 40 seconds behind the lead runner!

Cori crosses the finish line in 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 42 seconds. She is SECOND OVERALL IN THE WOMEN'S SPRINT and FIRST IN HER AGE CATEGORY. She only missed first place by a mere 13 seconds.

Here is what a gold medal looks like.

Yup...it's real gold! And what a snazzy hat...jeez dad, think Newalta wants to sponsor a WINNER??? Next Stop -- Hawaii and the IRON MAN. (Uh, just kidding!)

Naturally, I am extremely proud of Corinna. She trained so hard for this that she TOTALLY deserved it. And as her manager, I'm entitled to 25% of the winnings...

posted by Team Shawn Michaels @ 9:43 p.m.