Well, just did Buckeye Lake Tri (Olympic distance near Columbus, OH) and my BRAND NEW (first race) Orca P-flex wetsuit was swiped. And no, I don’t think it was a case of “mistaken identity” based on several factors.
I am quite pissed and HOPE it is a case of mistaken identity. I’ll be forwarding the serial number (on the inside print of the suit) to e-bay, HFP racing, here, Gordo’s, etc. If you come across a size 6.5 cheap, let me know ;( Bad Karma is coming this persons way. And I am USUALLY very trusting of fellow triathletes. This was not even a very large race (about 200 people).
Man that is bullshit. I wonder how often that happens at HFP races as security seems to be kind of an issue there. I think you run a risk everytime that you have a shorter distance and a longer distance at the same time.
On a side note, It looked like 3 races in the Columbus area on the same day had an impact on registration for all of the races. I rode my bike from my house out 256 to watch you guys and I was surprised by how few racers there were. Lots of them asked me if I was OK though, they must have thought my bike broke or something. Hope you had a good race besides the thievery.
OH, was that you on the corner! Yeah, I asked as well - didn’t look like you were fixing a flat and you looked like a racer There was some nasty gravel on the corner too so sorry if I didn’t pay more attention!
Thanks for the moral support - actually, no, the tag is not removeable. It is printed on the inside (I assume for this reason). The only reason I have the serial number still is because it is only a few days old and I wanted to make sure it fit well (which it did) so I have the tag! I have done about 20 HFP races without a hitch and maybe 30 tris total - never an issue. It just figures when I finally get a new wetsuit - never even thought about insuring it (although it would cost the same as my deductible to replace). I am taking photos of my extra wheels, bikes, etc. as I type …
Yup - that was me on the Guru - I might have been looking fast (half the battle but sure didn’t feel too fast. It was my anniversary on Sat (#12), out to eat, Anniversary “duties”, got up at 4:15am to drive up … Well, not my best race for sure. Didn’t “feel” tired, but had no pop in the legs, especially on the run which was an easy course to boot. Also, the bike course was long (about 1.5 miles) which threw us off some.
Jim - right, not blaming HFP at all (although there really is no security at all to speak of). They run a class act in my opinion. Then again, like I said, I’ve done 20 other HFP events without a hitch (especially ones like the the Little smokies where you basically live on top one another for an entire weekend). You are right, he/she is the culprit and will hopefully get what he/she deserves …
Thanks for the support! I guess that what I was looking for?!
hey there, saw you for a second today…didn’t get to say hi. so sorry to hear about the wetsuit…that is total crap. the person who did that will have all the payback required (and then some) in one form or another. i feel sorry for the person because of the karma they have put on themself, unless it was an accident, then hopefully they’ll return it.
Kitty - yeah, I hit the same damn concrete thing warming up too! No, I didn’t see the panicked swimmer! Good thing Mark didn’t I totally forgot you were going to be there until Mark mentioned it, then I only saw your bike racked. I had a rough day with only 4 hours sleep - I was tired by mile 3 on the bike I blame Rebecca
Marisol - yeah, I forgot about the fat rabbit racing 1/2: I would have much preferred that distance anyway (although hindsight with my anniversary the day before, I’m glad I didn’t - although I may still have my wetsuit). Hope you had a good race (I’m sure you did).
Yeah, I have homeowners insurance but most have a $500 deductible (which is about the cost of a P-flex) so that wouldn’t have helped much. I didn’t know about AMEX 3 month gig - I will inquire with my credit card company.
I had my IM suit stolen in Lake Geneva a few years ago. It has my name and phone number permanently on the white part inside the zipper so if the person who stole it ever changes their mind or quits swimming, they can give me a call. More likely that the theif will be swimming in it with no ID, get killed by a motorboat, and my wife will get a call that begins with the words “we regret to inform you that your husband won’t be coming home…ever.” I’ve recently stopped holding my breath waiting for either one of those things to happen and bought a QR Superfull. When the suit was first stolen, I thought that was the least likely of the above 3 scenarios that would happen.
Well hope the wet suit comes back to you and was simply mistakenly taken.
Stealing from others sucks. When you get something stolen that has value to you, the feeling is like an invasion of one’s person. In a way like a lesser extent of rape or a mugging. Individuals who steal from others are just plain low down cuz they’re sneaking cowardly behind someone’s back to take something of someone else’s they got no right to.
Imagine the feeling if someone stole your prized bicycle. I had a collection of 350 or more audiophile CDs in a big CD folder case stolen from my car. These CDs had taken more than 10years to collect and at least 50% cannot be found in the market anymore. I’ve got tons of normal commercial CD’s but that folder was the collection of my favourite album-best recordings. It’s extremely difficult to find audiophile recordings of all kinds of favourite tracks that you really like and some of those were already collectors items. That is just one thing amongst several things that have been stolen from me eg my fav sunglasses, fav new boots etc over the years.
If I catch someone stealing I would be sorely tempted to bust his chops, render him unconscious then snap his arm like we would a tree branch, no hesitation and no regrets. Trouble is these sneaky scum are always sneaking and prey on decent folk when the moment is most vulnerable, so they seldom get caught. One of these fine days some lucky will get caught by me and I’ll use him to make up for all the other times I couldn’t catch the other snivelling thieves.
Although no one is likely to covet my Promotion sleeveless wetsuit enough to steal it, I nevertheless wrote my name in big, black, indelible ink on the front and back of the suit. I suppose the only way they could hide that would be to dye/color all of the fabric portions of the suit black.
There was some nasty gravel on the corner too so sorry if I didn’t pay more attention!
I totally forgot you were going to be there until Mark mentioned it, then I only saw your bike racked. I had a rough day with only 4 hours sleep - I was tired by mile 3 on the bike 