Swarzak goes the distance in RailRiders loss

Little League returns to Luzerne County

<p>April is over and I can put my first big test of 2016 in the rear view mirror.</p><p>I had been told by several people that if I could complete a half marathon, finishing an Olympic distance triathlon wouldn&#8217;t be a problem.</p><p>And I did finish the Scranton Half Marathon. I even had a quite enjoyable time while completing the 13.1-mile run a few weeks ago.</p><p>The spectators along the route were fantastic. Some of the signs they brought out had me literally laughing out loud while attempting to complete the longest endurance event of my short triathlon career. (Although I think the person holding up the sign at the 12.5-mile mark warning that they were running out of beer at the finish line was beyond cruel.)</p><p>I enjoyed the whole event so much that I plan to make it part of my annual training regime.</p><p>I even wasn&#8217;t too disappointed with my time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 35 seconds, although finishing in 1,740th place isn&#8217;t that impressive.</p><p>But, based on what I&#8217;ve been told, I was right on track for completing the Beech Mountain Triathlon in Drums on July 31 and then the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon in the Back Mountain on Aug. 21.</p><p>I should be feeling pretty good about myself, right?</p><p>Well then I heard to story of LeeAdianez Rodriguez-Espada.</p><p>In case you haven&#8217;t heard, Rodriguez-Espada is the 12-year-old that showed up to run a 5K last month in Rochester, New York,<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/health/12-year-old-accidentally-runs-half-marathon/" target="_blank"> according to CNN</a>. She was late getting to the starting line and saw that the run had already started.</p><p>Not to be deterred, off Rodriguez-Espada went. There was only one problem, the race she started wasn&#8217;t the 5K she had expected to compete in. Instead, she had joined a half marathon.</p><p>Showing much more determination than I had at that age, Rodriguez-Espada decided to finish the race. And she did in 2:43.</p><p>So I train for over three months and the kid that ran a half marathon by accident does almost as well as I did? That just doesn&#8217;t seem fair. It was quite the blow to my ego.</p><p>To make matters worse, CNN also reported that five other 12-year-olds and a 7-year-old completed the race in addition to Rodriguez-Espada.</p><p>A 7-year-old?</p><p>Perhaps I have a little more work to do before that final Sunday in July afterall.</p><p>Just so I can keep my sanity, no one remind be about the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/25/us/dog-runs-half-marathon/" target="_blank">dog that finished a half marathon</a> all on his own earlier this year.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Joe Soprano</p><p>Triathlon Tales</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Joe Soprano is the Times Leader&#8217;s assistant news editor. He is attempting to complete two Olympic distance marathons this summer. Reach him at 570-991-6393 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Triathlon Tales: What I thought was an epic achievement put in perspective