David Martin, 66, was attacked by a shark this morning while he swam with his buddies from the Triathlon Club of San Diego off the coast of Solana Beach. While the news media set up camp at Fletcher Cove, the site of the attack, I couldn’t help but wonder what type of year David had in 2007. After all, we are triathletes. When you are over 50 like a number of us are, we realize that our racing days- and our days above ground- are precious and need to be savored.

I can’t say that I knew David well. Being that we were lumped in the same over-the-hill age groups, our bike racks were always a cab drive away from the waters edge, but usually in close proximity to the porta potties. A trade-off for the positive if you asked most of us who spend WAY too much time in those little blue huts. We chatted occasionally and nodded to each other when we’d see each other during the run.

Being older, I know I enjoy the little victories in life that come at the races and I’m sure David did as well:

· Being able to pass younger kids in multiple colored swim caps in the swim despite leaving in the later waves.
· Putting our head down on the bike and going as hard as we could knowing that we were only going between 12 and 15 miles. Ironman? Who has the patience for that?
· Knowing that kids with numbers like 35 or 29 on their calves would be totally pissed when a 56 or a 65 cruised on by. The daily double was running by two at the same time whose ages add up to less than ours. Sweet!
· Hanging out with our fellow old folks at the post- event buffet savoring the fact that we had gotten up early, drove to a race in the dark, had a great race, met some nice people and maybe came home with a medal when other folks our same age might be just rolling out of bed and figuring out how to arrange their bingo cards.
· Staying young at heart by running, cycling and swimming with young, vibrant kids who actually enjoyed our company.

What’s great about the sport of triathlon is that on any given race day, no one cares how you're feeling, what your degree is in, what you do for a living, how old you are or how much you make. We all squeeze into our wetsuits one sweaty leg at a time and, at the end of the day, how you placed in your age division is all that really matters. You forget about e-mail and phone calls and business meetings when you’re racing. It’s just you and the course. About as basic and raw and simple as you can get.

So how did David Martin do during his last summer? Glad you asked. The guy totally kicked ass and took names:

In his new 65-69 age group he won The Spring Sprint Triathlon, Solana Beach Tri, Carlsbad Tri and Encinitas Tri. He took second at Mission Bay and Pacific Coast. Four wins and two second place finishes. I’m sure there were more, but that was enough to tell me the guy, like a good wine, was getting better with age.

No one likes to see anyone die before their time, and David certainly did. He may have been 66 years old, but he never lived, trained or raced that way.

The news media is focusing on the dangers of swimming in the ocean and wondering about more shark attacks in our future. We sometimes forget that we moved to the coast because of the ocean. David Martin lived in Solana Beach and Fletcher Cove was his personal refuge. Most of us love the ocean and understand, just like when we ride thick tires filled to 140 pounds of pressure on city streets, that there is danger inherent in what we do every single day. Triathlon is way beyond a hobby. It is more than what we do, it is who we are. Yes, we will stay out of the ocean today to honor David’s memory. But tomorrow or the next day we will be back at it because there is no better feeling than being in a warm ocean when the sun is going down and the waves are picture perfect. If you go through life afraid, you’re not really living.

David died doing what he loved in his favorite place on earth surrounded by a group of friends who shared exactly the same passion.

While David’s death was certainly tragic, the way he lived was anything but.