Sunday, September 14, 2008
(J)Lo and behold accuracy
Is anything reported accurately? Does any public figure tell unembellished facts about themselves?
The headlines this afternoon report that Jennifer Lopez completed the Nautica Malibu Triathlon today in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds. I read that and my mouth fell open. That was superhuman time, along the lines of something Superman could accomplish if he rewound the world after each portion of the triathlon. 2:23.28 would be awesome marathon time so how on earth, I asked myself, did she finish a triathlon that fast? Was it a half triathlon, I wondered? But the headlines said "triathlon" so . . . what?
Then my inner skeptic took over and I looked up the facts of regular triathlons as well as the Malibu Triathlon. A usual full-on triathlon consists of:
- 3.8K swim (2.4 miles)
- 180K bike course (112 miles)
- 42.2K run (26.2 miles - a full marathon)
And it turns out there were two events in the Malibu, one Saturday (the "olympic") and one Sunday (the "classic"). (J)lo and behold, Lopez ran Sunday and, hmm, the classic consisted of:
- half-mile halfswim
- 18 mile bike course
- 4-mile run course
Not easy unless you're in decent shape but basically a quarter triathlon.
And just as a point of information, the so-called olympic part of Malibu's triathlon wasn't. It consisted of:
- 1.5K swim
- 40K back bike course (along Pacific Coast Highway!)
- 10K run (on Zuma Beach)
Gorgeous and certain grueling for any ordinary person but less than a half triathlon and certainly not "olympic".
Oh and while I'm being snide and skeptical, the stated reason of an injured foot caused JLo to withdraw from being the celebrity judge at the finale of Project Runway on Thursday and Friday last week. I guess the really impressive thing, then, is that an injured foot on Friday prevented her from sitting in a chair and assessing clothing designs but was so much better two days later that she could complete in a quarter-triathlon on Sunday.
Would it make her sports accomplishment any less impressive if she said straightforwardly that she competed in a quarter triathalon? Especially considering that it's only a few months since she gave birth to twins? Doesn't the misleading report just make her seem self-aggrandizing and silly?
The headlines this afternoon report that Jennifer Lopez completed the Nautica Malibu Triathlon today in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds. I read that and my mouth fell open. That was superhuman time, along the lines of something Superman could accomplish if he rewound the world after each portion of the triathlon. 2:23.28 would be awesome marathon time so how on earth, I asked myself, did she finish a triathlon that fast? Was it a half triathlon, I wondered? But the headlines said "triathlon" so . . . what?
Then my inner skeptic took over and I looked up the facts of regular triathlons as well as the Malibu Triathlon. A usual full-on triathlon consists of:
- 3.8K swim (2.4 miles)
- 180K bike course (112 miles)
- 42.2K run (26.2 miles - a full marathon)
And it turns out there were two events in the Malibu, one Saturday (the "olympic") and one Sunday (the "classic"). (J)lo and behold, Lopez ran Sunday and, hmm, the classic consisted of:
- half-mile halfswim
- 18 mile bike course
- 4-mile run course
Not easy unless you're in decent shape but basically a quarter triathlon.
And just as a point of information, the so-called olympic part of Malibu's triathlon wasn't. It consisted of:
- 1.5K swim
- 40K back bike course (along Pacific Coast Highway!)
- 10K run (on Zuma Beach)
Gorgeous and certain grueling for any ordinary person but less than a half triathlon and certainly not "olympic".
Oh and while I'm being snide and skeptical, the stated reason of an injured foot caused JLo to withdraw from being the celebrity judge at the finale of Project Runway on Thursday and Friday last week. I guess the really impressive thing, then, is that an injured foot on Friday prevented her from sitting in a chair and assessing clothing designs but was so much better two days later that she could complete in a quarter-triathlon on Sunday.
Would it make her sports accomplishment any less impressive if she said straightforwardly that she competed in a quarter triathalon? Especially considering that it's only a few months since she gave birth to twins? Doesn't the misleading report just make her seem self-aggrandizing and silly?
Post a Comment