FLASH-POINT BLOGGER: WILLIAM LOBDELL

Last night, the Iron Kahuna is reading Outside, his favorite magazine, and he came across a story headlined: "Swim. Bike. Run. Shoot. Kill." It's about how the Navy SEALS have discovered that while their graduation rate is 26%, among triathetes its 40%. So, the Navy is trying to recruit athletes into the SEAL program.

The author of the piece, Tim Sohn, says that triathletes make good recruits because they are "wiry all-arounders who tend to be focused, good both on land and in the water, and largely indifferent to physical discomfort."

The Kahuna understands what the writer is saying about being "largely indifferent to physical discomfort," but that seems suggest that triathletes don't feel or mind pain. The Kahuna hurts, a lot, when training or competing. Still, for him, it's one of the main draws of triathlon. He doesn't get pleasure from the pain. In fact, he fears it. But by working his way through the fear and the pain, he molds himself into a tougher, stronger, more mature Kahuna.

Pain is good.

Breaking news: The Iron Kahuna and Robo-Stu just signed up for the Las Vegas Triathlon on Sept. 30 -- and they are looking for some company. No, not that kind of company. The company of fellow triathletes.

They will get into Vegas Friday night and stay at the Hacienda Hotel, which is near the race site (but far from the Strip), that evening and Saturday night. The good news: the cost is only $87 a night. The bad news: it's the effeing Hacienda. But with enough tri-bloggers and friends, we can bring the party to the Hacienda.

We're also staying Sunday, but at Treasure Island on the Strip. The rate is only $135.36 (tax included).

This will be the season-ending event for our triathlon season dedicated to fun. In keeping with that spirit, we will be competing in the Olympic race and forgetting about the half-Ironman. This will free us up for our special pre-race activities Friday and Saturday nights.

This will be an epic adventure. Who's in?

The Iron Kahuna joined a swim team yesterday for the first time in 25 years. And holy crap, is he tired after the maiden workout.

The move to become a member of Pacific Coast Swimming was driven by a pool shortage caused by the shuttering of the Kahuna's home pool for the summer. This has driven all the swim and water polo teams to the other nice pool in the community, leaving no empty water for the mighty Kahuna.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The Kahuna has always resisted taking the masters route. He already had enough people yelling at him and giving him orders throughout the day. He didn't need to add on a coach.

But the coach is a very nice guy. The team members are welcoming. And the Kahuna is going to get wickedly fast. In the first workout, the team went around 4,000 yards in varied sets. That's about 2,000 more yards than the Kahuna has been doing on his own, and the yardage was done at a faster pace. There's nothing like a little competition to ramp up the effort.

So this will be a nice new adventure. The Kahuna will make some new friends and finish the swim legs of triathlons even farther out in front, meaning he might be passed by a few less Spandex cowboys.