LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Lackland is sending two athletes to compete in the 2008 Armed Forces Triathlon Championship, to be held from May 28 to June 1, in Point Mugu, Calif.
James Bales, an orthopedic surgeon medical resident at Wilford Hall Medical Center, and Karrn Bales, a flight surgeon with the 37th Aerospace Medical Squadron, also happen to be married.
The couple will compete alongside 11 other male and five other female Air Force athletes against the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Canadian military.
While the two have competed in about 40 triathlons together, this will be Karrn's first Armed Forces Triathlon Championship.
"It's going to be a new format for me because I'm used to competitions where drafting is illegal," Karrn said. "I have also been working really hard on my swim because one of the strategies is to be one of the first ones out of the water to get into a fast pack."
Last year, James finished the triathlon in fourth place, but he was the first Air Force representative to finish. According to James, who also represented the Air Force at the Military World Games held in Mumbai, India, the course will be the same as last year.
Last year the triathlon took place on July 28. However, it was moved this year because of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
"They want to have all of the racing done before August for athletes that are in contingent for the Olympics," James said.
While James has been helping Karrn with her drafting technique, they will not be able to feed off each other during the race because it does not allow men and women to draft off each other.
The couple's workout begins at 4 a.m., when they wake up and bike 10 miles from their house to Lackland. After the ride, they swim from 5-6:30 a.m. From there, James reports to work, but Karrn is usually able to get her running in.
"We are too cheap to pay for gas, but we have good legs, so we might as well use them," Karrn said.
James and Karrn were married in September but had very little time together at first.
While Karrn was working normal duty hours, James was working the night shift at Wilford Hall. Soon after, James was called out to California for three months on medical rotation.
"It's been pretty nice the last six weeks," Karrn said. "I still feel like we just got married."
The couple met in 2002 while they were both stationed at Eglin AFB, Fla. Karrn was completing her residency and James was on rotation as a medical student.
They trained for a marathon then and raced together, but nothing developed until more than a year later when Karrn called James for advice on an iron man triathlon.
"I had no ulterior motives, I just wanted some advice for a race, but he said he would coach me and we totally hit it off from there," Karrn said. "That was the end of our solo days."
The couple engaged in a year-and-a-half long-distance relationship until Karrn was assigned to San Antonio in 2006.
"We would end up racing together when we went to visit," James said. "It's a cheap date to go out and train or race. It's just a great way to see each other. If you spend two to three hours on a bike with someone, you get to learn a lot about them."
The competitive couple has found ways to train together despite their different skill levels.
When they go riding, James fills two water bottles with lead shot, adding a total of 30 pounds to his bike. He also uses a heavier bike. The disparity in weight makes their practice rides very competitive.
James has even more radical methods to create parity when they run together.
"I found a tire on the side of the road one time and I put a tow rope through it and tied it around my waist," James said. "Now I drag it when we run together."
The couple's unorthodox training habits extend past working out.
James was once so amused by the radical healthy eating habits of some of the competitors that he decided to eat a blizzard from Dairy Queen the night before the race. He ended up winning that race and it has been his tradition since then, a tradition that Karrn is also now hooked on.
"He always gets a medium Reeces Peanut Butter Blizzard, but I switch it up," Karrn said.
Don't be surprised if you see the couple chowing down at a pizza buffet after a long ride.
"There is nothing like going to Cici's Pizza after a four-or five-hour bike ride," James said. "You will find that there are two types of athletes, those that eat celery sticks and tofu, and those who just eat. We just eat."
After the championships, the couple will compete in another triathlon in Lubbock at the end of June.
"We don't have much of a social life besides each other," James said. "You got to get some sleep somewhere in there."