Today was the Green Lakes Livestrong Triathlon. It was cool and intensely humid when not raining and colder when it was raining.
Today I volunteered at the Green Lakes Triathlon.
Wow! So many beautiful, strong, courageous and determined athletes. The power of this group was inspiring. I worked briefly helping racers put their timing chips on and then was stationed at the first water stop coming out of the bike transition into the run. Let me tell you there is an art to handing out water and it took a few to get the hang of it. I got to cheer (and by cheer I mean yell really loud) on all of my friends out there navigating the course. Lastly, I got to help with crowd control near the finish line and while I did not get to see the winners finish I did get to cheer on some of my favorite people and watch them succeed and see the look of pride on their faces. A great big way to go to all of you!
Props to all of the family, friends, volunteers, survivors, and other supporters that came out to cheer on these amazing people.
Note to self...start taking more pictures to include in blog.
Tomorrow it is 4 weeks until the Boilermaker and 8 until my first tri Iron Girl and 154 days 11 hours 6 minutes and 36 seconds until the Outer Banks Marathon, but hey who's counting. One of these days maybe I will write about some of my training.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
What if I come in last?
So I am now officially registered for the Outer Banks Marathon in November. Twenty five weeks. It seems like an eternity and it feels like tomorrow.
I am terrified. I am elated. I am proud that I had the courage to make the commitment. I am.
Now what? This is a small race of just over 1200. The Boilermaker has 14,000. I was close to the back of the pack running the Boilermaker and it wasmore than 10x bigger.
What if I am last? Seriously. What if I am last? It is entirely possible. And it scares me. Really scares me. What if I am last by a lot? Like 30 minutes or more...I envision myself slogging along being followed by the police car or biker or whoever is tasked with bringing up the rear.
At work today I talked with Deb Green. She is an instructor at the Y and a marathoner herself. Her first marathon she was last. Deb told me it was the best experience of her life. She wouldn't want it to have happened any other way. She teared up telling me the story and I am blessed to have had her share it with me.
People cheer the loudest for the winner and the one who dares to finish last.
What do I say to finishing at the back of the pack now?
So what if I come in last...
I am terrified. I am elated. I am proud that I had the courage to make the commitment. I am.
Now what? This is a small race of just over 1200. The Boilermaker has 14,000. I was close to the back of the pack running the Boilermaker and it wasmore than 10x bigger.
What if I am last? Seriously. What if I am last? It is entirely possible. And it scares me. Really scares me. What if I am last by a lot? Like 30 minutes or more...I envision myself slogging along being followed by the police car or biker or whoever is tasked with bringing up the rear.
At work today I talked with Deb Green. She is an instructor at the Y and a marathoner herself. Her first marathon she was last. Deb told me it was the best experience of her life. She wouldn't want it to have happened any other way. She teared up telling me the story and I am blessed to have had her share it with me.
People cheer the loudest for the winner and the one who dares to finish last.
What do I say to finishing at the back of the pack now?
So what if I come in last...
Monday, June 4, 2012
2012 a year of firsts...
The year is 2012 and this will be the year I compete in my first triathlon. I know I have talked about it before on my blog, but I wanted to touch on it again. The tri is called Iron Girl and it is a race for women only and I am mildly terrified. Not so much of the running or the biking or even the act of swimming, but I am petrified of the wetsuit. It hangs in my closet like an intruder waiting with an ax. I sleep with a light on so it doesn't sneak up on me in the middle of the night.
Okay the second first (is that proper English) is going to be a half marathon. Yep 13.1 miles. Thirteen point one miles. What am I thinking? Who does that and why? The way I am justifying it is...if I am doing the Boilermaker (which is a second) anyway which is 9.3 miles what is another 3.8 miles? That is only another 5k plus .7. No big deal. Right? That is what I keep telling myself. Oh yeah and the Boilermaker is less than 6 weeks away. WHAT??? Okay now I haven't actually signed up for one yet, but I am. Just got find one that guarantees 50 degrees, light rain, it must be all slightly downhill, and it must end with adult beverages. Shouldn't be too tough to find.
Then the coup de grace...the piece de resistance...the WTF are you thinking...the third first...I am going to run a marathon. Yes a full mary. The run that only between .1% and 2% of people will ever do in their life. Why? Because I can. It is on my bucket list. I am going to run the Gateway Bank Outer Banks Marathon on Sunday, November 11, 2012. There I said it out loud and I said it online (where everything is true).
The lesson I learned is IT IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA TO TALK TO YOUR MOM ABOUT RUNNING AFTER DRINKING MULTIPLE GLASSES OF WINE OR YOU WILL END UP COMMITTING TO RUNNING A MARATHON.
Corgis say what are you thinking?
Okay the second first (is that proper English) is going to be a half marathon. Yep 13.1 miles. Thirteen point one miles. What am I thinking? Who does that and why? The way I am justifying it is...if I am doing the Boilermaker (which is a second) anyway which is 9.3 miles what is another 3.8 miles? That is only another 5k plus .7. No big deal. Right? That is what I keep telling myself. Oh yeah and the Boilermaker is less than 6 weeks away. WHAT??? Okay now I haven't actually signed up for one yet, but I am. Just got find one that guarantees 50 degrees, light rain, it must be all slightly downhill, and it must end with adult beverages. Shouldn't be too tough to find.
Then the coup de grace...the piece de resistance...the WTF are you thinking...the third first...I am going to run a marathon. Yes a full mary. The run that only between .1% and 2% of people will ever do in their life. Why? Because I can. It is on my bucket list. I am going to run the Gateway Bank Outer Banks Marathon on Sunday, November 11, 2012. There I said it out loud and I said it online (where everything is true).
The lesson I learned is IT IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA TO TALK TO YOUR MOM ABOUT RUNNING AFTER DRINKING MULTIPLE GLASSES OF WINE OR YOU WILL END UP COMMITTING TO RUNNING A MARATHON.
Corgis say what are you thinking?
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