First and foremost, Congratulations Kim on your Minnie Marathon Weekend 15K!!! I'm so happy for you!! Can you see my smile??? :o)
Yesterday my husband and I volunteered to man a water station at the TriAmerica Charlotte Harbor event. We had planned on going to the event as spectators to take some tri notes, but a friend of ours from the gym informed us that event volunteers were still needed. Sounded like fun to me!
We arrived @ 5:45AM and found the other Zoomers who were volunteering (you are right, Kim... what a nice group of people). Just after daylight broke, we were taken to our water station on beautiful Manasota Key just past blind pass beach! No doubt we had the best view out of all of the water stations. The noseeums were out in mass during the early hours and I'm paying for that today with little bites all over. As soon as the sea breeze blew in and the sun was fully overhead, they went their own way... and then the athletes started coming our way. This was the first year for the TriAmerica series to take place in the Charlotte Harbor area and hence, the race attracted a small, but joyous crowd of athletes.
There were a few elites participating and they pretty much flew by us at 24 mph on the bike route! Holy God! The guy who won the whole thing actually shouted to us that he wanted H2O while he was in 24mph mode! My husband grabbed a cup, held it out and a red blur snatched it out of his hand. There was this lovely 'whack' sound as the rider's hand hit the cup at such a high speed-- like a perfect baton pass! I don't think I''ll ever forget that sound. It was lovely!!!
The best part of our day was during the run leg. Most of the athletes were so friendly and all of them appreciated our life saving fluid and words of encouragement. There are two athletes that stick out in my mind in particular. I think I talked about the one guy all the way home. The run was an out and back loop and when they passed us on the way out, they were telling us about how beautiful the swim had been and in such a gorgeous location to boot! On the way back, one of the two guys actually took a seat on the railing that lined the side of the road and I mentioned to him about how "joyous" he seemed compared to other athletes who had gone by. He proudly said, "Well we're just finishers. We're not in it for any prizes. Just enjoying every moment. I'm so glad that I discovered triathlon." I then told him that I had my first race coming up and he offered words of support. As he was taking off, I wished him well and he turned around and said, "Good luck on your race! You're going to do great!"
At the point when the athlete said all of this to me, he had already swam 1.24 miles, biked 37.3 miles, and ran 6 miles (with 3.3 miles to go). It was super hot yesterday too. For him to take time to talk and offer words of encouragement DURING a race... well, it meant so very much to me. I only wish I knew who this guy was. Maybe I'll run into him in the future.
With his pearls of wisdom fresh in my mind, I began to think about my own upcoming race and all of the races that I hope to do in the future. I thought about how often I look down at my watch to check my pace or look at my cycling computer to check my mph. I do it so often that most of the time I find myself not even remembering 'what' I've run or ridden past. I've trained well. I know that I can finish my upcoming race or any other Sprint distance race that I enter. Heck, I've trained so hard that I could probably finish an Olympic distance right now. Knowing that, I can choose two paths: race so hard (mindful of pace the entire time) that I don't stop and smell the flowers OR race to enjoy the sport of triathlon... stopping to smell those flowers along the way. As of yesterday, I choose the later.
If you're out there in blog land... thank you to the "man in the tan colored tri shorts" for opening up my eyes to the beauty of this sport before I got lost in all of the mumbo jumbo numbers game that should really be reserved for those who do this for a living. I still plan to give it my all when I race, but I'll be sure to keep a little in the tank in order to stop and smell the flowers or to pass on your words to that budding triathlete manning a water station.
Yesterday my husband and I volunteered to man a water station at the TriAmerica Charlotte Harbor event. We had planned on going to the event as spectators to take some tri notes, but a friend of ours from the gym informed us that event volunteers were still needed. Sounded like fun to me!
We arrived @ 5:45AM and found the other Zoomers who were volunteering (you are right, Kim... what a nice group of people). Just after daylight broke, we were taken to our water station on beautiful Manasota Key just past blind pass beach! No doubt we had the best view out of all of the water stations. The noseeums were out in mass during the early hours and I'm paying for that today with little bites all over. As soon as the sea breeze blew in and the sun was fully overhead, they went their own way... and then the athletes started coming our way. This was the first year for the TriAmerica series to take place in the Charlotte Harbor area and hence, the race attracted a small, but joyous crowd of athletes.
There were a few elites participating and they pretty much flew by us at 24 mph on the bike route! Holy God! The guy who won the whole thing actually shouted to us that he wanted H2O while he was in 24mph mode! My husband grabbed a cup, held it out and a red blur snatched it out of his hand. There was this lovely 'whack' sound as the rider's hand hit the cup at such a high speed-- like a perfect baton pass! I don't think I''ll ever forget that sound. It was lovely!!!
The best part of our day was during the run leg. Most of the athletes were so friendly and all of them appreciated our life saving fluid and words of encouragement. There are two athletes that stick out in my mind in particular. I think I talked about the one guy all the way home. The run was an out and back loop and when they passed us on the way out, they were telling us about how beautiful the swim had been and in such a gorgeous location to boot! On the way back, one of the two guys actually took a seat on the railing that lined the side of the road and I mentioned to him about how "joyous" he seemed compared to other athletes who had gone by. He proudly said, "Well we're just finishers. We're not in it for any prizes. Just enjoying every moment. I'm so glad that I discovered triathlon." I then told him that I had my first race coming up and he offered words of support. As he was taking off, I wished him well and he turned around and said, "Good luck on your race! You're going to do great!"
At the point when the athlete said all of this to me, he had already swam 1.24 miles, biked 37.3 miles, and ran 6 miles (with 3.3 miles to go). It was super hot yesterday too. For him to take time to talk and offer words of encouragement DURING a race... well, it meant so very much to me. I only wish I knew who this guy was. Maybe I'll run into him in the future.
With his pearls of wisdom fresh in my mind, I began to think about my own upcoming race and all of the races that I hope to do in the future. I thought about how often I look down at my watch to check my pace or look at my cycling computer to check my mph. I do it so often that most of the time I find myself not even remembering 'what' I've run or ridden past. I've trained well. I know that I can finish my upcoming race or any other Sprint distance race that I enter. Heck, I've trained so hard that I could probably finish an Olympic distance right now. Knowing that, I can choose two paths: race so hard (mindful of pace the entire time) that I don't stop and smell the flowers OR race to enjoy the sport of triathlon... stopping to smell those flowers along the way. As of yesterday, I choose the later.
If you're out there in blog land... thank you to the "man in the tan colored tri shorts" for opening up my eyes to the beauty of this sport before I got lost in all of the mumbo jumbo numbers game that should really be reserved for those who do this for a living. I still plan to give it my all when I race, but I'll be sure to keep a little in the tank in order to stop and smell the flowers or to pass on your words to that budding triathlete manning a water station.
5 comments:
What an awesome post! It's very true :-) Sometimes you've gotta enjoy the moment.
And what a sight to see for the men at the water station ;-)
Sherry!!
I have tears in my eyes. Not just because you mentioned me (thank you, xxxooo) but because I could FEEL the dawning in your words of how I feel about running. Running is my gift to myself, and I knew when I started what it truly is for me. Yes, I'm competitive and I want to do well, but I just LOVE the feeling I get no matter how fast (or slow), no matter what distance I go...I can't explain it really. But I know from your words that you understand me.
I think you've prompted a special blog post about this topic.
I wish I could be there to cheer you on in Orlando. I KNOW you'll do fantastically (is that a real word??...LOL) That athlete who wished you well gave you something to feed off of when you are at the peak of your tri. You'll think of him at that precise moment and get a burst of energy.
I cannot wait to get your race report!!! I feel so excited for you!!!
xxx
Kim
That's EXACTLY why I kinda cried when I read your post, I could tell you knew what I was feeling Sherry! I love that you feel the same way. I don't feel so crazy anymore.
xxx
Kim
Beautiful post, Sherry. What a great experience. And, I concur with Marcy, although I would broaden her statement to say, "what a sight to see for everyone at your water station." You have such a warm smile.
It is a revelation when you realize how wrapped up you can get in paces, mph, heart rates, etc... I wasn't cognitively conscious enough to remember the final 10K of my marathon, but I sure did appreciate the experience and loving support up until that point.
Have a beautifully enjoyable first tri, my friend. ;-)
Sherry - Just caught your message on my blog. You can do the 10k early if that helps at all. If not, we'll catch you next time.
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