Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Athena


For those of you who don't know her, this is Mary. She is the kook-head that got me into this whole triathlon business. She is the one that makes it look easy. When I show up to do the Sprint tri, she is there to do a half Ironman... and take 6th in her age group. She has been at my side for 4 of my 5 races, and God love her for inspiring me to get out there.

And get out there I did. Sunday was a glorious day, full of sunshine and minimal wind. I had no idea how well or poorly I had trained... I managed to chug through most of my scheduled workouts, and it had been 2 years since my last race. I had struggled with my registration as well... 

You may have heard of the Clydesdale divisions in races. It's the Big Boy category. It's the chance for guys not built like a whippet to feel competitive. It seemed slightly less insultingto me when my 6'4" brother considered registering for it, given he is practically 2 dimensional. 

For the ladies, it's the Athena division. Now, having spent much of this life trying to believe I am OK with my body after years of actively hating it, signing up for Athena - actively proclaiming I weigh more than 150lbs (and I don't mean by a smidge) - is a hard pill to swallow. However, given that I am not even close to 150lbs (and at 5'10" probably shouldn't be... please see brother comment above), I thought maybe it would allow me to be competitive SOMEWHERE. The 35-39yr old women's category is wicked fast and actually contained the eventual overall winner of the race. I ain't competitive with THAT chick.

Ok. So I did it. I signed up with the chubby girls. Why not. Give it a whirl. 

And damn it, if I didn't win first place! 

That's right. I WON! Number 1, BABY! Trophy. Award ceremony. The whole shooting match! I've never won anything in an individual sport. And I will tell you something right now... it feels pretty snappy. 
 
I am now ready for more! Sign this Athena UP! In fact, feel free to just call me Athena from now own. I am all for it. Leo shall know me not at Mama, but Athena. She is a goddess, after all. 

And, to make it all even nicer, I actually took 16th in my age group, out of 77. Who knows... With a little more work, I may take down the skinny chicks too.

2 comments:

Jules said...

Oh, my God, woman, you are amazing!!! Congratulations!!! More power to all the Athenas out there.

Unknown said...

YOU SO ROCKED THAT RACE!!!!!

Way to go girl. And how cool is that trophy?

Nice work, I can't wait to watch you at the next one.

Congrats.