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.