I took this picture of Sarah Reinertsen running by me, just after my husband ran by - both starting the final portion of their Olympic distance tri's. It not only was super inspiring to see her smile, so beautiful, her power and strength, and how light hearted and energetic she was - the definition of SLaB - it threw me back to the day before - during my Sprint distance triathlon attempt. Yes I did not train enough... but I wanted to accomplish something. The swim as you know I didn't like for the crowds. I LOVED the bike portion, as I know bikes, ride them, and just plain always feel happy riding a bike. The run was something else. "Heavy legs"... I thought... then "no... I have to say my mantra". Another 40+ yr. old lady and I struggled up the short steep hills, and I tried to motivate us both into thinking how light, fast, and strong we were. We got quiet... and turned a corner to face another steep short hill... and both of us involuntarily gasped a sigh of struggle.
Not a second or two later, a CAF (Challenged Athlete Foundation) runner with ONE LEG, like Sarah here in this picture... was returning from the turn-around point on the run. Ahead of us, strong, smiling and amazing.
That put it in perspective for us two moaning ladies who felt like our 2 legs were too heavy for us. We could have just one... and would we be complaining so?
I'm happy to say both my legs are sore, and I'm still feeling the affects of accomplishing an event, be it shorter than other challenges, but long enough to scare me, excite me, and make me feel proud I tried it. Thanks Sarah and your colleagues - for inspiring us so much!
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