Racing For a Reason

The food isn’t everything…at least not always.

Sometimes, it is more about the people and the moments you share over a meal than the actual food itself.

So...while I will get back to the food in subsequent blogs, I want to share some personal moments of light and inspiration…

This past weekend, I shared one of the more memorable meals I have had in a long time. Not memorable food wise…but memorable because of the moments shared within that meal that truly nourished my soul.

On Friday, I made my way down south for Wildflower Weekend…one of my favorite weekends of the year. The AVIA Wildflower Triathlon, held at the Lake San Antonio Recreation Area, consists of three separate, fiendishly difficult triathlon events, wrapped around a fun exposition and some great camping. Not only is it one of the toughest long-course triathlons on the circuit, it is unique in the fact that everyone, athletes and spectators alike, have to camp out for the weekend around the lake…creating this amazingly spirited and supportive environment.

This particular Wildflower race was an especially fun and inspirational one.

In 1998, Page Bertelsen, a friend and fellow triathlete, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. In 2000, she received a bone marrow transplant that saved her life.

While I had come for the competition, my pre-race dinner with Page and crew on Friday evening quickly turned into the most memorable part of my weekend. I was honored to attend a dinner hosted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society  (LLS) where hundreds of triathletes gathered to celebrate raising over $800,000 to fund cancer research and support services for patients battling leukemia and lymphoma…patients just like Page.

The highlight of this dinner was when Page and a handful of fellow cancer survivors were asked to come to the front and address the crowd…sharing their personal stories of perseverance and survival. As the crowd rose to their feet to celebrate these survivors, I couldn’t help the tears from rolling down my face. That moment and those emotions are hard to put into words. Seeing 100’s of people cheering for Page…most of whom had probably never raced in anything ever before, but had tirelessly trained their bodies and raised money to continue to the work of LLS…was nothing short of remarkable. They were there…about to race in one of the toughest triathlons around…and they were doing it for Page and for all of the Page’s out there.

In that moment and for the remainder of the weekend, it became more than a sport to me….it became more than just my own individual pursuit for glory…for placing in my age group or getting a personal record…it become something bigger…we were all in this together.

I looked over at David (Page’s amazingly supportive boyfriend and dear friend of mine)…the tears rolling quietly down his face and all I could say was, “We are going to nail this race tomorrow, David. We are going to nail it for Page.”

And we did.

And Page did.

Triathlons are an immensely grueling individual sport. Grueling physically…but even more grueling mentally. There were moments out on the course Saturday when I wanted to quit…when the head wind picked back up on mile 50 of the bike…when the sun had sucked up every last drop of energy I had…when the non-stop hills on the run took the wind right out of me…but I did not quit. I kept pushing forward. I thought of that dinner the night before. I thought of Page out there on the course kicking a**. I thought of all those people out there racing for their “cause”, whatever it may be, and those that were racing for Page. And I could not quit.

People often ask me why I race. I race because I enjoy pushing my mind and body to the limits. I enjoy the moments where there is pain and darkness and weakness and I must find the strength to carry on. These are the moments, for me, that build heart and character…the moments where I dig deep to find inspiration. Everybody races for different reasons…but that is why I race. And in the darkest and most painful of moments this past Saturday…I was inspired by Page and her success in fighting cancer…and not just surviving, but racing in long course triathlons.

And so…8 GU packets, 3 Gatorades, 2 bottles of Endurox, 3 Clif Bars, 3 water bottles, and one packet of Shot Blocks later…I crossed the finish line of the 2011 Wildflower ½ ironman with a personal record and in top pack of my age group.

And, even more importantly, I got to meet my friends David and Page at the end of the race for a hug and I was reminded of a quote from Nelson Mandela:

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

So here’s to you David and Page…for inspiring me and for being the best darn racing buddies a girl could ask for. And to the rest of the crew (James, Ryan, Amanda, Derek, Dawn, Heather, Russ, Stephanie)…you are the most amazing racers, cheerleaders, costume wearers, post-race meal cookers, swimmers, runners, dancers, high-fivers, picture takers, whiskey drinkers in all the world. It was an honor…and a pleasure. (Just don’t judge me for getting the uncontrollable hick-ups after drinking one beer post race ;)

To many more races to come…I will savor the moments!