Bringing It All Together

Christy Bohannon is the reason I ever attempted a triathlon. She had just joined my soccer team in New Orleans, and I thought she was a super neat person. We hit it off immediately and have remained great friends till this day. I often tell Dave I wish we lived closer to Christy. In fact, I say it probably once a week.

So, Christy started off pretty much the way I did- a beginner that had a lot of fun and continued to improve. When it came time for me to try the sport, I did everything that Christy did. Here are some of the things that I completely copied from her.

1. She had a road bike, so when I had the choice between getting a road bike or tri bike- I got a road bike. Her bike was entry level aluminum, so that is what I got too.
   
2. She wore Desoto tri shorts, so I got Desoto tri shorts.
   
3. She bought some really inexpensive Lake bike shoes. I went on ebay and found a cheap pair of Lake shoes.
   
4. She suggested a certain pair of bike shorts, so I bought that exact pair.
   

And I am sure there are many, many other things that I copied.

Christy has since moved on in the world of triathlon. She has competed in Worlds. She has run in the low 1:30s in a half IM. She has qualified and raced in Kona. She has completed 3 IMs, including her last one just weeks after being released to walk after a bike crash that left her with a broken pelvis. She is still someone that I call and ask for advice and comfort. She is bringing me tri shorts to Florida to make sure I have something to wear in the race. When I feel like a triathlon ragamuffin, I call Christy (ragamuffin: when you realize you just don't have all of the "things" that everyone else has- in my case, I am a ragamuffin because my entire outfit for Florida is borrowed- among many others things- kind of like house poor, I am tri poor). Christy makes it all better for me, because she has been a ragamuffin before too. She is the one friend that truly understands.


She has patiently answered all of my IM panicked phone calls this month. She believes in me and truly wishes me the best. She is the type of friend that thrives on others' successes. I hope to carry some of her spirit with me next weekend. Actually, I know I will because she will be at the race egging me on and snapping a million pictures- her spirit will be unavoidable! She will be right there in my face, never letting me quit and always getting that smile out of me. I am so lucky Christy helped me get started in this sport. I have had so many enjoyable moments, and I haven't been in a race yet where I didn't have some sort of a good time, and I attribute a great deal of this to Christy :)