Making Memories

Today I was able to extend my run a bit...maybe I am turning a corner?  :)  I felt good enough to run and the lungs were cooperating, so off I went.  I barely had any plantar fasciitis or hip flexor pain, so while I have traded off some fitness, I have gained something in return.  Things happen for a reason. 

As I was be-bopping along suffering at a 9:30 pace, the song "Shakedown Street" by the Grateful Dead came on my ipod.  I immediately got a huge smile on my face and remembered a college game back in the day when we played William Carey.  I don't remember much about the game except that William Carey was ranked in the top 5 in the country and we got our butts' kicked.  I can't tell you if I played well or poorly.

But, I do remember that we had convinced our coach to let us drive our own cars, and on the way home some of us piled in Kat's Trooper...with a bunch of 40s.  So, we had just lost a soccer game together and were driving home, drinking 40s, and blasting the radio.  That is my memory...us girls just singing along to Shakedown Street.

So, I started to think, what are my memories from triathlons?  I sometimes remember times, passes, wins, failures, suffering, and victory.  But, I also remember a lot of random, funny things that are sometimes even more lasting than the actual race.  So, I tried to picture old races and write down the first thing that popped into my mind.

Rebel Man 2006 (my first tri):  girl with curly blonde hair passed me on the run- for some reason she was memorable, and later came to be a friend (Leslie Brahm)

Cedars of Lebanon 2006:  convinced my sister to come with me, and she slept in the car the whole morning.  She got out of the car to cheer me on the run, and I never knew the difference.  So funny!

Sunfish 2007:  My friend Christy popped her head out during the swim and I heard her say "go Damie!"  It was so funny I always remembered it.

Rock-N-Roll half-iron 2008:  I made Joy stop at Taco Bell AND let me get a fudge round at the end of the race.  Then we almost ran out of gas on the way home and had to coast the downhills on the highway.

Chattanooga Waterfront 2008:  I remember running past a water stop at mile 1 and "Die Another Day" by Madonna was playing.  It was so fitting for the moment.

Ironman Florida 2008:  I remember seeing Marit and Eggers at the turn around cheering for me.   Then I immediately went into the port-o-potty.  Whoo hoo! Then I had all of these friends at mile 1 too.   I was soooo happy! It was like a huge friend fest.  I remember thinking, how could you not like ironman?  It is a big party!

MightyMite 2009:   I rode down to the race with Hawaii Steve, and spent the day joking with Lucia and Lisa (who wrote AARP next to their racks in T2).  LOL!  I remember there was a headwind heading back to the cars, so we let Kevin pull us the whole way back on the bikes after the race.  Then, Steve had a cooler full of beer waiting for us.  :)

AGNats 2010:  Kari ran past me on the run.  I was dying, and she was just talking and smiling.  I remember thinking I was going to tell JH that Kari was totally dogging it out there.  When I finally finished the race my mother-in-law had a beer waiting for me.  THANK GOODNESS!  I was the only one after the race with a beer and had many jealous comments.  :)

So, this was just a sample of things I remember from races.   I love that I can hardly remember some of the actual racing, but I almost always remember the time I spent with my friends.  It will be so much fun 10-20-30 years from now to have a funny race memory pop into my head.  Maybe a song will remind me of someone or something.  Good times.