Over And Out

This is me- chilling and relaxing before Florida! I am reading Going Long for the 100th time to make a permanent imprint in my brain of my plan for the IM.

Last post for a while- I know I will have so much going on this week I will not have time to get on the computer and play. In my defense, I have gone above and beyond this week with posting to make up for my upcoming absence. :)

I am excited and looking forward to the weekend to come. If you are in Florida, we have a huge Memphis group with a beer stand at mile 1. You will recognize them as the crazy people in costume on the run course, so feel free to stop by and hang out. You will more than likely find me right around there before and after the race, and I would love to hang out!

Thanks again for the friendly support, from both old and new friends. See you on Saturday!

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 :)

Part II- Elliot Perry

And, I just realized how boring these posts must be for some of you, especially those not racing right now. I guess my season has been a little long this year!

The second installment of my mental tricks of the trade goes way back. As a kid, I had a best buddy Shawn in school. We would call each other on the phone at night and watch Memphis State basketball. If you didn't know Memphis Sate before it became University of Memphis, you are young.

One player really stood out to me in the late 80s as a kid- Elliot Perry. He was a point guard for Memphis and went on to play NBA. In 1994-95, he was voted the NBA's most improved player- now that is an awesome honor. That speaks volumes about this man as an athlete.

I liked Elliot Perry as a kid because of his knee pads. To the best that I can remember, he was having a spell of trouble making free throws during one season in college. Someone (coach/trainer/?) told him

Confidence Is The Key

Perry (or the coach/trainer) wrote that on one of his knee pads, and he wore the knee pad every game. When I would watch him on TV, the TV crew would always do a close up of his knee pads to show the writing. And, his free throws improved.

As a kid, this delivered a very powerful message to me. I started writing Confidence Is The Key on one of my soccer shin guards from the time I was a grade schooler- all the way through college. I did not play a game without a shin guard that did not have Confidence Is The Key written on it.

Somewhere on my Florida gear, I bet you will find a magic saying....