IRON GIRL TRIATHLETE!

According to me, the world and the sponsors of the 2013 Athleta IRON GIRL TRIATHLON and the finishers’ medal I received, I am an IRON GIRL Triathlete! It’s been one week today since I took part my first ever sprint Triathlon. I wanted to wait a week to allow this accomplishment to truly settle in…I am a Triathlete. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a Triathlete as one who competes in a triathlon. For the record, I not only competed but completed a triathlon.
 

Getting to the race with all my equipment on time was the hardest part. Sticking to a regular training routine was the second hardest part. I thought the competition would be the hardest part. It was definitely very very challenging but my emotional baggage was the largest obstacle. In the three to five days that preceded the race I allowed myself to believe I had caught a cold possibly even the flu, I then bought into the idea that I was too fat to do the race and I would probably die. Finally, I refused to secure a bike rack for the car and waited till the night before to work it out, such drama! I slept very little the night before the race and awoke feeling dreadful. However, my girlfriend refused to let me wallow in my own 'pig' (emotional self-indulgence and pity) that morning and literally pulled and pushed me out to the race. She had done the same thing just the day before when I was began Seminary. My desire to self sabotage was so great at that point that I missed my train, even though I was up three hours before needing to be at orientation. Without missing a beat my girl got me across the bridge and to class on time with a smile on her face, love in her heart, and lots of believe in my abilities. I had felt little to no such faith on that day or the next. I was sure that with such a jam packed weekend I was going to completely breakdown in overwhelmed.

That 6’9” Ego chick I’ve written about showed up, again! I knew that she was disturbed that I was trying to change how we had been doing shit. So she popped up right before the full and potential transformational weekend and attempted to keep me where she and I had been comfortable, which was with me knowing I had a gift but never actually doing a damn thing about it because I didn’t really deserve it. So before the race and following Egos lead I began reviewing every mistake, wrong, bad, and horrible thing that I had ever thought or done.
 

Luckily days prior to the weekend I had prepped my girlfriend to be on the lookout for Ego chick and my attempts at self-sabotage. I gave her permission to use the Force to stop me in my tracks and promised to obey her orders if and when the time came. Thankfully she was on high alert and I was compliant.
 

When I got to seminary this was shared.

Once a young woman asked Hafiz, "What is the sign of someone knowing God?" Hafiz remained silent for a few moments and looked deep into the young person's eyes, then said, "Dear, they have dropped the knife. They have dropped the cruel knife most so often use upon their tender self and others." 

It hurts to feel that as deeply as I do. So many times, too many times, I am guilty of plunging the knife deeply into my own chest and then twisting. The beat down that I have been able to manifest against my own poor self is epic.
 

So I have decided to quit that crap. Step by step,  day by day. The most interesting things are happening in response to that decision. I am eating a lot less. I know that my obesity is the result of overeating and emotional crap but I didn’t put it all together until now. The first step in treating Erica better is to proper ly nourish the body, the mind, and the spirit. True self love will come from the triad of healthfulness, mindfulness, and Goddess...
 

Now back to the race.
 

The swim of the triathlon was the hardest open water ocean swim of my life! There was actually a seven time full Iron Woman competitor who remarked that the swim was the hardest of her competitive career. People were being dragged out of the water because officials were worried they couldn't make it. Most unfortunately I had forgotten my goggles and rather than give up, since I had gotten there on time, I decided to say 'Yes' and do it anyway. I was use to being in the ocean without goggles anyway, so I figured it wouldn't be so bad. However it was that bad and worse the waves were super choppy and the tumultuous undercurrents were amazingly rough to navigate. My time was pretty slow but I persisted. When the race began I jumped in the water like I was Michael Feldman in an Olympic sized pool. Quite quickly I remembered myself. I shifted gears and worked in flow with the ocean and stopped trying to fight it. Yes, of course...MESSAGE! During a treading water rest I met a woman who was having a much harder time than I was. I told her we would make it together repeating, ‘We got this,’ several times. Together she and I motivated one another through the first and hardest leg of the triathlon. Keeping an eye on her made it so much easier for me, I don’t know how that works but “they” are right when “they” say, ‘helping someone else who is less fortunate than you will make you realize how blessed you truly are.
 

We made it out of the water and I realized how small and fit my new friend was. She and I smiled at one another and as I dragged my ass out of the water barely able to walk, she sprinted her petite self to the biking transition area and was off, fast as hell. I wouldn't see her again until the almost the end of the run.

When I made it to the biking transition area I was extremely thirsty and a bit stuffy. I had accidentally swallowed a healthy share of water and I was guzzling my protein shake and some water as I dried off. I tried to get as much sand from in between my toes as possible and finally realized it was probably a lost cause. I put on my socks, shoes, shirt, and bib and walked my bike to begin the next phase of the tri.
 

Once I mounted my bike and drank more water I began to feel better. It was then that I remember that I loved riding my bike. I began to pedal faster and faster. No matter how fast I pedaled people kept riding past me and saying, ‘On your left!’ and zooming by. I couldn't understand it. I hadn't stopped pedaling and I was nowhere near the halfway mark of the 8.25 mile track. I started to feel like maybe I needed air, I had forgotten to check that before the race. Nope, didn't need air, I kept pedaling. Then I began paying attention to the type of bike everyone passing me was riding. When a twenty eight year old woman who was twice my size sped past me on the thinnest tires I had ever seen I realized that it was my bike. I have a Trek hybrid, its half mountain, half leisure and pretty big compared to the bikes that were zooming past me. As I realized that there was nothing to be done but keep pedaling I took comfort in the fact that in the next race I will have a light speed bike. I kept on chugging along and finally crossed the biking finish line.

I haphazardly parked my bike and set off for the 5k. My legs felt like over cooked spaghetti. I run kind of slow but I was determined to run the whole 3.1 miles. Most of the training I had done was running because that was what scared me the most and what felt like the most difficult after the other two events.

I adjusted my headband and sunglasses and very soon settled into my stride. I only slowed to a walk for 20 yards while I was attempting to grab water and an electrolyte drink. Actually, when I had made other attempts to walk after already running my legs totally refused and insisted I keep running. So I did.

 

No headphones were allowed during any part of the race and that was a bummer as all of my training was done with music. At some point I started singing, cutting, and scratching a remix of Rob Bass’ I wanna rock right now, and LL Cool J’s I need love. I am sure other runners thought I was in great pain or crazy but I didn't even care. It made me smile to cut and scratch like I was DJ Red Alert. It helped me run.  It felt like my air DJ'ing would push me to run faster but that was not the case. At least that wasn't the case until I was about fifty to 75 yards from the finish line. My precious girlfriend had gotten the crowd to start shouting my name and cheering for me. As I got closer and closer to the finish I could hear the screams and make out the ‘Erica! Erica! Erica!’ shouts from the crowd. Somehow the excitement, energy, and sheer faith of the crowd lifted me from my slow DJ pace and I began to sprint faster than I had ever run in my life to the finish line. 

IRON GIRL TRIATHLETE 

I'ma tell you the truth, I didn't do that, my body, and my legs were done. I don’t know how the crowd got my body to obey them when I couldn't get it to obey me but thankfully they did. The love and support and cheering from mostly strangers carried me across the finishing line going faster than I had ever gone in my entire life! Those unknown people used the God force, Life force, whatever you wanna call it to propel me across the finishing line. They didn't know me from Adam but love me and pushed me forward regardless.

 

Completing the triathlon has changed my life and understanding of God. Completing the triathlon has reminded me that we are all divine and we can do anything we desire when we work together and put love first.

That’s what got me successfully through one of the most challenging events, and most jam packed weekends of my life. Actually that is also what has gotten me through a very challenging year.

 

At this point I am not as financially wealthy as I will be. My monetary blessings are on the way. However, right now I know I am rich beyond belief. It showed up in the form of my dear girlfriend, thank you love. It showed up in the cheers of strangers, thank you strangers. It showed up from all of you reading my blog, thank you. I know what is truly most important in life, people, friends, family, and love. That’s the rich that I got. That’s worth more than all the money in the world.

Much love to you Gods!

E~

Have a Perfect Day!

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