Friday, January 23, 2009

Kids of Steel

I spent a little time reminiscing recently. A very smart friend of mine told me that I should try it from time to time.

It is refreshing. Cathartic, in a way.

So, as I prepared to spend some time reflecting, I thought it would be fun to go through some pictures from the past year. And I came across this picture of Norah from the Windsor Star.

I started laughing to myself and smiling.

She was racing in the Kids of Steel triathlon last summer when the photographer captured this image of the two of us. It was on the front page of their online edition.

It really was a special moment, and a special day. She was so excited to enter "her triathlon."

As the race neared, she started to get more and more nervous. She asked if I could do the race with her. You can see in the picture where my shorts are wet from the *ahem* swim.

She was so proud of herself that day. She completed a triathlon. And I think that's what I like about this sport.

Sure, there are folks that enter triathlons with a goal of competing. But for so many more of us, it is about completing. There's a sense of pride and accomplishment in that.

I may not find myself on the podium at the end of the day. Let me rephrase that: I will never find myself on the podium at the end of the day.

But, like Norah, I did it. I completed a triathlon. And that little success can never be taken away.

Likewise, our small effort to help raise funds for LLS will never get our name on any fancy building. But it will lead toward a cure, one day. And no one can take that away.

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