Word of the Week...Irony

"Headphones, headsets, walkmans, ipods, mp3 players, or personal audio devices, etc. are not to be carried or worn at any time during the race."  -- USA Triathlon Official Rules

REALLY???  This is what I learned upon picking my swag bag (I love that term!) yesterday for today's Giant Eagle Multisport Festival 5K.  Interesting...evidently, you have to be able to hear other people on the course and not just go with your music.  And since the festival included both an Olympic and Sprint distance triathlon as well as the 5K, we were under official rules.  So, I showed up sans mp3 player.  As it turned out, I had better than an mp3 player...I had Becky.  :)

I've known Becky for a few years.  She works with Mike at Camp Mary Orton during the summer and we have been known to hang out on occasion.  Becky is an athlete and has been running for the past couple of years.  Unbeknownst to each other, we both signed up for the Columbus Half Marathon.  She saw my blog and we've been chatting about training ever since.  So, Becky signed up for the 5K today with me.  She was looking for a way to jump start her back into training.  Then, she told me this morning that her goal was to help me set a personal best.  WOW.  Becky stayed with me through the entire race...we were passed by Olympic level triathletes (same course...different race) and got lost in a transition area near the end.  Becky kept up a continual stream of happy thoughts and "way to gos" and really kept me motivated even when I felt like I was going to pass out, throw up, or die from the heat.  Becky congratulated me at the end and came with me to get our finisher's medals.  (Long story short...when we got lost in the transition, we somehow missed the finish line and didn't actually cross it.)  I decided today that everyone needs a Becky to train with...she's way better than music.