I had lunch with my friend Angela a couple of days ago, and she told me she was running a Triathlon (3.1 mile run, 10 mile bike ride, 1/4 mile swim in the ocean) in June.
I thought it was extremely ambitious of her to embark in such a long and difficult journey. I’ve never set out to get fit to run a marathon or anything like that. I’ve always thought “that’s for fit people” or “that’s for runners” or any other excuse not to do it. My favorite excuse right now is “I’m too busy.” Thing is, Angela is not one of those super fit people who run marathons every year.
Still, at first I didn’t think this was SO unique. After all, I know other people who have signed up for Cancer walks (Charlotte’s sister), half-marathons (Erin), or full marathons (my next door neighbor, Fred). I always think “that’s nice of them” and I might donate some money to their cause, if I feel generous. To each their own, right?
I thought that way until she told me the most remarkable detail: she can’t swim. For the life of her, she does not trust herself in water depths where she can’t reach the bottom. She went on her first training session, and ended up crying of frustration after freaking out when her chin was underwater at 4’6″ depth. She went into the locker room, composed herself, and came back out. She’s doing a little better now, although she recognizes she has a long way to go before she is comfortable swimming a quarter of a mile out in the open sea.
This story almost brought a tear to my eye. She told me that, as it turns out, not only fit people join these events. She has seen overweight people training for it. These are usually people with a strong desire to support the cure of the disease they are representing. It’s not just fitness, it’s not just generosity, and it’s not just people with too much time on their hands. These are people who want to make a difference.
I donated what I could to Angela’s race (proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society). She has a goal of $3000, and after my donation she’s at $160, out of which she put in more than half. If you want to encourage her to go on, you can go to her page and click on the DONATE NOW link. She also has a blog to chronicle her journey, which I’ve added to my blogroll.
Angela’s blog: http://angelagovila.com
Angela’s donation page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/HyannisT10/angelagovila
You can do it Angie!! We love you!!
ina
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