I witnessed one of the most amazing feats of humankind this weekend. On Sunday July 20, 2008 I was invited to attend a triathlon in Racine Wisconsin. The agenda for the day was watch Chris Bintliff swim, bike and run to complete this race. Upon arriving, I was immediately in awe of the magnificence of the athleticism from these athletes. Chris especially was inspiring with his form, posture and stance toward this event. The night before was entertaining with Chris being the host of other athletes whom will participate in this event. Immediately, I felt welcomed and warm to people who were seemingly strangers. The comrades sat, laughed, joked, feasted and discussed particulars in a jargon unfamiliar to my realm of vocabulary knowledge. The long and short of it is simply this: they enjoyed each other's companionship. However unfamiliar this sport is to me, I grew an appreciation for the followers because of the human-ness I witnessed in their actions, their kindness and their generosity toward one another. Tri-Athletes, at least from my encounter, seem to be some of the most jolly and opportunistic fellows and ladies I have had the pleasure to surround myself with. What a great dinner that was.
Day 2: You know how when you are a kid and Christmas is the next day and you just can't sleep. Well....yeah! That's how I felt. The next morning there was no grumbling, fidgeting, sloshing around. It was zip, zip, zip....off to the action. I was excited to see this event for the first time. My confusion about this event was materialized by the fog and haze surrounding the course. Perhaps the fog and haze was an unintended side effect of my thoughts. I really don't have that much power, but the similarity is worth noting. Now, I could go on and on with every single detail surrounding the first few moments, but I'd rather not talk about Erin dragged me through the wet sand 1.2 miles down the beach. Gotta love her for that. Moving on...Chris, joined our presence with others in tow and began discussing particulars, which once again..no clue. I even was allowed to touch the wet suit. Now I know every sport has particular gear, but this was cool stuff. Moving on...once in the water, we trekked back toward the damn something or other spot, oh the transition area, yeah that's it. Witnessing the fellows and ladies mounting their bikes was somewhat eye opening. Knowing the exhaustion from the swim, I couldn't help but notice quivering thighs and shaky, unsteady mounts. I thought to myself, "how hard is it to get on a bike?" Hmmm...but I've never swam over 6000 feet and tried to do it. So that's when I appreciated it more. I moved away from Amy and Erin to be a spotter for Chris. When I noticed him coming out, I almost began tearing up. Aww heck, I'm a real guy, I can cry if I want to. It was so inspirational to see someone so intent upon performing something so difficult to the remainder humans who dare not! With my chin quivering, I shouted to Amy and Erin..."Here he comes, here comes Chris!" I hope they got a good picture. Before I returned to them, I composed my chin, dried my eyes and fell in love again, not with Chris, but with determination. Determination....
Next, the biking. Erin, Aarion (I hope that's how to spell his hame) and I drove to the spot to see the bikers come along. 56 miles, you've got to be kidding me! Erin wore her Bintliff shirt and I just kinda stood there in stripes, longing for Bintliff to materialize. 4 minutes later, boom!! There he was trucking along at breakneck speed. I didn't know someone could look so happy doing this. But, he did. After seeing Chris once more and the other Erin Cellelo (I hope I got this right too?) ride past, we ventured back toward the home base.
Running after that....are you serious?
We, Erin and I, arrived back in home base and hurredly wolfed down some food and water. The number one priority was seeing cousin Chris, which is respectable. Hunkered down on the race running course we waited for Bintliff, so we could chant B I N T L I F F! Such a highlight moment. Surprisingly, the first time around he looked amazingly fresh. What an athlete! So, Erin and I hunkered down again and waited for Aaron Cellelo to come through. Amazingly, both racers were all smiles. Well we spent the next hour or so hanging out on the run course for the comrades to finish. Chris came in soon and commented on his time. From what I gather, he did well and was pleased with himself.
Sum of it all....
I've quoted myself here in a short excerpt from a speech I wrote for an athletic banquet to summarize my feelings and experiences on this event.
"Oh, but this year we have grown wise. We've learned to improvise. We sustain, we maintain, we retain, and at the right moment we strain and gain and regain. Despite the snags and drags, we've learned bold lessons, lessons of character, we have learned about ourselves, others and oh how we have changed. Possibilities for your future are broad, your energy is high, your endurance is long and your focus is deep."
From the inspired, hoping to inspire.....
Jimmy Brooks
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