The Misfit Toys of Triathlon
It is Christmas season and all of my favorite shows are on T.V. The boys and I are cuddled on the couch watching the same Holiday specials I watched as a young girl. The snow is falling outside and the thermometer is dropping rapidly every evening from the chill of the Colorado night. My boys laugh at the characters and the antiquated animation, but they love it just the same. One of my favorite ones is about the misfit toys. I can relate to the feeling of just not fitting in. I got the last issue of Inside Triathlon and it was beautiful, filled with pictures from Kona, but there were no pictures from Maui, not even one. You see we Xterra athletes are a strange bunch, the misfit toys of the triathlon world.
I know this personally because I live in the Mecca that is Boulder, Colorado. It is a wonderful and beautiful place to live, but as a triathlete, it can be well, overwhelming. As an Xterra athlete, I have found that the mountain bikers scoff at me for being a triathlete. The road triathletes also look down their noses at us. How can we be triathletes when we ride mountain bikes? The ITU racers scoff as well. Xterra racers, they can not even swim, they say. Do not even get me started on the Ironman crowd, only those that have raced along side us think Xterra is hard. I understand an outsiders’ confusion. I mean how hard could it be if the whole field is beaming ear to ear. You see, that is where we have everyone fooled. Little do they realize that we are actually having fun out there, yes fun. There is little attitude among the pros, we all start together and is not uncommon to hear the cheering you on as you cross the finish line. We know a lot about our fellow racers. We know what they do for work, we have met their families, and we have shared in their heartbreak and their triumphs. We are at the start of the race laughing and wishing each other good luck. We encourage each other, by name, as we pass our fellow racers. We smile at the camera crews and give them a thumbs up and a smile, even when we are seriously hurting. When you grow tired of racing Xterras and move on, you will be surely missed and people will reminisce about you and the time you shared together. Maybe it is because the people at Team unlimited are so wonderful. Maybe it is because Xterra was born in Maui. I think that we are just a wonderful group of people bound by our love of playing in the outdoors, wherever on that globe that may be. So to all you outsiders, come and join us we promise a great time, good company, and some wonderful stories. For me, I am fine being labeled a misfit; at least I have some wonderful company.
