Quote Originally Posted by KnottedYet
I was all pumped for the Danskin, and then someone shot me down a few months ago about how it wasn't a "real" triathlon.
ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME?!? And how many "NOT REAL" triathlons have they done? Listen, go 15.5 miles under your own steam three different ways, using different muscles, oh, and part of it is through water--go travel those 15.5 miles and tell me it's not a "real" race. Screw that.

Grrrrrr...this pisses me off. Shake it off, man. You will do the distance. You will have the Algae of Pride plastered to your chest. You will cross the finish line. All the other stuff doesn't matter. The cheerleaders? It's a way for people who aren't doing the tri to be a part of the excitement and incredible power of a tri. That's what I love more than anything.

I'll bet that naysayer won't be there, stumbling out of the water, wiping off, climbing on her bike, then riding like a fiend, then stumbling out of transition and moving on legs that don't even feel like her own. And she won't have the joy of finishing with hundreds of other women who thought they maybe couldn't do this, in fact, maybe wouldn't live to do it...oh, man, I want to cry just thinking about that finish line.

You get out there and do it, KN. We're proud of you. And we know what a real triathlon is. It's the one we all do.