Nonfiction Published in Triathlon Magazine Canada

 

The May 2019 issue of Triathlon Magazine Canada published a couple of stories highlighting diversity in the sport of triathlon. Coincidentally, I was looking for an outlet to publish a story I wrote, "You Got This", about the value my triathlon guides bring to my sporting life. The setting for this piece was the 2018 Morro Bay Triathlon (Olympic distance).

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Here is the beginning of the story:

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You Got This

 

     Not long after an early November sunrise, I stood on a narrow stretch of sand at Morro Bay’s Coleman Park and focused on the challenge ahead of me. I was about to swim fifteen hundred meters in the chilly Morro Bay water, bike twenty-six miles along the Pacific Coast Highway, and run a 10K, half of which was on the beach. Worried about my fitness, I silently reviewed the details of my big training days: thirty-five pool workouts, two ocean swims, a half-dozen two-hour indoor bike sessions, and a half marathon road race. Waiting amongst a couple hundred wetsuit clad bodies, I probably looked like any other triathlete. But I wasn’t. I’m blind and could only race with the help of my two guides, Hillary Trout and Geof Chiapella. Giving up their day for me, Hillary guided for the swim and bike legs, and Geof for the run.

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     “We have ten minutes before the race starts,” Hillary said. “Let’s go get wet.”

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     With Morro Rock looming in front of us, she took my elbow and we waded into the fifty-seven-degree water. It only took thirty seconds before my feet felt like someone lit them on fire.  

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     “Get your face in the water,” Hillary half suggested, half commanded.

 

     Having done this race before, she knew what she was doing. Still, I was reluctant to follow her instructions.          

 

     “Nope, not ready yet.”

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     With little time to futz around, she promptly splashed some water in my direction.  

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     “Okay, okay.” After all, I thought, the race was a reminder of the things I could do, not the things I couldn’t. I braced myself for a punch in the face, submerged my head in the frigid water, and counted to five before coming up for air.

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Te To read the rest of this story, single issues of the magazine can be purchased through links on the website. All links are to various electronic versions of the magazine (e.g., Nook, iTunes, or PressReader versions). You can click here to make a purchase.

 

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