Dedicated to Linda

At the Mermaid Triathlon this morning, I wore a dark green swim cap. The colors (pink, lime green, a couple shades of blue) designate your age bracket, or whether you are a “Just for Fun” or “Mighty Mermaid” competitor. Each lucky contestant had her AGE written on the back of her left calf. Race number goes on your arm and on the back of your hand. A Velcro timing chip-thingy fits around an ankle. I was definitely not going to be mixed up with anyone else.

Interesting to stand on the bluff overlooking Seacliff Beach in the very early morning fog while a cute young guy uses his magic marker on your skin.

First in the water were the Mighty Mermaids who were going to do each segment TWO TIMES. That’s right, swim around the pier, crawl out of the water, run across the sand under the pier, and then jump back in and do it again.

When it was the turn of the dark green women I was pretty much over the fear of having a diarrhea attack in my wetsuit. I let all of the other dark green caps get in the ocean first. I lingered on the edge and then dove in. The pack of splashes moved inexorably further away from me. By the time I crawled out on the sand at the other side of the pier, I called out to the people on the beach, "I'm the last dark green cap out of the water!" "No, there is someone else behind you," someone said. But not for long. As I trudged across the sand, she passed me. Ta dah!

The bike portion was a breeze. The route is in my neighborhood. I know all the hills, all the bumpy spots in the road. I passed all sorts of people on the bike.

The run was another story. I sort of limp along and pretend to be running. It was probably painful to watch. In fact, race volunteers seemed to winch as they said, "Good job!" and "Almost there!" while I slowly passed by. I, however, was still smiling. Really. At that point it was so close to being OVER.

There were three other teachers from my school who completed the course this morning. We’re all wearing our Mermaid Triathlon t-shirts to school tomorrow. We rock!