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Tiffany has now won (1st overall female finisher or 1st prize due to eligibility) the last 4 races she has contested. The first was the Sole to Soul 5K at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, OH. She actually was beaten by a high schooler, but as OHSAA rules apply there can be no prizes awarded to HS athletes in their sport…long story, Tiff was awarded the first prize of a pair of shoes! Awesome! Next up…the Vermillion Triathlon where she was the actual first overall female, though she didn’t believe it at first. Then we have the Buckeye Challenge Triathlon in Springfield, OH where she again was the first overall female finisher. Finally, this past weekend, Tiffany was the female winner in the 1st ever Boy Scouts Half Marathon in Bowling Green, OH (hometown race!)

Now first let me say that this is absolutely incredible, one might argue it can be described as an epic comeback (having given birth to Cora merely 5 months ago) I would not dispute such an idea, as I am awestruck by her God-given abilities and the humility with which she accepts it. She is, in my opinion, a very talented athlete who succeeds in virtually any sport she attempts.

That said…

I was holding Cora as we were watching friend Monica finish the aforementioned half marathon, when two girls said hi and asked if i was the one pushing the jogging stroller for the race (tougher than it looks…really…sore hamstrings). One of the two said that they saw me as I passed by them towards the beginning of the race. Obviously it was meant as a compliment to me, of which I am grateful. My initial thought, however, was that, yes I may be faster than some, and one day maybe I may even win a race (big maybe)…but the thing that must not be overlooked is the simple fact that those two put their foot on that starting line, ran and finished a half marathon that morning the same as me or Tiff or that guy who won overall with a ridiculous 1:09 time (very fast in case you didn’t know…almost olympic level).

Being a finisher of any endurance event is an incredible thing and I don’t want to ever forget how much it means to just complete the race. For me, no more than 3 years ago, I could almost not even finish a mile run (knee problems), so I know what it means to simply not know if you can even finish. Sometimes I even wonder if those who do win lots of races even remember the simple joy in crossing the finish line…that my friends is the true shame. So know that if you have finished something that you didn’t think you could or would ever do, you’re a hero in my book…

p.s. I’m not dilluted enough to not have thought of the fact that I may be using this rationale to justify getting beat by my wife in almost every race I’ve ever done, but still… and again, I’m not taking away from Tiff’s accomplishments at all…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 6:08 pm and is filed under Cycling, Ironman, Races, Running, Triathlon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.