Pink Power!

Today being Sunday, I could have slept in a little before the start of the work week. I could have, but I didn’t. Instead, my alarm was set for 4:45, all to help my fellow man. Or should I say my fellow woman? Because I was volunteering as crew at the Pink Power Triathlon, an all female race with an all male volunteer crew.

I woke just after 4AM, I guess just nerves for not wanting to be late. I lay there until the alarm went off, slapped on some deodorant, shaved, and brushed my teeth. I pulled on shoes, shorts and a tee, and, as I headed out the door, grabbed a bagel to eat in the car during the drive. The event was in a part of town that I am not familiar with, and so I got an even earlier start than I needed, arriving for check-in at 5:35AM instead of the requested 6AM. Even so, volunteers were already there in the pitch-black darkness.

My job was as a bike course monitor, working with another guy to direct cyclists to make a U-turn as the course doubled back on itself, and make sure everyone was safe. The bike crew chief gave me a map with emergency phone numbers on it. “Just call if there is any emergency,” he said. “Great,” I thought, “I guess I would need a cell phone to do that.” I figured that the chance that the other volunteer at my post also not having a cell phone was remote. I mean, what is the chance in America that both of the only two people in one spot don’t have a cell phone? Plus, there was a police officer directing vehicular traffic.

I was at my station before 6AM, and the first triathlete came by at 7:10. It was fun. A lot of the women appreciated my pink bunny ears, and I wore a Team in Training shirt to advertise TNT a bit. A few of the participants that went by were old teammates from prior foot races, so that was really cool. Included in this mix was my friend Susan, who so recently got the TNT Triple Crown!

I felt proud of these 500 girls and women – all ages and races, all shapes and sizes, and all exerting themselves on a very hot day to swim ¼ mile in a pool, bike about 12 miles, and run 3.1 miles. We’ve come a long way since the days when women were not supposed to exert themselves and show how strong they can be, and were considered "the weaker sex." One of my prior teammates used to wear a tee-shirt that said “Strong is the new Beautiful.” That being the case, I saw about 500 beautiful women today!