A Time for Reflection: 2012

Celebrating the end of my season after Miami Man

     My offseason is in full swing (although only 2 weeks from being over) so I decided to sit down and really think about last season...both the good parts and the bad. In all, my 2012 season was pretty great...I set up my tri blog, I got my first full time attorney job, I completed my first full Ironman, and I got myself a super speedy new TT bike. I might not have had all the great performances I was hoping for. But, that's okay because this was the first season where I actually had to budget traing time with being a real life adult. And, since I ended my season on a higher note with some good performances on my new ride, I'm 10x more excited for next season than I otherwise would have been.
 

    The only real downer of my season, regretfully, was something that happened to me in reaction to a post-ironman blog post I had made. I haven't commented on it anywhere...until now. But, after reflecting upon my year, it's still really bothering me so I've decided to comment on it.

     A few months ago I made a somewhat jocular post about my new Ironman tattoo. The post was up for a few weeks until one day I was at work and received a random, mean, comment on the post. Then, as the day progressed, my inbox got flooded by many more cruel comments and personal attacks on my character and my representation of the sport. Then, when I took the comment feed down, I started received e-mails with even more personal attacks. Not knowing why this was happening (and thinking it was possibly just spam) I looked at my viewer stats and eventually found a few forum feeds on various sport-related websites. And, what I saw on these feeds, was horrifying and cruel. The comments ranged from laughing at my race times, to name-calling, to jokes on my appearance, to actual threats. I wouldn't actually have cared so much about the feeds themselves, had they not instigated the nonstop e-mails of hatred. Receiving an e-mail that says "typical arrogant white american. disgusting. you're nothing special, yet your entitlement is vomit-inducing." (yes that was an actual e-mail) as I get into bed doesn't exactly give me a warm feeling inside.
 

   To cut this very hurtful story short, these feeds were eventually taken down (thanks Dan from slowtwitch) and the active participants went on with their lives (I hope). But, what's sad about the situation was that I never totally moved on. The incident really ruined my joy for having this blog and, admittedly, even tainted my love and respect for the sport of triathlon itself. So, to the people who were involved in the harassment, I just wanted to say this: 

You don't know me. But if you see me at a race and want to say hello, please do. I'll be the girl swimming over you.

And on that note....here is my end-of-season highlight/lowlight lists...just in case you're curious.

Best Memory of 2012 Season:

Feeling like a super star with all the spectators and volunteers cheering for me as the first Age Group Female out of the water and through T-1 at Ironman NYC

Worst Memory of 2012 Season:

The run at Miami Man Triathlon where I was so horribly sick and could barely breathe

5 Proudest Season Accomplishments:

1) Crossing the finish line at Ironman New York City

2) Holding off my toughest competitors until the run at Escape to Miami

3) Managing my new full-time job with training for my first Full Ironman

4) Buying my dream bike

5) Placing 10th nationally in the USMS 1500m LCM Freestyle rankings

5 Biggest Season Regrets:

1) Letting a bunch of bullies on Triathlon forums ruin my joy for writing on my Tri Blog

2) Not getting in enough run training before Ironman New York (or any of my races this season)

3) Not joining my Masters Team until September (I REALLY do enjoy it!)

4) Not knowing enough about bikes to have been able to fix my brakes mid-race

5) Not being grateful enough to my Boyfriend for suffering through a season of Ironman training (plus the 15 plus hours he spent with just my mom and dad while I was actually doing the race)