More than just my feet!!!

Have you ever had a person in your life that has brought the best out of you without even knowing that they have?  Someone that pushes you to try your hardest or go farther than you ever thought you could then pushes again?  Stands up, claps the loudest of anyone in your cheering section, lets you shine in your very own moment and melts into the background without a word?  Honestly, very few people are as lucky as I am.  I have that, but she doesn't even know it.

I have been friends with this woman since we were in the 7th grade.  We've had highs and lows throughout the years.  We've inspired each other by our strength during the darkest moments in our lives.  The loss of babies, best friends, a marriage and even our health.  We have spent hours flipping through yearbook pages, laughing at inside jokes, had embarrassing moments with orange soda and non-aerosol hairspray, sat at bedsides with our hands folded in prayer and cheered from the sidelines during the biggest accomplishments of our lives.  We are the epitome of best friends.

I have had a dream for years to complete an Olympic Distance Triathlon.  I knew it the moment I crossed the finish line of my very first sprint triathlon.  I knew it again after my first duathlon and then as I trained for my first half marathon.  There is nothing quite like pushing yourself until you can't go one more step, power through one more revolution or cut through the water with one more stroke and then forcing yourself to run one more kilometer, pedal one more mile and swim one more yard.  Leaving everything you've got out on that course is the most satisfying feeling in the world.  There honestly is nothing like it. 

So now, she has done it again without even trying!  All she had to say was that she had signed up to do her second half iron man and my mind was reeling.  Could I do a distance like that?  Am I strong enough?  Am I determined enough?  Am I dedicated enough?  Could it be possible?  And honestly, all I could think of was what the hell am I afraid of anyway?  All you have to do is have a plan and carry it out.  And that's what I intend to do.  I'm gonna give  it a shot!  I'm going to train for the High Cliff Half Iron Man on June 18, 2011.

I was asked the other day by a fellow Survivor, what the correlation was between an athletic event and Stevens Johnson Syndrome since the majority of Survivors will never be able to do something like that.  What was the point?  And who did I think I was, anyway?  I should be focusing on attacking the big pharmaceutical companies rather than wasting my time, effort and energy on running in order to do something of value for the fight!  I guess I could think that way.  I could easily sit inside my house and hide from the rest of the world, get angry and bitter because really, what is the point?  Why would anyone in their right mind do what Christina is inspiring me to do?  The simple answer is because we can.

Thank you, Chris.  I am honored to follow in your white water, tire tracks and footsteps.  Thank you for giving me the courage to believe that I can get big parts of my old life back.  Thank you for pushing me to achieve things I never thought possible and for clapping the loudest!