Subject: RE: Am I going to be dead last Don't lose hope if you come in dead last. With every loss a lesson is learned and the room for improvement is vast when last! My very first triathlon in 1986 I came in dead last, 20 minutes later than the guy in front of me. The awards ceremony was currently underway as I entered the final stretch and the announcer stopes the awards presentation to alert the crowd to my finish. The crowd went wild with cheers and applause which only serves to boost my stride and I finishes in a full sprint. Afterward, the overall female winner sought me out of the crowd to congratulate me and told me that I received the largest amount of applause that day. It was at that point I realized I should wear that finish with a badge of honor which was further confirmed when I received the official race results weeks later and learned that there were dozens of competitors that failed to finish for one reason or another. So I wasn't last after all but it didn't matter because I was still proud to have outlasted my desire to stop and finished with heaps of pride. I still have that copy of Thrace results all these years later and when I need some inspiration I look at it to see how far I've come since coming in last! As long as you tri you'll never fail to achieve something! Keep the faith. Steve |