Tomorrow Cathy will complete her 3rd triathlon. I talked to her last night and she sounded confident after doing her best time in the quarter mile, around 11 minutes. I have confidence she will do well even though she just texted me that the predicted air temperature for tomorrow morning is 45 degrees, yikes! a week ago it was 80 and muggy, but tropical storm Lee pushed through the Eastern states leaving a mess behind her along with cooler fall-like temperatures. I reminded Cathy that the air temp for our first one was around 52 degrees so she already knows what to expect, and the cold water might take her breath away at first. I told her to remember her "game face", and to jump around a lot after she puts on her wetsuit to her her blood pumping since it will be so cold. She said she felt very organized this time around and was heading off to bed.
Suddenly I'm remembering a frigid, snowy winter day in Salladasburg when we were both waiting outside for our school bus to come. Cathy was getting very cold and wanted to go back to the house. I was afraid I would get in trouble for not going to school when I wasn't that cold, so I let her walk back to the house by herself. Mom was home so I wasn't worried, but I later found out that Cathy had gotten hypothermia waiting for the bus. I felt terrible, I should have gone back to the house with her. What if she had passed out, or not made it back to the house? How could I not have been there to protect my sister for fear of getting myself in trouble?
Now a teeny wave of worry washes over me and I'm wishing I was there with Cathy to be sure she gets through her event ok tomorrow. Even though it means I would be freezing my ass off in some God-forsaken algae filled lake at 8am. But a lot has changed this past year, Cathy is much tougher thanks to her training than she ever was when we were kids, and has already braved 2 triathlons. I'm sure by this time tomorrow night, she will be boasting of her best times ever and already planning next year's events!
Suddenly I'm remembering a frigid, snowy winter day in Salladasburg when we were both waiting outside for our school bus to come. Cathy was getting very cold and wanted to go back to the house. I was afraid I would get in trouble for not going to school when I wasn't that cold, so I let her walk back to the house by herself. Mom was home so I wasn't worried, but I later found out that Cathy had gotten hypothermia waiting for the bus. I felt terrible, I should have gone back to the house with her. What if she had passed out, or not made it back to the house? How could I not have been there to protect my sister for fear of getting myself in trouble?
Now a teeny wave of worry washes over me and I'm wishing I was there with Cathy to be sure she gets through her event ok tomorrow. Even though it means I would be freezing my ass off in some God-forsaken algae filled lake at 8am. But a lot has changed this past year, Cathy is much tougher thanks to her training than she ever was when we were kids, and has already braved 2 triathlons. I'm sure by this time tomorrow night, she will be boasting of her best times ever and already planning next year's events!
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