Who inspired me today?

Saturday Linda and I went to the Dali exhibit at the Glenbow. Very nice! ( you'll never know how much it's hurting to pass by all the dalliance puns that are burbling in my brain.) I'm not a big painting kind of guy, but I really enjoyed them. Then there was a Bee Kingdom about some glass artists here in town that I really enjoyed, and here I'd never heard of them.

Today my buddy Michelle was signed up to do a duathlon out in Strathmore, and at the last moment helped another girl who had lost her relay team. Deb did the swim, and Michelle did the bike and run. What's more, she did it on her brand new (to her, late this week) Trek Madone. It's a sweet looking ride! They say never do anything new in a race, but the conditions were propitious and she went for it.

I had an amazing day watching the women only triathlon! Yes, watching pro athletes, and the elite age groupers is inspiring, but in a different way. These women, in all their various shapes and sizes and ages and degree of skill and conditioning, were out there giving their all. To them, a 500 m swim is a big deal. Watching some of them swim was actually a little bit painful for me as they thrashed and floundered.

But what's important is they got into the water and got'er done. They conquered their fears and stuck with it. That is HUGE! Next time they'll fear a little less, and that will make the swim better.

Deb laid down a solid swim time. They changed chips, and Michelle was off like someone who had done it a zillion times. It was sort of a wave start that I didn't really understand. Michelle was one of the last bikes off the relay rack, and was the first back by a long way. Then off on the run after a lightning transition. She had a really good run, and they ended up as first overall relay team!

Here's a bunch of photos, but blogger has mixed them up and I'm too lazy to fix the order:

Can you tell she is so excited and ready to race!

With her swim partner Deb.

And my swim buddy Deb from Renfrew pool days. We had a wonderful chat getting caught up while people were out on the bikes. I love her spirit of wanting to get out and try new things.

Nobody ever has to tell this girl to smile for the camera! Richelle did a great job announcing.

Here's Michelle just about to finish.

Showing off their medals.

They got some nice swag.

Great legs!

Yes, in the middle of all the hubbub of transition, she is taking a selfie. I think this is a soothing activity for her.

Chip fastening.

And she's off!

And she's back.

All in all a wonderful day. I'm inspired by Deb and Michelle winning the relay, and just as inspired by all the various women getting out and doing it.

I was out for a run as well in the evening, 5K, 35 minutes feeling pretty good. The actual pace graph is whacked. I am trusting Runmeter less and less. My brief glimpse at the other program gave me slightly different numbers, but I'm not going to go look at the moment. I want to hit publish and go pour a glass of wine.

So who inspired you recently?