I remember standing next to her on the pier before there race began. I noticed that she had painted her nails to match her tri suit just as I had. We chatted some and it turns out that both of us raced our first triathlon less than a year ago and it was the same race.
"The swim start was in my top three favorite moments of the entire day. I gathered with my fellow pink caps and we all stood around smiling and trying not to puke on ourselves. I met so many amazing women standing on that dock, but only one name stuck in my head - Bonnie. I had people compliment my kit and ask me how many races I'd done. I had people assure me it was going to be amazing. I had people ask me where I was from and how long I'd been training and what my goal was. But as we left dry land and walked onto that dock, Bonnie and her friend were holding hands and walking in solidarity down that dock to face the day. Fears, dreams, doubts - I don't know what they were facing, but they were doing it together. I smiled at them and said I wished I had somebody to hold my hand. Without hesitating, they let go of each other and each reached for my hands. And here I was, walking hand in hand with two strangers to the water's edge to tackle the most incredible challenge I'd ever laid before myself. In that moment, all of my fears and apprehension and anxiety and doubt washed away and I knew it was going to be ok."
Update: A month later we all met up again at the finish line of IMTX to celebrate Crystal's becoming an Ironman!
