We all have important numbers in our lives. 1 dog (12 years old). Nabbed for 12 miles over the speed limit (unfair!). 7:00 AM swim practice. 1,655 Facebook friends. Just 2 (or 5!) little bites of chocolate. The list goes on.
I started counting a long time ago. When I was growing up, my swim coach made it mandatory that I count my strokes. 14 for free. 7 for breast. 9 for fly. Don't ask about backstroke! I can tell if a pool is short or long. I am that in tune with my stroke. As a pro triathlete, I became a counter too. When the race was getting really painful, I would count at the mile markers. 90 strides (on one leg) equals a minute. So if I counted 6 or 7 rounds of 90 strides, it meant one less mile to go.
At the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin, I lined up at the start, excited, nervous, with no idea of how the day would pan out. I actually started crying as I got in the water. And as I looked around, I noticed I wasn't the only one. Events that big bring out some crazy emotion.
I knew that I would be a contender to win the race. I was in the best shape of my racing career. Just 3 weeks earlier, I won the Boulder Peak Triathlon for the 4th time, beating Susan Williams who would go on to win a Bronze medal at the Sydney Games only weeks later. But anything can happen in an Ironman, so I decided I needed a little extra boost that day.
It came in the form of a Skirt. A little, red, wrap-style Skirt that I called the Transition Girl. My plan was to test this crazy "skirts for running" concept in a huge, international competition. The impetus? I wanted to cover my butt on the run. I wore a 1-piece swimsuit throughout the event, and I knew that if I was in the lead, those cameramen would be getting pretty close to my butt!
I came off the bike in 4th place. Actually, I was the 3rd pro and an age-grouper had screamed by me in the last 5 miles of the bike. She told me, "You go girl; you can do this thang!" I was slightly worried to say the least, but held true to my plan which was to shake out my legs at the end of the 112 mile bike in anticipation of the upcoming marathon. 26.2 miles is a long run. And it had never been my strength.
In the transition, I pulled on my little red Skirt, tucked a gel into the pocket and started running. I was steady. I always said that even though I didn't win a TON of races in my pro career, I was always in the money, and you couldn't count me out. As I ran the first of the 2-loop course in downtown Madison, I started to hear something different than I'd heard before. It was a mixture of disbelief and excitement. People would see me coming and yell, "Great job, you're in 3rd!" (I'd passed the then-walking age-grouper within 1 mile). As I went by, I would hear them talking amongst themselves, "Was she wearing a Skirt?!!"
On lap 2, I took the lead. Now I needed to hold strong. I was focused, but I was also buoyed by something I didn't expect. The crowd that had seen me running on the first lap was now on my "team". As I ran by, in 1st place, I heard them scream, "GO SKIRT! YOU'RE WINNING!!!"
The last 800 meters were so special. I had to concentrate on not crying because my windpipe was ready to constrict at a moment's notice. I could see the line. People were screaming and waving and something strange happened.
The counting stopped. It wasn't about one foot in front of the other. It was about enjoying the energy.
Until I looked up and saw the most important numbers of all.
10 hours 5 minutes.
1st place.
4 years later, at Skirt Sports, I was complaining that I wanted to make jeans, but I knew we weren't in the jeans business. My complaint was that very few jeans actually fit athletic women. Our strong thighs need some special love! So, I thought about that special day when I won Ironman Wisconsin. Crossing the line had become symbolic of the moment that works ends and play begins.
The 10:05 Collection was inspired by my 2004 Ironman Wisconsin win. We work hard. We deserve to relax just as hard! The 10:05 Collection is your reward for a job well done.
13 responses so far ↓
1 sherman.french@comcast.net // Sep 16, 2010 at 7:23 PM
Sherman French
2 Elaine James // Sep 18, 2010 at 1:46 AM
3 Lori Welty // Sep 18, 2010 at 10:29 AM
4 Heather @ Side of Sneakers // Sep 18, 2010 at 11:41 AM
5 Cindi // Sep 20, 2010 at 12:28 PM
6 Susan // Sep 22, 2010 at 10:53 AM
It's a pain and expensive to ship to Canada so I tend to only order things I'm sure of. These are a little more expensive and different so I'm hoping one of the stores in the Phoenix area will have them this November so I can check them out when I'm down signing up for IMAZ again.
I'd love it if you could use the US Postal Service to ship rather than a courier company as that makes it all much cheaper on my end. Canada Post only charges $5 to process, your courier company varies on what it charges and last time charged me about $40 for the paper work for 2 pairs of tri shorts. Didn't leave me with a customs form as well which I would need if I wanted to return.
7 Lisa // Sep 22, 2010 at 8:04 PM
8 Lauren Henzler // Sep 27, 2010 at 11:42 AM
9 Chelle // Mar 18, 2011 at 9:18 PM
10 handbags // Mar 31, 2011 at 10:16 PM
11 dd // Apr 24, 2011 at 5:28 PM
12 CarynW // May 20, 2011 at 2:45 PM
13 Bali Property // Apr 7, 2012 at 1:44 AM
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