DIE HARD? I think not.

So many of you may know that I like to do triathlons. A lot of people sound impressed when they hear that and say something like, "Woah, you're die hard," or, "Go Sus!" And when I tell them I just do it for fun and I'm not die hard, they seem to think I'm just being modest. This morning I snuck into the rec center--hoping to go unnoticed by the die hards--with my new wet suit on (It's a lot like the one in this picture, but I bought it on a crazy sale last summer when I was also CRAZY pregnant, so I had no idea how/if it fit!) and my new goggles--a beloved and much needed COSTCO find.
I looked about as goofy as I do in this picture, but even goofier because I was at an INDOOR swimming pool in the SUMMER! But I am doing the Salem relay tri with my nephew Zach and my hubby Russ in a little over a week--so I decided to swallow my pride and try out my new gear so that I will get a better feel for it. (Incidentally, this picture is about how far my friend Kenzie and I made it to doing the Salem tri last year! See the shirt and the sweat band? We also got some free water bottles. It was really rainy and freezing that morning and so we opted out.)

So here's where the funny part comes in. Most long pools have lanes marked like this comic shows:

I usually choose the slow lane (remember the part about me not being die hard? Yah, getting kicked in the face by snobby die hards needing to pass me each time they lap me is not my idea of an 'uplifting' workout!) but this morning I got there a little early and the lanes were not yet marked. So I went into the one that looked like I would get disturbed the least. Half way through my swim, I noticed they had marked my lane as the fast lane. I was trying to beat my last record time--so I decided to stay in the "die hard" fast lane... to make a long 20 minutes short, the dude I was sharing it with had to pass me SEVERAL times. (He had fins on though). When he exited the pool I just finished my last lap and came up out of the water to hear him venting something to a fellow die hard who had just entered. Though I couldn't make out the topic of conversation, his tone was heated and his last words were, "EXACTLY!" and he glared at me TWICE as he walked out of the pool! I was just innocently stretching and catching my breath. I thought of asking the lady what he had said about me, but I didn't really want to know the answer.

So again I say, I really am just doing this because I enjoy it. I am not trying to be the first, fifth, or even fiftieth. I do it because it makes me feel driven and happy--I LOVE IT.

Die hard. DEFINATELY NOT!