INSPIRATION IS ALL AROUND YOU ----Seen on a "Life is Good" shirt

SO last week, I shared a little story about my overindulgence and the subsequent aftermath. It seems, however, that I was a little quick to judgment. On Tuesday, when I was still feeling ill, I embraced the idea that I did not, in fact, have a hangover. Which was, sadly, a bit of a disappointment to me. I thought I at least had some bragging rights for partying like a rock star! (You know, a rock star who can't handle two micro-brews and a pile of donuts and has Martha Stewart housewares in the car for a bridal shower)

Anyway, this weekend, there were so many things I COULD have done: a friend's party, the last tri of the season, firewater in Providence, if only I could rally. But then, I thought: if I rally this weekend, will I be paying for it next weekend? That would not be good. A friend is having a destination wedding in ITALY!!! and it has snowballed into a girlfriends trip abroad. So dragging-ass next weekend is NOT an option. And even though summer rallied and blessed us with one last perfect beach day, I did not rally, myself.

I did, however, spend a lot of time thinking of some people I met two weeks ago who were the polar opposite of me last weekend. They didn't just RALLY, they completely inspired.

During the warm up for the Mayflower Sprint Triathlon, I started talking to an older woman who was sporting a wet suit. "Well, I'm 75 and it's my first triathlon, so my goal is to just finish without drowning."

"My goal is to be YOU someday!" I said. (I totally do, too. Nothing I want more than to still be doing the tris when I am 70)

The next day, I went to the gym for a little recovery workout wearing the race shirt (it's a really nice cool max) A woman at the gym said "Did you do the race?" I said yes and she told me that her mother was the oldest woman in the race, age 75.

"I met her!" I said. "I told her I wanted to be her!"

Turns out, they had a relay team: The mom, age 75, did the swim. The daughter, a breast cancer survivor, did the bike. And the grand-daughter did the run. She has CP and walked the 3 miles with forearm crutches.

"You guys are AWESOME!" I said. "You rock!"

So even though I was completely lame last weekend, I assure you all it won't become a habit. When I'm tempted to just sit around and do nothing, I have the best motivation I would ever hope for. All I have to do is think back to the amazing people I was lucky enough to meet through the sport I hope to be lucky enough to still be doing when I'm 75.