Dear Marci!

Yes I'm talking to you; the 19 Year Old Newbie Triathlete from 2004!

Today is March 13, 2024. I don't know if you know why this day is so important; but I'm going to tell you all about it so keep reading. It was a cool, crisp, and overcast morning in Athens Texas at the Cain Center YMCA. It's now been 20 Years also 2 Decades ago that you accomplished something you should be really PROUD of; you crossed the finish line of your first triathlon. You snake/serpentine swam up and down the lanes at the indoor pool. You then cycled 14 miles on an out and back wide open country roads (and even a kind of busy highway) bike course on your Specialized Sequoia Sport Road bike. To finish it off; you ran a 3.1 mile run on an out and back course on a path and very low traffic country road. Marci; you became a Triathlete 20 years ago today. I don't know if you ever thought that this many years later; this day would have so much meaning. Believe it and do  it with all the happiness that you've continued to train for and complete triathlons without taking a break. After you finished the 2004 Athens Texas YMCA Sprint Triathlon you said you'd never do anything more than a pool sprint triathlon or even a 5k road running race. That's the first thing; never say never because that phrase is a huge fib. To this day and moment; you've completed several Sprint Distance Triathlons (a few pool swim ones but more open water swim ones), a good handful of Olympic Distance Triathlons including the 2018 and 2023 USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals races in that distance. Long course; let's talk about that now. Since 2006 you completed 10 Half Iron Distance Triathlons totaling 70.3 miles of swimming, cycling and running. But get this since 2008; you've completed 3 Full Iron Distance Triathlons totaling 140.6 miles of swimming, cycling and running. Never say never girl because look at that; you did things you never imagined you would ever do. 

Triathlon and even Running (the newest singular sport) has helped manage life happenings over a 20 year period. Even though you grieved for quite some time; triathlon and running helped you get through a really rough period of time. The Head Cheerleader of Team Marci; your late mom Dorothy Goldberg passed unexpectedly and so sudden in late April 2011. The training as well as races that year to help you get through the grief of losing mom at such a young age. Mom had just turned 60 years old a few months before she passed away. You were just shy of celebrating your 27th birthday. As I speak of mom; she would be looking down on smiling with joy; she remains so PROUD of you and not just for being an athlete. Let's talk about the rest of the immediate family while I'm at it. Julie; your fraternal twin sister loves traveling to different places to watch races. She's not a fan of the Way Too Early O'Clock wake up calls race morning; but she doesn't complain about it. She is the most wonderful support always cheering loud and is at the finish line to give a big hug. We share competitive swimming with each other as well which is pretty cool. Dad is still cycling a million miles a year. We still ride when schedules work out; but now I wait for him at the top of the hills when climbing. His King of the Mountains jersey has now been handed off to me as the Queen of the Mountains jersey. We still find joy in spending time together on two wheels and that makes him real happy. Oh but one thing; he is still unbeatable on the downhill so descending is the cycling thing he still owns.

Triathlon taught me to keep going. I've never given up; not once. Many times between 2016 when I finally "Got The Oval" at Ironman Lake Placid NY in 2016 as redemption from the bad nutrition blackout and DNF (Did Not Finish) from the 2010 attempt and 2021 when I completed Ironman 70.3 Eagleman on the Eastern Shore in Cambridge MD I badly wanted to take a break but never did. I told Julie aboit taking a beak from the sport during that time period but kept at it. I kept going. It could very well have been for this moment, for this bigger than anything accomplishment to celebrate 20 Years in the sport that is my LOVE. There were the years of not finding joy from 2016 to 2021; but in 2022 the joy came back and here I am. It's a HUGE deal that I didn't stop. Giving up isn't in my vocabulary since becoming a triathlete. 

I honestly could go on for hours on end of reflecting about moments that occurred from March 13, 2004 to March 13, 2024 but then I wouldn't get anything else accomplished today. So that's all for now. A very momentous and celebratory triathlon and running as well as swimming season is ahead. I'm really happy I wrote to you to tell you about these little things.

With all the joy and love and passion,

Marci; the 39 year old Veteran Triathlete and Runner