"Don't let the fat chick beat you"?

I have been racing for about 5 years now. I am not a typical runner or even triathlete. I fight with serious medical conditions every step of the way, but each step makes me stronger. I have two boys both with special needs and I have learned to chalk that up to making me stronger as well.


It is with sad heart that I must report that lupus has won the battle this year, but trust me when I say the war is far from over! My racing days are not over by any stretch of the imagination. This is just a minor setback that will make me stronger.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Roller Coaster

After finding out the hard way about my hands and contacting race directors I was pretty happy yesterday and then I got an email back from Ironman…
Hello-
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis and I wish you all the best.
Neoprene caps are permitted if worn under the swim caps we provide. Booties are permitted in water temperatures colder than 65 degrees. Gloves are NOT permitted.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Thank you and see you in Coeur d'Alene!
Talk about heart breaking!  I can’t not drop THAT much on a race only to drop out after the first event.  Needless to say I was not happy with that answer so I went higher up and contacted USAT directly!  I fully understand “4.9 Illegal Equipment. Any swimmer wearing any artificial propulsion device, including but not limited to fins, gloves, paddles, or floating devices of any kind shall be disqualified.” I get that, but I am not talking about swim gloves I am looking at dive gloves, if anything I see them more as a hindrance than a help. 

This morning I was greeted to an email from USAT…
We allow gloves to be used with a medical exception.  Simply bring a note from your doctor indicating your diagnosis.  You will not necessarily be asked to show it, but you should have it just in case  Print this email and keep it with your doctor's note.
Talk about being on Cloud 9! Needless to say I wrote back Ironman…
I received an email from Charlie Crawford (Commissioner of Officials, USA Triathlon) stating they allow gloves to be used with a medical exception.  Would this policy apply to Ironman?  As directed by USAT I would have a letter from my doctor stating my condition and the reason for needing the gloves.  I am hoping I would not need to wear them, but I can’t take the chance of needing them and not being able to use them.
Hopefully they will come back and say they will comply! 




~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~
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