Okay. I've had a lot of time to think about this before actually posting it. Of course, you train hard, you push through blustering winds, sweeping rains, and countless wet, soggy socks, and then you find out you don't get to compete one last time after all. "Grrrrrr ... grrrrr," I say!
We were supposed to be competing in what another triathlete also dubbed as the "Last Race of the Tri Season," the (in)famous Tri-California Treasure Island Triathlon.
The social tri team event of the year (The Uffdas!) was going to be my sisters (Sam and Diana), and me. We even had cute little black shirts with silver glitter made up with our team name on them. We had all actually trained for this one even though we weren't set on winning anything. We just wanted to finish out the season in good form and strong to the end. Finish one last season, altogether, while we're all still in Cali. And who wouldn't?
The only thing we didn't have was registration under our belts. That's the problem with being paid once a month, as all of us experience. And anyone who does Tri's understands that this is not exactly an inexpensive sport! So, we were waiting for our paychecks to deposit so we could register for the event.
Come November 2nd, I check my online statement and am ready to slap down some serious cash for a seriously fun weekend! And what do I find? I find that online registration is CLOSED. Closed it say. WTF?!? I then read the FAQ page and my heart sinks into my gut:
Q. How do I register a relay team?
A. On the applications page follow the link to the Relay Team Application. All three legs of the relay must register individually with the same Team Name. (If one person is doing two legs of the relay they must sign up twice) All three applications for the relay team must be submitted online at least one month prior to race day or all applications will be cancelled.
Oh, come on. You've got to be kidding me! Being persistent, I reach for the phone and call Tri-California. The conversation goes something like this:
ME: Hi! I'd still like to register a Relay team for this weekend's event. The online registration appears to be inaccessible.
LADY: Registration is closed.
ME: Right. Um ... is that closed as in online-only closed, or --
LADY: Closed. No one may register for the event.
ME: But, (voice gets shaky and really disappointed) I have a team, the three of us. We're all sisters and this is our last two months together before we all move far, far away from each other. I'm moving to Virginia and my sister, Sam is moving to Minnesota. We wanted to do one last triathlon together before the end. A great last memory of our time together here in Cali, you understand, don't you?
LADY: (pauses) You should've signed up over a month ago if you were serious about wanting to participate.
ME: (sighs) Well, we all just got paid, and it's not really like money grows on trees around here. I'm still a college student.
LADY: Sorry, you missed the deadline. Better luck next year.
Ouch. Well, that sucked. As soon as I hung up, the phone rang. Diana was quick to inform me that registration appeared to be closed. I told her what just exchanged between me and the lady at Tri-California. "I finished making the Uffdas shirts last night with Kinsey," Diana exclaimed. Doh! This sucks.
Could we find a substitute event? Something else this weekend or next that we could still sign up for? It came down to the following:
- Some Salmon Duathlon event in Knights Creek
- The Catalina Island Triathlon (8+ driving hours away)
- Our own Social Triathlon: Eating, Drinking, Dancing
Take a guess which one won out--oh, yeah. The Social Triathlon! It appears that someone else also had the same idea! I managed to place 1st in the "You're HOT!" group, while Sam placed 1st in every man's book. Unfortunately, Diana had to forfeit her participation at the last minute, but her substitute, Brian, turned out to be 1st for dancing abilities and buying rounds. Overall, I think the Social Tri was a success even if the Tri California was not! Hooray for (semi) happy endings!
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