Volunteeraholism

Hello.  My name is GBA** GF.  And I ... am a volunteeraholic.
A Volunteeraholic is the kind of person who volunteers for 2 races in 2 days, in extreme conditions.

Sunday was HOT!  And I'm not just saying that because I ran clear with Mustang & TMB, and then was surrounded by hot sweaty triathletes at Rocketts Landing Triathlon with Illusive Dave.  I mean, it was HOT.  The water temps were low 90something degrees, and the air temps were high 90something degrees.

1st Rule of Triathlon ... look hotter than everyone on the course.  My pals have that down.
2nd Rule ... don't drown.  also done.
3rd Rule ... have the most fun.  duh have you met us?
4th Rule ... have the hottest spectators.  Illusive, Sally, T & I so owned THAT rule.

T & Mustang Sally joined me for a run through the dark city of Richmond at oh-freaking-early hour before the racers arrived at Transition.  We ran along the waters edge, with the rank smell of rot wafting up now and again.  We ducked and darted among the streets.  A train hissed and trembled on the track elevated above us, waiting its turn to amble through the city.  A brown rat scurried across the road in the light of my headlamp.  This was the grittiest part of Richmond I've ever sampled.

Arriving back at Transition, we were amazed at how busy it was.  T & Mustang got to work Inking the legs & arms of the triathletes while I walked around admiring the hotness looking for my hot GBA/HCB/MTT buddies and carrying a dead Sharpee.

I had a great morning.

I flirted, played, hugged, cheered, and danced my way through the pre-race festivities.

Then I schlepped down to the water side to watch the swimmers get in and was given the enviable volunteer job of ... watching the swimmers emerge from their efforts and run up a ginormous flight of stairs.

It was a GREAT place to be ~ I cheered for a *hot MTT coach *did I mention the water temp was 91 degrees?, and saw KC emerge from the water, triumphant with her swim victory!  AND was able to see smiling HCB SpeeDee as well, and wow, she's epic!

Then when every swimmer was out of the water I moved from that job and joined Mustang at the finish line, where we greeted the hot runners as they finished their race.  Lucky me, I'm almost a genius and came up with the idea that they needed ice towels... so when I saw my BFF's finish, I handed each one an ice towel, and took their chips.  In SpeeDee's case, this also meant I was hugged, and possibly kissed and I'm not sure but I think there might have been some "I love you's" exchanged.

Other notables of the finish line were:
A marriage proposal by a man I've never met ~ did I mention the ice towel?
Not getting ignored by the MTT coach ~ *July, and he was definitely hot.
And having a man pass out into my arms as I dragged him to the medical tent... I have that effect on men now that I have my short hair, I actually had 2 men completely go down upon sight of me... I'm sure the 91 degree swim, 24 mile bike ride, and 10K in the elements had NOTHING to do with it.

SpeeDee, GBA**GF, and KC

It was the most intense day of my life as a volunteer.  And... Dave needs a pay raise for all he does for RMS.  And... I practically crawled into bed when I got home.  At noon.

SO ON TO MONDAY ....  Monday was WET!  and... whoa!.... I mean RAIN people, RAIN... (geez) and rain or shine, I had told my RRRC friend who usually just stands around these types of events looking hot ~July~ that I would be at the club 5K to lend a hand, so, that's what I did...

I clapped.
In the POURING rain.
For the racers as they went around a cone.
My job was done in about 15 minutes, give or take.
Then I carried the cone to the end of the street, in the pouring rain.
And arrived at the finish line completely soaked to the core, just as the rain stopped.
And by soaked, I mean, drenched, dripping, straight out of a pool, wring out your clothes ~wet~.

My presence at this point was completely unneeded.  Theoretically, I could have left, but ... well, it seems... the random guys at the finish line indicated I should stay & help... please?

shrug, "sure..."

Since these people are the kind of weird I enjoy hanging around with, it seemed like a thing to do.  There's always laughter and smiling with this gang.  I saw some familiar faces, goofed off, said hi, got rained on some more....

I was wearing a windbreaker I dug out of my H's JEEP to shield the rain... and to be perfectly honest, it didn't do a very good job.  My clothes were dripping...  so I kept it on even when the rain stopped... something about....high beams and, uh, putting someone's eye out... and... ~ um ~ never the less:

The windbreaker.stayed.in.place.

Since there were no "real" jobs to be done, I hung out under an umbrella, cheering for finishers while saying, "Stay in line".  OK, I think I said it, at most, twice?

And the umbrella owner was also directing runners as needed ...  so, maybe he said it twice?

We, the two of us, just stood around, completely useless, looking stupid, and hot...

... because, as I mentioned, it's July...