The first weekend of September, I lifeguarded and volunteered for the Rev3 triathlon at Cedar Point. This race was a full Ironman (athletes also had the option to do the half iron), with the swim portion in Lake Erie. I lifeguarded for the practice swim on Saturday and the race itself on Sunday. My friend Hannah (who I met at the Triple-T) happened to be one of the other lifeguards! Small world! It was great to see her again!
Sunday morning, I arrived and made my way to the beach before the sun even rose. We got our assigned areas, the sun started to come up, and before I knew it I was headed out by paddleboard-without a paddle. There weren't enough. That alone was an interesting experience!
The waves were absolutely brutal. We had to remove a huge number of people from the water, and even more took breathers on our boards.
One woman in particular stuck out in my mind. She got smacked by a huge wave and started to panic. I rushed over and assisted her. We talked for a little bit as she regained her breath. After calming down she was off again and I watched her very closely until she approached the next guard.
Later, during my volunteer shift in transition as I was talking to another volunteer, she stopped and said "Wait, I recognize you! You saved me in the water this morning!" I looked closer, and sure enough, it was the woman who stood out in my mind from earlier! It turns out that she was doing the swim portion of the relay. She said she was able to finish. She was so grateful that she actually teared up a bit as we hugged. What an awesome feeling!
Afterwards, they paid us on the spot, in cash. I highly recommend guarding for Rev3! Plus you get a generous discount on future race registration with them for guarding or volunteering. And they fed us really well. :-)
I'm planning on doing my first Ironman next year. I have been going back and forth between Ironman Louisville and Rev3 Cedar Point. After dealing with Lake Erie, I'm starting to lean towards Ironman Louisville. We shall see, though. In spite of Lake Erie's fury, the race organizers and other volunteers were awesome!
No comments:
Post a Comment