My Man Card

After being with my wife Janine for 15 years, I’ve come to the realization, actually came to the realization long ago, that I’m not worthy of my membership in the man club. Occasionally I may open a jar or lift a heavy object (not too heavy mind you) or get us to our destination without asking for directions, but not nearly enough to assuage my fragile male ego and maintain my man certification in good standing.

When faced with a spouse or partner who consistently excels at an athletic pursuit you yourself also dabble in without the stellar results achieved by said spouse, most men resort to buying large trucks, growing a goatee, or riding a Harley Davidson. Oh, well, yes, I did buy and ride that crotch rocket motorcycle for a few years, but that does not count since I sold it to buy a Janine a new triathlon bike so she could go even faster.

What does this have to do with the TBF Tri 4 Real #3 Olympic distance triathlon this past Sunday you may ask? Well, what was left of my brittle id was shattered into tiny little pieces when Janine completed her trifecta of first place age group finishes to win the overall series title. She smashed the competition by over 20 minutes to win. She joins our own Elite triathlete Clancy as a series champion.

I’ve come to grips with the fact that Janine will be on the podium (despite popping out twins less than a year ago, being in Dara Torres age group, and working a full time job) and I will be taking the pictures from the crowd. Really, I’m OK with it, really. I don’t need my man card anymore anyways. What good is it other than for a discount at Hooters or 10% off motor oil at Kragens? I’m still a man, right? Just because my wife schools me everytime we race together doesn’t mean I’m any less of a man, does it? I still have that subscription to Maxim and can fix a leaky faucet (ah, c’mon, I only called my friend Randy twice for help with that faucet). Those things count, don’t they?

A few others joined us for Rancho Seco last weekend. Christy and Patrick were there with Christy going the distance and Patrick doing volunteer duty. Christy raced to a solid 23rd in her AG. Scott B. came out for his first TBF Tri 4 Real and knocked out a 19th AG, 73rd overall. Clancy scored a 4th AG despite more wedding planning than training the last few months. I eeked out a 6th AG and 15th OA with an improvement in my run time I credit to Tuesday morning track workouts and Friday morning tempo runs with Simon.

Janine offered to let me hold her series champion trophy and to even wear her series champion shirt to work on Monday, but these kind gestures were just not enough to repair my ego and restore my membership in the man club. I think my best plan is to accept my fate, be proud of Janine’s accomplishments, and keep training.

Although…I did hear there is a big sale on trucks down at the Chevy dealer.