Special Olympics

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I had my very first ever Special Olympics race today. It was our Kayak county race. We only have two teams in my state so we race each other every year. There are three races. The 100 meter, 200 meter and 500 meter. I did the 200 and the 500. There were four people in my group. We competed in groups of four that were chosen by our time trial times from two weeks before. This way the races are fair since you only race those of similar ability as yourself.

We had two guys Alex and Todd, and two girls, Bailey and myself. I got a gold in the 200, just barely inching past Alex whom I had never been able to beat before in any of our practices and then a silver in the 500 where Alex beat me by a good ten or fifteen meters. Bailey got third in both races and Todd brought up the rear in both.

Let me assure anyone who could possibly think that just because it is Special Olympics, that it is not competitive is highly mistaken. Those races were grueling. And no matter what level of competitor you were, each athlete who did his or her best out there is a an absolute winner no matter what place he or she finished. At the end of the 500 I was so exhausted after the last push sprinting the last 100 meters that as soon as I crossed the finish line I just dropped my paddle and slumped over the front of my boat in a heap. It took me five minutes to go the fifteen meters back to the beach. I could barley move my shoulders and my legs felt like jello, yes, kayaking is a full body sport, and I could barely walk. It took me about 20 minutes just to be able to breath properly again.

Just because we are developmentally or intellectually disabled does not mean that these races are a walk in the park. It was awesome. I gave everything I had to get that gold and had to dig even deeper to find strength and courage and determination that I did not even know I had to get the silver. I did not even think I would be able to continue after 475 meters and it took every ounce of my last fiber to keep up that sprint and not let Bailey catch me.

I am super proud of every single one of the athletes that participated in the race today including myself! And I had an absolute blast. I am so honored to be a Special Olympics Athlete. I have never been to a sports competition where every single athlete and athlete's family is so loving and supportive of every other. That amazing attitude is something that the rest of the competitive sports world needs to imitate. I am so glad to be able to be a part of this group and I hope I will have many more fabulous races to come.

Since my husband and I have a previous commitment the day of the State competition, since we only have two teams in our state and a minimum of three is needed to have a state competition, one of our neighboring states invites us to participate in theirs. I won't be able to participate there so my SO 2014 kayaking season is over. But SO rollerskating starts on Thursday and Figure Skating on October 4th!

Congratulations on your Special Olympics events, Skibum!! Sounds like even though they were really taxing, you had a lot of fun, and got to make some friends at the same time. I'm really happy for you.

Thank you so much Coupe! It was an awesome day. And the cool part is that the athletes participate and see each other in many different sports throughout the year and sometimes see each other several times a week depending on how many sports they sign up for so the there are really nice friendships that are built there. But it was so much fun. Even though the races were grueling I could not stop smiling the whole day.