Lavelle Letter

(..an inspirational and wonderfully written expression from one of our members, Carolyn Lavelle..........)

The Jacket

Just a few short weeks ago, I was seriously contemplating quitting what I had just so recently joined: Team K-Man. I felt so out of place with all these great athletes. They were so elite. I was just me, a new runner who participated in one little bitty Sprint Triathlon and a few races before joining them. After joining, I felt I was in way over my head. How could I ever keep up with the group? Heck, I couldn't even see them once they took off running. And biking? No way would I ever dream of joining them on a Saturday bike ride when they rode like the wind and went 50+ miles. And then, of course, the swimming. Just what the heck is a one-armed free-style? Where do you put that other arm? You swam how many meters? Exactly how many laps is that???

What was I thinking joining these powerful athletes? Where I had felt good about my new running, I suddenly felt not so good. I was so slow. And I didn't like that feeling. Not at all. Glenn and Kass tried to encourage me. Penny and Desi compelled me to hang in there at least until June, to not give up until I really participated more with the team and got to know them.

Then a few weeks ago, Coach Kass told us that Pam Nargie started this "Achiever" bike group to bike the same day the newly titled "Super Achievers" biked. Coach Kass said this group wouldn't go as far and wouldn't be so worried about going so fast either. Hmmmmm. Could I maybe do this now? Yes, I think I could. I tried it and loved it. I'm a kid again, loving being outside with the wind and sunshine on my face. Feeling great. Feeling strong.

I had to make a decision. Stay on the team or quit. Dues were due, you know.

So I did something to help me make the decision. I purchased the Team K-Man jacket. Now I was committed to stay. I just spent $65! I couldn't waste that money, and I certainly wouldn't wear it and not be on the team.

When I put it on, a funny thing happened. I felt the power of the "K." You cannot put on something that loud without feeling it. I was an athlete. Me. 53 years old. Running only one year and counting. I not only could run now; I could bike.............and I would bike distances farther than I had ever gone in my youth. Suddenly, the term "Half Century Bike Ride" didn’t seem so unattainable. It was definitely doable. How could an immensely loud jacket do so much? I don’t know. How could Clark Kent change from an ordinary mild-mannered, meek and quiet gentle man to the man of super powers, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, fly like an eagle, and save the world? He put on the suit with the big S and the cape. And suddenly, he was Superman. Okay, okay, we know he was fictional, but we intuitively knew way back then as a child that there was something about that suit.

Well, now I understand it. There's something about the team clothes. There's power in the K. What is that power? This is it: behind that K is the strength of a whole team spirit, the strength and power of the coaches and team-mates who enable us to leap and soar and run and swim and ride like an eagle. Group spirit is so much more empowering than one single spirit. I felt it. You probably feel it too. I suddenly felt a part of Team K-Man.

Hello, Team K-Man. My name is Carolyn Lavelle, and I'm one of you, and you're one of me.

This feels really good.

Carolyn Lavelle