My best friend in LA, Melissa Forman, is competing in her first Ironman triathlon today — in Penticton, Canada. As I write this she is nearing the end of her 112-mile bike ride, after finishing a 2.4-mile swim in a frrreeeeezing cooooold lake after only 1 hour and 16 minutes. I’ve done two triathlons with Melissa, the Nautica Malibu triathlon, but that was about seven years ago. I went on to bake pies; she went on to become a superstar athlete. To underscore this, let me explain, instead of swimming 1/2 mile, biking 18, and running 4, she is now swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112, and running a WH
OLE marathon (26.2 miles) — in one day! She’s so fast the only sport I will do with her now is yoga so she can’t leave me behind. And bake pies. Which we did together in June when I stopped over in LA on my way to Mexico. Here I am in Melissa’s kitchen teaching her two daughters (Sarah, age 5 and Eliza, age 3) how to make a blueberry pie. (That’s Thelma, the kids’ babysitter to the left.) Her daughters have natural pie-baking talent and I won’t be surprised if they inherit their mom’s athletic talents as well.
If the girls were a minimum of 6 years old they would be able to cross the Ironman finish line with their mom today. However, they are still there at the race to cheer her on. And I’m here, in Mexico, too far away for her to hear my cheers, but she knows I’m swimming, biking, and running alongside her in spirit. I’m so inspired by her drive and dedication that I might even sign up for another triathlon. Go, Melissa!