Odds & Ends & A Race Report

I couldn’t get into blogger on Friday, and I was home sick with the boy Thursday. So, I’ll try to catch you all up. :-)

The tri report:

Note to self: Next year maybe we should pony up the funds for a hotel in Raleigh. I’m all for staying with friends, however, there were a number of things I didn’t know: 1) Their guest room not only doesn’t have a bed, it has hardwood floors. 2) Not only did the almost-4-week-old baby wake up, they keep their house roughly the surface temperature of the sun for said baby 3) Thanks for loaning us the alarm clock. Too bad you set it so it went off at midnight! Do I even need a number 4???

Needless to say, we were all a little tired Saturday morning. But we’d had an awesome dinner at the Mongolian grill (and a trip to Sephora!) Friday night, so we tried not to be too bitter. Got to the race site (we’d checked in the night before), set up in the transition area, got marked, and waited our turn. It was cold and windy Saturday morning. I told the guys we’d be grateful for it later, but I’m not sure my son believed me. It did stink for the spectators.

The swim was me, and it went okay. Having a cold made it tough – I actually had to stop mid-lane and cough at one point! But I did fine, and sprinted into the transition to pass off the chip. Poor hubby had it tough. I knew it would be hard – with the shingles, he hadn’t ridden in 3 weeks, plus was still a little tired. And it was still very windy! Not to mention hilly on the back side of the course. But he did okay, and the boy & I were waiting. We passed off the chip & the boy & I were off.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of my son. He was a bit slack with the training leading up to the race, but he did a good job with the pace and with making good use of walk breaks. His ankle was bothering him a little, but he hung in there and did great. We had put on sun screen, which was good. By the run it was sunny with a slight breeze. Perfect. He had saved enough to put on a good finish, and I have to tell you I got all teary as we went through the chute together. Hubby was waiting on the other side with PowerAde, which we needed!

There was still pizza, pasta, and pasta salad left, and we noshed on that. Then loaded up the car to head home. We made a pit stop just down the road at Dunkin Donuts, and we all got our favorite donut plus a large coffee for the hubster. Which was a good thing, cause you know both the boys passed out, leaving me “alone” to drive us home! Thank goodness for 80s metal CDs – nothing like singing along with the Scorpions & drinking your husband’s coffee (did I mention I don’t like coffee?) to keep you going. I made it to Burlington before I woke him up & made him drive the last half hour.

Times are supposed to be posted today, so I’ll let you know about that tomorrow.

The scale report:

Down a pound last Friday. I won’t make my birthday goal by tomorrow, but I’m headed in the right direction! Maybe by this Friday though!

The birthday report:

It’s tomorrow, but went out with sister, mom, & family last night. Sushi. Yum. Good gifts, good food, great time. I’m a happy woman!

The head report:

Doing the tri seems to have blown out the last few cobwebs. I’m feeling in a much better place today. A lot more upbeat about training. Looking forward to lifting tonight, and I got in a great walk this morning.

Misc:

I really thought about Lynne doing her 50 miler Saturday. I told my family how much I admired her. A couple of people sitting next to us overheard and asked “Is she still out on the course?” I explained she was doing a 50-miler, and they asked why. My answer was “because she can”. But I was thinking, Here you are in your fancy gear - you obviously do tris regularly Why are you here? Why do any of us do these things? I mean, we could get the same benefits a whole lot cheaper if we just ran or biked around our neighborhoods. But there is something about going someplace and doing it with a bunch of other people that pumps you up in a different way. If you read my blog regularly you know I’m not a frequent racer. A couple a year is plenty for me. I don’t train for them. I train for the zen of the training. But I think my son got a taste of that “high” you get when you’re out in a race. He & my husband both are already talking about next year’s family team triathlon. :-)