Naperdink

Noah's cheering section. Notice I finally can put a ponytail on Molly's head. She looks like she has an antenna on.

And their off.....

Pre-Race. Notice the bento box filled and the bike jersey. He was ready!

This past Saturday Noah did his very first triathlon. It is called Naperdink. Their motto is "so dinky anyone can do it". It was a 2 mile bike, 1/2 hike, 2 mile bike, float. In that order and in no way fast or timed. Bill and I decided it would be a great idea for Noah to have an opportunity to be like Mom and "race". He was so excited and nervous! Bill pinned a jersey up so he could wear one. Bill even put my Bento Box on his cross bar of his bike. They put chocolate chip cookies and fruit snacks in it to keep him going! Bill jogged with him the whole way. Like Mother like son. Bill told me he stopped every few hundred feet to get a snack and a drink. By the time they got to the park for the hike he was really concerned he was so behind so they skipped the hike and biked back. So really it ended up being a 4 mile bike, float, and play in the sand. Bill got him a little trophy to give him. He was so proud of his trophy and finisher ribbon. I think it will be a family tradition we will do every year now! Plus I can pull Molly in the bike trailer next year. AND even more importantly it is all you can eat pancakes and bacon!

Saturday is Steelhead 70.3. This is only the second big taper I have done this year. I am sooo ready to race. I cannot wait. I have a lot to learn from this distance that I have been working on. Since my last 70.3 in New Orleans I have learned that I cannot eat gluten before a race or during a race. AND I take Imodium and then I am good to go! I have redemption on my mind. There are personal goals that I want accomplish for this race. I want to finish feeling good (stomach) and race strong. What I mean by that is mentally not falling apart or giving up. That is a big challenge for anyone I think. I also want to race on fresh legs. My legs have been so tired lately that I finally get to rest them so I can wait to feel peppy!

Anyone that lives around Naperville and is interested in Gluten Free products. My favorite bread that I have discovered that doesn't fall apart or taste terrible is the Gluten Free Raisin Bread from Great Harvest Bread Company in Naperville. It is sooo tasty. They make Gluten Free stuff every other Tuesday. If you try it I promise it will be the best GF bread you will have ever had.

Bike Problems!

I am realizing more now than ever that you have the lows to appreciate the highs. Yesterday I did Evergreen Lake Triathlon which is about 2 hours from home. It is a competitive local OLY race that I LOVE.
The swim went good. It was actually a little choppy on the back end of the loop and I am pretty sure the course was long. I have not been swimming great lately so I was really content with how I did. Onto the the bike. I noticed on Friday when I put my race wheels on that the brake levers moved over and were rubbing the carbon on the wheel. I tried manually moving it over to see if that fixed it. I know that is not the right way to do it but I was in a rush. AND as a result forgot about the whole thing. The first mile or so into the bike the wheel moved a little and there it was. My front brake rubbing the ENTIRE freaking race. It was like riding a spin bike with high resistance. My legs were soooo tired halfway thru the bike. I slowed down on a ton of occasions to try and move the brake over. But it never worked. You could hear the rubbing with each spin of the wheel. UGH. All of that work and I missed a mechanical problem. Lesson learned. Take care of the bike. AND learn how to do it yourself. There were alot of voices going off in my head during that time on the bike. I wanted to quit or just get off and dnf. But I knew I couldn't face my family and kids with that. So I came into transition and put my shoes on to run as hard as my legs could after doing strength for an hour. I ended up running with Todd from Endure It. He was a great motivator. It is such a huge help to run with someone when you are in pain. Not talking just knowing they are there and their energy is helping you. I ended up 3rd. I am could say I am okay with that. BUT I am NOT! I am pissed. Because of my stupid mistake of rushing I forgot to fix something that lost the race and money! I need to slow down and take care of the little things. We all work so hard to get to the finish line that I think the little things are overlooked but in the end those are the things that keep us from getting there.
I didn't rest for this race because Steelhead is only 2 weeks away. I am burning for that race now. I want to have a great race there. It will be personal revenge!

Philly in Pictures

I think this is half way thru the run you actually come back to the transition area thru grass then back on the road and away from the race again.

I had to force Bill to do this. A touristy looking couple took the shot, mostly I forced it to embarrass him!

Can you believe this is almost 250 years old!

The Skulgle river (I know this is spelled wrong but that is I I think it sounds). I actually rowed here in college. It was great to see all of the rowers practicing on the river along boat house row. Once I train less I definitely want to get back into that sport!

I am finally sitting down to do this. Bill and I were in Philadelphia this past weekend for the Philly Triathlon. It was a GREAT weekend. Friday we got there super early and did some sightseeing. I really enjoy American history so we did the Liberty Bell, the mint, Independence village, and a few other things. It was really fascinating. Living in the midwest we have nothing that is that old. Maybe 100 years but not almost 300 years old.

The race was great. The swim was a point to point with the current so it went by quick. The bike was MUCH harder than I thought it was going to be. Essentially there were 8 short and some very steep climbs and descents. I am not used to that. I would say it is my weakest thing in triathlon. The run was flat and somewhat shaded. I was glad it was over when I finally got to the finish. Starting at 6:55 eastern time really felt like 5:55 am to me. It was a much more competitive race that I thought it was going to be but I love the competitiveness of it all. Lots of fast women make it even more fun. I was content with my race and even more thrilled at how much fun we had by ourselves for the weekend. Much needed time away!