April 17, 2016

The Caveman Tri was the most insanely wild weather race I have ever experienced! It was supposed to start at 7am, but was delayed until 7:45 because of lightning. They were trying to determine if they would cancel the whole thing, cancel the bike portion or let it all go as planned. In the end, they let it go as planned and told people that they could decide on their own to do the bike portion or not. 

I thought I would make a last minute decision about the bike. I jumped in the water around 8:15am and by the time I finished 5:36 minutes later, I was on auto-pilot and ran straight to my bike. It was pouring!! I took the bike slow, and just kept thinking my weather motto ('there's no such thing as bad weather, only soft people"). I was slower than my last tri on the bike (obviously) coming in around 14.9 mph, but I crushed the run compared to last time!! My tri in September clocked me at 8:45/mile and this time I was at a 7:56!! 

In the end, I couldn't really compare this race to the last one because of the weather. I did cut a little time off my swim and a ton of time off my run, but my bike was much slower. I couldn't actually believe how fast the winners were still able to bike in the rain (20+ mph!!) By the time I sign up for my next tri, I would love to be confident on a road bike instead of racing on a mountain bike. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!!

Final results: 1:18:27

275 Swim, 10.8 Bike, 3.1 Run

Age group: 9/21

Women: 54/177

The best part of waking the kids up at 5am for a race is when they fall asleep on you mid-afternoon : )

December 5, 2015

Deck the Trails!!

Last year, I ran with Owen and Charlie ran with Eli. This year, Charlie wanted me to go all out, so he started with both boys and I started close to the front of the line. Owen wanted to run by himself, and he did for more than two miles! I finished in 23:53, 1st place for my age group, 7/420 women and 36/677 overall!! The first ten places for women were all between 23:05 and 23:59. Unbelievable!

I waited at the finish line with Grammy, Pappy, Garrett and Dylan and we watched Owen come in (on his own!!) at 30:15 (last year he and I ran together and he finished in 31:40!) and Eli and Charlie finish together at 34:04 (last year they finished in 31:30). Owen said that he ran around the first field with Charlie and Eli, then took off on his own. 'I didn't walk at all, I didn't stop at the water stop and I ran right through the water in the Splish Splash zone!' He looked so strong and confident running to the finish line : ) Eli has been sick with a pretty terrible cough for about two weeks. It was a race-morning-decision for him to even run! So proud of both our competitors!!

Sleeping with Santa ; )

October 4, 2015

It's race morning!! This was Charlie's third time racing and my first (our first as a relay) and it was such a great experience! I took the trail run portions and the lake swim, Charlie handled the mountain bike (like a boss!) and we came in 3rd overall, 1st of the relay teams!! Our time was around 1:18:25, more than 5 minutes faster than Charlie's time last year. Granted, we didn't have to worry about the transitions as much because of how we broke up the parts, but still! We both felt strong and it was so fun to compete together as a team!

The run was definitely flatter for the first half, and there were less 'mystery obstacles', so I was really able to book it! First mile was 7:42! On a trail! I might be slightly addicted to trail running after this weekend. It was such a cool new challenge and really keeps your mind engaged. The swim was tough - mentally and physically. I had put a lot into the run and entered the lake winded, not a good combination for breathing and swimming! I had a back stroke a few times to catch my breath, but I finished the 200 yards in just over 5 minutes, so I was pretty happy with that. Up the hill, soaking wet, so hand off to Charlie and he took off like a rocket on the bike. Six miles for him, a few scrapes and bruises, but he was back in about 35-40 minutes and I was off again! He started the bike in 5th place, came back in 3rd and I was able to keep that through the end. Perfect weather for a race, and a great teammate too ; )

Feeling strong going into the swim...

Up the hill in a dripping swimsuit and sneakers. Weirdest running attire ever!

Jennifer and Trigg - so glad we kept in touch this year and that we could have fun with them all over again this weekend! What a great family : )

October 3, 2015

Meet Your Maker 2015

Camp Peniel, Marble Falls Texas

This is our third year to race Meet Your Maker and it just gets better every year! The first year we went with friends but didn't take advantage of all the activities at camp. The second year we got there late so we were rushed on the activities but participated in the meals, plus we met a few families that we kept in touch with. This year, we got there when registration opened, the Even's were back again this year too, we got to participate in all the activities and meals AND we raced as a relay, so we both got in on the action!

This race is not very big, which is a cryin' shame because it is awesome! The director, Ben, does such a great job at putting it on, it's a challenging course but it's very family friendly for the whole weekend. Tons of activities, lots of ways for the kids to be involved, a worship time at the end of the evening and time to get into nature and unplug from everything else. What a great weekend!

A zip lining, rifle shooting, lake swimming, tractor riding, hiking, gym swimming, tree climbing, water sliding, canoeing adventure!!