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Off to the Races!



School is out! Summer is here! We are excited! 
And we are going to celebrate by going camping/racing for the weekend. 
What could be better? 

We are looking forward to hanging out with friends, spending time together, and cheering each other on. It should work out well. I will be kicking off the racing fun on Saturday morning at 7:45. Noah will be competing in the kids' duathlon (run-bike-run) at 3pm with his friend Sam. And Karl will show us how it's done on Sunday morning at the off-road triathlon. Max has yet to decide if he wants to join in on the fun or just watch. It's up to him. 

So. An Olympic distance race (1.5k, 40k, 10k) is on tap for me. Yikes. I haven't done one of those since last May! But I am really looking forward to it. Deuces Wild is also offering a half-ironman but, considering that we have the whole family with us and I want this to be a fun and not stressful weekend, I figured it would be better if the race didn't take all day. Let's hope I can be done not too long after 10am and then enjoy the rest of the weekend! 

As I am sure you have already guessed, I didn't really taper for this event. I tapered myself out for St. George 70.3 and I am not planning on doing that again anytime soon. I have a hard time giving up my routine. So I stuck to my usual training until after my swim on Thursday morning. I may or may not have worn fins for about half of the swim. We did a lot of IM and I happen to love swimming IM with fins! That's my kind of taper! I took the rest of the day off and got ready for our camping adventure. Well, sort of. I am not even close to ready. Why does camping with a family take so much preparation? Ugh. 

Then last night a friend posted something about the participants list for this race. I am not a fan of those lists. Not at all. So why did I ask for the link to it? I don't know. It was a bad idea. Mostly because it didn't just list names, it listed everybody's estimated finish time. Really? I should've just shut the computer right then but I didn't. Well, turns out that, if I am lucky, I might make it into the female Top 10. Which, don't get me wrong, would be great. I am certainly not saying that I thought I could win this one easily or anything. But I was hoping to be in contention for Top 3 and possibly the win. 

So, I am going to forget I ever saw that list. I am pretty good at tricking myself, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem. And I am going to go back to my original plan which is: 

Come across the finish line completely spent! 


Kinda like Sebi Kienle in the above picture. Except that I doubt there will be any carpet in the finish line area tomorrow, so I might not be looking as comfy when on the ground. 

Because, as we all know, when we give our very best, dig as deep as possible, and leave absolutely nothing in the tank, it doesn't matter where we place. So that is what I will be shooting for tomorrow! Wish me luck! 

Alright. Time to pack those cowbells and other noisemakers that are hiding somewhere in the kids' room, so we can all cheer each other on properly. Nothing like running by your cheering family and friends who really don't care where you finish but want you to be the best you can be! 

Happy Racing to Everyone! 







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