Monday, June 18, 2007

The Most Fun You Can Have Without Doing a Triathlon

I am all pumped up!

STUPENDOUSLY awesome night tonight.

I met the TriClub down at the beach for an Open Water Swim. This one was newbies-specific, but welcomed all. We had a great mix of seasoned tri-veterans and Ironman finishers along with people who have yet to do their first sprint tri. Outside, it was 90 degrees and humid, and I was really, really hoping that Lake Erie wouldn't be too cold since A) I can't fit into my wetsuit right now and B) even if I wanted to fit into my wetsuit, I sent it away to Jaclyn so she could use it this season.

Bellissimo! Perfect lake temperature. Some in wetsuits even got a little warm!

We practiced sighting, turning around buoys, and then just swimming in the open water. I felt pretty slow, but it was just nice to be out there and help out some newbies as they were getting excited for their first tri. I never even did an open-water swim before my first tri and got quite a rude awakening that day! It was really fun just to be around triathletes and get in a little workout on a hot but otherwise perfect night.

Then, as we were packing up, I got to see Lloyd who was coming down the stairs....AFTER FINISHING THE MOHICAN 100 YESTERDAY! HUGE congrats to Lloyd. He not only FINISHED, folks. He was NINTH OVERALL and finished in 21 hours. AMAZING. Mark, another Second Sole friend was with him, and they were going to do a little swim to recover. It was great to see them both!

A few of us then headed over to my place, since I live right by the beach, for some burgers, veggies, antipasta salad (Mom's recipe), fruit, snacks, and good conversation. TriEric helped me out and grilled the burgers (THANKS, bro!) and I set everything up, tried to keep Mugsy from eating all my plants and drinking everyone's gatorade, and the rest of the crew sat around the patio and just chilled. It was super fun. I got to hang with DaisyDuc and Marie, too, who I hadn't seen in a bit. They both had to drive quite a way to get there, and I really appreciate them coming out. It was so good to see them! The sun started to set and trifriends then had to head home.

Tomorrow morning, I have another ultrasound. I'm excited for that, too. And I'm excited for what next year will bring, both life-wise and race-wise. Tonight helped remind me that I can, to some extent, still do the things I really love to do in the summertime: swim, laugh with my friends, and talk triathlon, and think about what I am capable of.

7 comments:

RunBubbaRun said...

I think the really fun part of TRiathlon is really hanging with other athelets.

Great job on the swim..

Wow, a sub 24 hour 100 miler for Loyd, thats really good.

JenC said...

I'm really glad you had a great time! Thanks again for taking care of the newbies session this month. I wish I could have attended, but alas, work called. : (

Hope to see you soon!

Janet Edwards said...

It was really great to get to hang out with you! It was a truly fantastic time. Thanks for being such a wonderful hostess!!

Mugsy rules!

21stCenturyMom said...

I love group workouts - way fun.

Now that you are in a better mood I'll tell you the story.

On Saturday I volunteered at the water station of a mini-tri along with others from my race team. There is a couple who are both multi-IM finishers (he is a sponsored athlete) and they had their 3 year old daughter with them (in mini team kit - adorable!). The Mom (9 time IM finisher) said that the first IM she did after she had the baby (when she was 18 mos old) was her all time favorite because she had a whole new perspective on the race. It was literally the first day in 18 months where she didn't have to work or take care of her baby and she just loved every second of it. She also felt really strong and, having given birth, had a new perspective on endurance.

So there's one more thing to look forward to when it comes to triathlon!

Steve Stenzel said...

How did the ultrasound go?!? Just so you know, you're mentioned in my most recent post...

It's nothing bad...

Unknown said...

Sounds like you had fun. And helping newbies always makes ya feel good, doesn't it. Keep it up.

Lloyd said...

Good to see ya too. Indeed, water was perfect.

Apparently Monday I was still running on adrenaline. Tuesday night it all caught up to me as I collapsed for a 10 hour slumber!