A Tale of Three Races

The past weekend involved three races: A 5k Open Water Swim, a 60K Team Time Trial and Ironman Wisconsin. I did two---can you guess which ones?

Saturday started bright and early with the 5k Open Water Swim. It is a team fundraiser for UIC so the team sets everything up, works registration, do bodymarking, etc. I direct them, bring food for them and then I get to swim the race. Not a bad morning.

Here is a picture of my team attacking sandwiches that we had delivered to the beach. I have learned when I bring food I have to set it down and back away IMMEDIATELY.

After that I went home, napped and watched the Michigan/Notre Dame Football game and they won! However, I can't figure out if Michigan is good or if Notre Dame still sucks so time will tell.

The next day it was up early AGAIN and we drove to Utica, IL for a 60k TTT. This was definitely something that was taking me outside of my comfort zone. I was on a team with Leigh, a stud cyclist and Julie and Kelli, two great triathletes. Poor Leigh, she had to get three triathletes through a bike race! The race was delayed for 1 hour due to fog and then we were off. I get a little nervous riding behind people, especially when I am in aero position, but I tried to overcome that and because I needed the rest I got pretty close to Julie's wheel. We took the corners easy so we did not skid out and hammered the straightaways. Luckily if you were not turning it was straight---we were in the middle of corn and soybean fields. The last bit really hurt but I was happy to finish with my team and not get dropped. We finished 2nd overall. Here we are after the race:

Now comes the third race. Andy and I jumped in the car and drove up to Madison to watch the Ironman. It was going to be a long day and I was definitely dragging Andy all over the place but I was excited---I have never watched a triathlon, I am usually racing. Andy told me to expect lots of excitement :)

My training partner from Michigan (one year only) Hillary was defending champ so I wanted to be there to see her in the race. Hillary and I swam together a lot in the spring of her freshman year at Michigan. For some reason, we were the only two women training doubles that spring. I guess we were a glutton for punishment early on. I was coming back from knee surgery so I wanted to train hard and Hillary, as many know, she likes to train! So, we were a perfect fit. Even though Hillary and I live far apart now she still gets me through hard training. When things get tough I think "hillary would not back down, she would make it hurt more, keep going!"

She finished 3rd and had a solid race even though she was vomiting on the bike. Andy said to me on the ride home "she really is tough as nails, that is impressive." After Hill finished we sat around and chatted for awhile and then it was time to say goodbye because we had to drive back to Chicago. I was sad to say goodbye but I am sure that Hillary and I will be seeing each other again soon--she might just get me to do an Ironman so we can hang out in a cool spot. Wanaka, Lanzarote, Spain all sound good.

She looks pretty solid post race, just another big training day for Hill. She will be back at again in three weeks in Barcelona and then off to Kona to cheer on her BF, Maik (aka German Cycling Machine).

We had dinner overlooking the Lake and headed home. A long day, but tons of fun. I told Andy that I don't get to do that kind of stuff because my weekends are usually full of swim/bike/run so it was nice to break the mold a bit. Now it's rest for me until Oct. 5. One workout a day is all that is allowed for 3 weeks. To be a good athlete I have to regenerate so I am going to do it well. Then it is some cyclocross racing, a few running races and prep. for next season---I can't wait.