WOW! What a day!

Several months ago, Rob came home and informed me that he had signed us both up for a triathlon. Rob did a triathlon several years ago, but to me it was just something that I vaguely said "I should do that someday..." whenever someone talked about doing one. But the proposal came at a good time. We were in the middle of a wellness competition with another family, and so after a year and a half of me saying that I should exercise, I had actually started running. Rob was on a quest to lose 20 pounds (and feeling VERY motivated because I finally agreed that he could get a big screen TV if he did). And preparing for a race would be the motivation we needed to keep exercising.

So... as soon as the kids were gone to school and the baby was up from his nap, I was off trying to get my swimming, biking, or running in. A neighbor has a pool, and the baby was very good at sitting in his little booster seat and playing or eating goldfish while I swam laps. As the race approached, dear Chris Jackson lent me her thousand-dollar bike. When compared to my very old mountain bike where the the tire is slightly bent and keeps rubbing on the brake and I'm always pulling a bike trailer with a kid and stuff in it, this bike was heaven-sent.

So this is how a parent preps for a race: The night before. Rob was in a golf tournament until the evening, and after dinner had to hit the computer to work on a 50 page technical paper (which, so happens, he is working on right now). I just got about 30 pounds of tomatoes from a neighbor and was hurrying to take the skins off and freeze them in order to make salsa next week. While doing 3 loads of laundry and watching a neighbors kid. My dad called to see if B and K could come spend the night at his house (which my kids were SUPER excited about... especially since he has a puppy). So I packed really quick, ran up there, dropped them off, met Rob for dinner, ran home to grab the baby stuff and drop the baby at my mom's, then come home, move some of the clean laundry off my bed and put away the tomato stuff, pack and exhausted fall into bed. That is how a parent prepares for a race.

Day of the race: Rob and I got up early and drove down to Lehi. It was a very small race, with mostly just people who know (or know someone who knows) the guy who put the race on. Very relaxed. Perfect for a first race. The swim went great for me, Rob said that was his worst. I actually felt like I could keep swimming a lot more (which I can't say that about anything else on the race). The bike was beautiful, out in the rural part of Lehi and through a big park and along the river. And then came the hill. Oh, the hill. Man, I was glad that I was on the nice bike, because I probably would have had to get off my old mountainbike and push it up the hill. It was out by Camp William (?) and army guys were at the top of the hill congratulating and telling us it was time to turn around. At that point I was very happy to comply. Rob did awesome at the bike, keeping it at the high gear almost the whole time. I kept wondering when it was going to end... yes, 12 miles felt like 12 miles... very long.

Then it was the run (I know this is getting long... but it felt that way in the race, too). When I got off, another guy was taking his sweet time, so I was pretty slow about getting ready to run. And then I realized that this guy had already finished the race (being in the first heat-start... and being really fast, too), so I stopped drinking the propel and took off. Wobbily. It is hard to run after biking. You know how when you spin around a bunch and then start to run? That's how it felt. Only not dizzy, just super wobbily. But I kept going until it finally wore off. It was fun to see my mom pass us with the kids in the car (well, actually, we stopped for a quick picture). Rob also joined me for part of the run. It was great. Well, great because it's done. It was hard, but I did it, and only walked about 1/2 a block, mostly just because I didn't have the mental stamina to just keep going.


So it was fun. My kids and mom were at the end with pompoms to cheer us on. I would add pictures, but I don't have drive to get up and get the camera right now. I feel pretty proud of myself that I did it. And while at first I thought "Wow, I'm glad I did it. Don't think I'll do it again," the satisfaction is now getting to me and I am thinking of the next one.

How does a parent wind down after a race? Well, since a parent has other children, the luxury of going and getting a massage or a nap is not so much a reality. Rob is working on the paper right now, holding a baby who I think is getting sick, having already unloaded the car and bikes. I am watching my kids and 2 neighbor kids doing crafts in my kitchen, having already cleaned the kitchen, made lunch, pulled out another load of laundry, and mowed the lawn. Ok, the lawn about killed me, especially because we have a push lawn mower and REALLY long grass. Luckily, my neighbors sons think our lawn mower is super cool, so they ended up coming over and mowing the backyard for me. Cuz they wanted to. Sweet!

So tonight, we are all going out to dinner (I'm not cooking!) and then Rob and I are going to a play. And then watching the BYU/Utah game. So a full, full day. But WOW