Catching Up

Alright, time to catch up on my blog…I’m sitting on an airplane, heading to New York City! I thought I would be napping, but unfortunately, I drank a Verve (stock up on the vitamins and minerals before boarding the germ tank!) this morning and I believe it's also doing its job of providing an energy boost. Every time I close my eyes, the mind races with I packed or didn’t pack…too much thinking! More on NYC later though…I need to backtrack to a couple other events.

Naperville Women’s Triathlon – Naperville, IL – June 12
This race is perfect because it allows a visit to my good friends, the Simpsons! It’s fun to combine racing and catching up with friends! I decided to drive to Chicago again. It’s just easier with all the crap…I mean gear…you have to bring along for a triathlon. It’s really not that bad of a drive anyway, and I like the flexibility of leaving when I want. The sad thing about waiting this long to blog about my trip is that I can’t remember all the details. I do know it’s always a good time hanging out with the Simpsons, and I was happy to see Liv play some softball!
Race morning I headed to the race site solo. I arrived at transition shortly after it opened and found a sweet spot at the end of my bike rack, which happened to be just a couple racks in from the bike exit. Score! I hate running in the bike shoes. Not pretty or easy. Ha ha I set up transition and headed back to my car, which was just a couple blocks over. I basically sat in the car, nibbled on a Clif bar, sipped my water and relaxed! I’d much rather arrive early and have to wait around than to have a rushed race morning. I set my alarm to be sure I walked over to the swim start at the right time. Oh, one note – it was COOL here! I was not at all prepared (rookie mistake) for chilly temps. I even forgot the wetsuit, which might have been handy given the colder temps. Oh well. I borrowed a sweatshirt from Lonnie, hoping I would find them before the race started.
Hanging out at the swim start is always interesting. You see so many different people – different ages – different body types – it reminds me of one of the many things I like about this sport…it’s for anyone! A few girls chatted with me here and there, but mostly I just sat thinking about my race and watching for the Simpsons. I never did find them before the race, so I stashed the sweatshirt, hoping to find it after the race. I was standing on the sand, waiting for the countdown. And, we’re off. This is an odd swim. It’s in an old rock quarry and the course is set up in a zig zag type pattern, so several turns. I started to the outside and felt great getting going. I swam through the first turn, but realized all these other girls stopped and walked around the turn. This proved annoying as I ended up running into them once I started swimming again. I wasn’t breaking any records, but felt really solid throughout the swim and definitely picked up the pace on the 2nd half. As I stood up to exit, I heard Lonnie, Eric, Liv and Josh cheering for me! They were in a perfect spot to the left of the exit. Thanks friends!
The run up to transition is always long at a tri, but this one seems soooooo long. You run on sand for a short bit, then onto parking lot surface. It just kills my feet. BUT, I managed to jog all the way to my transition spot. Ughhhh. Onto the bike. I was hauling it…or trying to. I was passed by one girl and actually ended up passing her back on the 2nd half. I feel like there was something else about this bike that was noteworthy, but it’s just not coming to me at the moment. I flew back into transition and onto my favorite part…the run! Ha ha I’m just saying that, hoping one day it may be my favorite!
As I was exiting transition onto the run course, I saw my fans again – great place to cheer for me – I actually stopped to say something about the sweatshirt and Eric was like, go-go-go! Oh yeah, I’m “racing” here.  So, off I went. I actually felt pretty good on this run. I kept telling myself – it’s just 3.1 miles, Dawn. Get it done. As I was running along, this girl came up next to me. I totally remember her name, but will refrain from stating it…ya never know who will read this, right? Anyway, said girl…we’ll call her Annie…just starts running next to me. She says, “whattaya say we run the rest of this together – you can do it – I’ll stay with you to the finish…” Um, not to sound like a total snot here, but do you see this Mdot on my visor??? I am not concerned about finishing this sprint tri, Annie. And, should I be offended that you think I am questionable? Haha I didn’t say any of that, simply said that I just needed to run my pace. She doesn’t take the hint…”that’s ok, you set the pace and I’ll just run with you.” She continues to chat. She notices I’m not responding. I manage to sputter out the words, “I don’t really chat when I’m running…” I wanted to take off and just leave her, but wasn’t sure I would have the energy to sustain the break, so I took advantage of a spot where the course got a little congested and I slowed just a bit and tucked in behind some other girls. Ahhh…freedom from Annie! That is one of the strangest course interactions I’ve had. The funny thing is, I ended up keeping her in my sights to the finish, so apparently we were a pretty similar pace.
As I ran through the finish chute, I heard the cheering from my friends, once again! It’s such a difference doing a race where you have people supporting you. It’s certainly not a must have, but it sure is nice! So, thanks again to my great hosts and cheering squad, the Simpsons!!!
Once the race was over, we walked around the finish line stuff a little bit, but there wasn’t much there. It was pretty steamy out now, and they needed to head out to Liv’s softball tournament. Josh and Liv walked with me to try to find the sweatshirt. We found it! On the way, Liv was talking about how she would like to do that race next year. Yessss! The more, the merrier. So, we talked about me bringing my niece, Bailey with me. That’s the plan for now! I packed up transition and we headed out. Again – such a great race. I might also add that SheROX is now the race promoter – they put on a gooooooood event!