back from vacation

We are now back from our yearly jaunt to the upper peninsula...the bridge is long, but the drive is worth the gas. The UP is always beautiful and peaceful. We spend lots of time on the beaches of Lake Superior where Tri Hawgs parents live at White Fish Bay. Talk about seclusion...you can walk miles in either direction and not see a soul.
I kept up my running schedule with a few easy runs and Tri hawg did a couple of long rides on the bike to get a feel for Steelhead distance. Although we took the wet suits, we never did get in the lake. Just a little too cold. The kids DID put the suits on and played in the waves and freezing water plenty.
So, we pared down the exercise a bit and really threw in the towel on the nutrition angle of our diet. We actually ate FRIED white fish....while this is really, really delish....it is also really, really bad for you.
Oh well, we don't do it every day and I think any weight I gained on vacation was sweated off After my run today.
When Am I Going To Learn To Get Out of Bed Earlier To Beat The Heat?????!!!!!!

Lake Michigan temps are nice and warm right now. We did an open water on Friday with a short sleeved wetsuit and it was perfect, a little choppy, but not too wavy. Tri hawg hit the water again this morning and ran into some other Steelhead racers getting in one last open water before next week.
The weather for Steelhead looks like it will be pretty nice after a grueling 90+ degree week. The temps are supposed to start dropping on Thursday and then even out by Saturday.
With any luck the lake will NOT turn in the next week and Steelhead race day will be sweet!

Ah yes....since I am not doing Steelhead this year as I am just a newbie I signed up for the Three Rivers Triathlon on August 19. I am going to do the olympic distance 1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike & 6.2 mile run. Now I have something to train for again!

It rained all day today.

Alex my middle child and I went to the soccer fields early this morning to meet the team. They are on their way to Chicago for a national tournament. They will be playing teams from all over the country including Hawaii, Florida, and California to name a few. He was pretty pumped up about going. The kids decorated the cars that were making the two hour drive to Chicago with team colors, names and region. About that time the rain started, really it was just a sprinkle. Within a few minutes the sky opened and it really started to come down....all the paint ran and dripped to the parking lot. The kids were still in good spirits, had their pictures taken in new team t-shirts and were ready to hit the road. Me and company are planning on joining Alex on Thursday and Friday for lots of soccer and to be good cheerleaders.

The weather is supposed to clear up and get hot, hot, hot. Perfect midwestern beach weather.

Baptism by Firecracker

My smiling family
Me and Trihawg--------------------->

The Firecracker Sprint Triathlon was a week ago yesterday. It was a wonderful first and I am still smiling. I still cannot believe what a great time the entire experience was. About half way through the run I said hello and goodmorning to some onlookers and was given the "Cherriest person" award . I could'nt stop thinking that I was almost done and that I was actually going to finish this race. It was a fun day....I am totally hooked.

The waves on Lake Michigan were pretty big. Yes, we've played in them, but never tried to swim in them. After fearing a bout of seasickness, I stuck my head in and swam....I did beat trihawg by four and a half minutes :0)

The bike was good, but the wind on the bluff is brutal. I managed to keep passing a guy on the hills (he would get me on the straightaways) including the last one on the bluff. At that point not only did the wind pick up once again and the rain came a tumbling down. My first time riding in that much rain and wind.

The run, as I have already mentioned, was just fun. I really could not stop smiling.

So, now that I have popped the proverbial cherry....and damn it was good :0)......I have made a list of races for the rest of the summer and fall.

Steelhead tri

The kids and are are signed up to volunteer at the Steelhead triathlon next month. We will get to watch trihawg in all his glory! Let's hope the weather is good and the Lake Michigan waves are low. I might just do some pier jumping with the kids when it's all over.