Honolulu Triathlon Weekend

This past weekend was the Honolulu Triathlon. It is a big event which mandates briefings and bike drop-off the day before the race. We made a day out of it and decided to hang out at the beach and got a chance to try out my new paddle board.

Jake absolutely LOVED it! When Chris unloaded it onto the grass by the car he quickly jumped on grabbed the paddle and said "Go! Go! Go!" Needless to say when we finally hit the water he insisted on testing it out by himself and it was all Chris could do to hang onto his vest before he took off!

Very early the next morning we dropped Jake off with a friend nearby and headed into town for the race. Chris and I competed in the Olympic distance tri which is made up of a 1500m swim, 40k bike, and 10k run.

I brought along my 21 week floatation device to help me along with the swim portion of the race ;)

Tight tri gear isn't always the most flattering, but is stays in place when you race! I have been training for this event and felt comfortable with the distances. I should say that I conditioned myself more so than serious training as I knew that no competitive edge needed to be justified and really wanted to complete the course and still feel great after. Chris...well Chris did what he does best and proved once again that racing is mental and how training is nice, but not necessary :)

Chris coming into the finish line looking good! So much so that the man in blue is even checking him out! Sorry for the water spots we forgot to rinse the lens after paddle boarding.

We did it!

I took it waaaay easy and slowed myself down every time the thought to push creeped into my mind. I ate in between events, reattached my faulty safety pins every transition, utilized every aid station, thus using the potty 3 times, and all the while thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful course. I came in at 2:43 (5 minutes faster than my non-prego time a few years prior) and placed 9th out of 31 in my age div. I am proud and guilt free to report no muscle soreness at all!

Chris did great and was always within a minute or mile from me anytime I turned back on the course at a turnaround. It was so fun to see him doing so well and I was excited at the thought that he would come charging up behind me any minute. Then at the 2 mile mark on the run he started getting stomach pains and it wasn't until he drank some Gatorade that he realized it was hunger. We tried to eat early and not too much for dinner the night before and during the race he prefers water, thus his body was in need of salt and electrolytes. Once he got some G juice in him he kicked it back on and home to the finish coming in at 3:20.

We got these nifty medals to commemorate our day, but Jake thinks that they are badges (just like the one Chris uses) and puts it around his neck, grabs his shoes and tells us "Bye, going to work now". Cute kid, glad he's ours :)

I don't know about Chris, but for me, this is why I race! Teddy's burgers in Waikiki (in my opinion, which is not one coming from much of a carnivore lover, but still my opinion) is better than...oh I don't know if I should say this publicly.....In & Out. Eeek, retaliation is sure to follow, but I had to state my opinion.

We are headed to the mainland for a few weeks for many graduations to include Chris' BA! I hope everyone is well and will post after we get home. Aloha!

p.s. Jake just woke up so there will be once again no time for spell check. If you read this regularly your mind should do it automatically by now anyways...mine does.