Cord took his turn first! He competed in the Snow Basin XTERRA Triathlon! This is one serious race. It starts with an open water swim, followed by a mountain bike ride, and then a trail run! Whew. It makes me tired to even think about. Cord trained all summer and we had our fingers crossed that he could earn a podium spot this year.
Race day morning was beautiful. The kids and I headed up to watch the start at Pine View. Brent and Lorna came to cheer Cord on as well. The starting horn blew and everyone started swimming. And Cord got TRAMPLED. I could tell something was wrong when I saw loads of people exit the water towards the bike transition before I saw Cord. As racer after racer passed me by, my heart sank lower and lower in my chest. I knew that he had already lost his shot at winning and it was breaking my heart! Finally, we saw him run up from the lake. He looked exhausted. He mouthed the words to me, "I had a cramp!" Oh man.
He told us later that when they started the swim, people swarmed around him. He got kicked and pulled and pushed under water. His goggles got knocked off several times and his contact lens got washed up into the top of his eye. This stampede made him loose his breath and he had to do the backstroke for almost the entire swim! Can you imagine doing the backstroke for over a half a mile? Then he got a huge cramp in his calf. He could barely stay afloat. He almost called the life saving kayak man over, but the boat was too far away. He said a little prayer that he would make it out of the water. Crazy!
After he rode off on his bike, we all loaded up and raced up to Snow Basin to watch him come in from his bike ride. My parents met us up there and helped watch the kids. They were also happy to support Cord in his adventure! I was glad to see that Cord had made up some time on the bike portion of the race. He said that he was glad to finally be able to breath again after almost drowning in the lake!
The run was on a crazy up-hill trail and Cord pushed through side aches and exhaustion to finish strong! We were so proud of him. He ended up doing really well considering his bad start. It was the first time in his life he said that he felt whipped! He was not looking forward to ever racing again! We teased him that he couldn't even get his grapes in his mouth because he was so tired.
Cord is one amazing athlete. I am so proud of him for pushing through to the end and completing the race! Maybe he will be on the podium NEXT time. :)
The next Saturday was my turn to Race!
We had a big ole group of runners sign up to run in the Huntsville 5k 10k and Half Marathon.
Ryan bought us all matching race shirts (that I designed!) and we had a super fun Dennis Family Race Day!
Dax and Monica had signed up for the 10k back in July and they invited Cord to do it with them. Cord suggested that I do it instead. I agreed! I have not really done much running...like none....ever! So, it was a big stretch. I worked at it here and there and slowly built up my abilities. My longest run was about 3 miles, so I was hoping to do the 6.5 miles in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I figured I would have to walk a few times during the race.
Race morning was FREEZING. There was frost covering the valley on the way to the starting line. Cindee bought me a cool black base layer shirt to wear under my team shirt. I was happy to have it!
It was so fun to have my whole family at the starting line. We were joking and laughing and taking pictures. When we got to start it was so fun to see all of our little crab race shirts poking out in the crowd.
I was so so so happy with how my run went. I ran along and looked out at the beautiful scenery. We ran out along Cemetery Point at Pine View. The water was sparkling and the sky was blue and clear. I felt pretty good. About half way through, I spotted Matt up ahead. I figured I had better catch him, so I picked up my pace and joined him. We got to talk and run together for the last 3 miles. It was great for me to have a running partner. He kept me moving and distracted from the discomforts of running. We ran through the finish line together at almost 1 hour exactly!! Wahoo! And I ran the whole thing without stopping or walking. It was huge for me.
I loved having my family at the finish line cheering me on. It made me get a little emotional.
We got to cheer on everyone as they crossed the finish line.
I was so proud of my cute family!
Here are all the runners!
Here is the whole crew!
We had a picnic lunch at the park and enjoyed the beautiful fall day.
My training buddy!
Matt and I ended up winning metals! We both got 3rd place in our age groups.
Pretty nifty eh? My mom got a metal too for her age group!
After lunch we cheered Chad in from his first Half Marathon run! We were all so proud of him for running and finishing his race because he was really suffering from some IT Band issues. Ouch!
The kids were dying to run in the kid race. They each got a cute t-shirt and race bib and did a 1K race around the block. Cord ran it with Gage so he could keep an eye on him. It was so cute to cheer them on and see them race through the finish line. They got creamy's and drinks as a reward for participating. I could tell they thought it was pretty fantastic to get to take part in the event!
It really was a great day to spend with my family! I feel so blessed to have best friends surrounding me and pushing me to do new things and try new adventures.
I feel a tradition coming on...
Oh, and I am super sore today and Cord keeps laughing at me as I hobble around the house.
:)
2 comments:
Adelle! You are a RUNNER! And congratulations on placing third! I think everything you do, you do amazingly. You inspire me!
Looks like you all had a fabulous time :) Maybe you are finding a new hobby!! Love it!
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