Racing along the River or in it. . .

The event starts with package pickup. The organizers added a kids duathlon on Saturday to coincide with collecting my numbers and hat and shirt. At his age, the event was run a half mile, ride four miles followed by another half mile run. Here is the proper way to chill out preparing for the big event. Notice the fingers twirling the hair. Starting lines are designed for parent photo opportunities.

Off they go!

Coming back from his first run.

Out on the bike. . .

and back again.

Sprinting for the finish after the second run.

Chilling out after the race necessitates more shade than before.

His numbers are there somewhere.

We found this bike rack outside Red Robin, it was either that or fascinating sculpture. The bike shop where I picked up my packet had an old rack fabricated of rebar. I would expect them to have something like this to go with their $3000+ bikes.

After the big race, it is important to throw rocks in the river while mom scouts the swim start.

The races were centered on a park which is part of a development which seemed like a good idea at the time. The times have changed, and so have the signs. It does not look like they are getting many takers.

Many store fronts seem to sport nice pictures instead of signs and merchandise. It is a nice location. Maybe it will turn around in a few years.

After his race and our search for the start of the swim, we scouted the run course for my race today. I guess that cyclists in Idaho do not know what to do when they see a red octagonal sign sprouting at an intersection. Is that what we are supposed to do when we stop?This morning, there were lots of folks out to see the lovely rainbow. Sorry, no pictures of that, but it was very high in the sky since the sun was so low in the sky at 5:45. Maybe they were all hoping Lance's scouts would be out looking for tri participants for his new team.

Did you notice the warm sunshine that showed up for the kids event? I am still looking for it here. I think the umbrella is out for a reason. There was a trolley to give rides from near the bike park to near the swim start. I walked back and forth a couple of times. Think of it as a warm up on a cold day with nothing better to do.

This is the beach where the swim launched. There seems to be some glare coming off the water, so it must not be a race day shot.

Someone spent lots of money on signs.

Boys wear blue hats. Girls wore green and teams wore yellow, so we could tell each other apart. That fancy sign is behind these hopeful swimmers.

Gentlemen heading down to the start, while the group before them swims away in the distance. Swim starts were 10 minutes apart, so there was a lot of waiting. There was not too much catching up with the other swimmers though.A group of guys warms up. At this point I stowed my camera for the swim. I had it with me on the bike and run, but it did not jump into my hand to take pictures. Mostly it was damp. When it was raining, it was chilly, but it warmed up when the rain stopped while I ran.On the left, my daughter's track and cross country coach took third place. She lost some time in a nasty spill on the second of three laps on the bike ride, but managed to pick herself up and finish. I am not sure I would have been that brave.

By the end of the day, the sun came out. It was obviously time to to home.

I have now completed five triathlons. Three of them have not featured sunshine. I think I probably do better on cold days, so it does not bother me. If you want a warm day for an event, I should probably stay home.

My old car brand of Tuesday

The proper way to rest between two sprint triathlons is to go the the local theme park complete with water slides on Tuesday.Tuesday is the right day to go, because they let drivers of a certain brand of car in for free. The boy in the yellow shirt had a free ticket for reading enough hours in March. They thought I might buy a ticket to accompany him. Silly them.

I still have one of those cars haunting my driveway, even though I went back to the brand of the first car I ever owned the last time I had a large enough chunk of change to acquire a new one. I had to buy that one. It fit. Then again, sometimes I let someone else drive while I send text messages.

There might be more pictures of the water features, except I kept putting my phone somewhere dry when I was near those. I did have it with me for this one, and I soaked my boy. He sprayed me a little too.

We parked our things on a lounge by this wave pool for the day. Once or twice I even sat there.

At the furthest end of the park from the water slides, is roller coaster alley. Last year, this delight opened on the day we visited. I rode it once with my feet hanging free in the breeze, upside down, backwards and sometimes right side up and forwards. Once was enough. My boy sampled it again this time too, as well as the other fast and frivolous rides back there.

Resting for a triathlon requires staying until the park closes at 9, then stopping for dinner on the way home and arriving around 11.

How about a little more water just before we hop in the car?

Oh, and the late night? I was in the pool at 5:30 the next morning after sharing my bike commute with my brother in Virginia. His 5:30 comes at a more civilized hour than mine.

Everyone has a story

I wandered by this moving story while looking for tour results today. We each ride for someone special.

Valley Girl Fun

This morning did not start out well. The first thing I noticed when I went out to bring my bike around to the car was a flat back tire. It was the one that already has some kind of flat protection built into it. I asked myself, what would Lance do? Of course, he has someone else to work on his bike, but I have noticed that they do not just change out tubes or tires, they exchange the whole wheel. I looked around the shed and selected a back wheel with the same gears as mine, and loaded the bike on the Fit. I arrived in plenty of time for the start. The early bird has a choice of places to park her bike which was my plan. I could have taken the time to repair the tire, but I wanted to arrive early, as in just after sunrise.New meaning for an old shirt. Following my daughter's and niece's examples, I shot myself.

The end of the swim was right by my bike. Notice the nice long shadows. That means it is still in the low seventies. The lake stayed in the seventies, which was nice. The air climbed to a higher degree as the sun rose.

The swim course is simple. Out, around the two orange dots and back. My wave consisted of two age groups. I finished second in my wave and first in my age group in the swim. It was the highlight of my day. It was also the coolest part.

What a nice road to stroll on after a bike ride. With plenty of time before the start of the event, I checked out the lesser courses. After all, the really important part is the swim.

The start of the run course was relatively flat. It had a couple of gentle rises in it, reaching the top of the first hill on the bike course by a more round about route. It even featured shade.

The bike course presented more of a challenge. The first hill just keeps going up. I kept looking back as I walked up this hill, and the lake slowly disappeared.

The lake at the beginning and end of the bike ride is much bigger than it looks here.

There is some water down there. in the incredible shrinking lake. Note the later arrivals wandering down to park their bikes in transition. The rack where I parked was completely full by the start.I might be able to see the lake from here. Those golfers over on the left need a view too.Golf? Sailing? Something to look at on the way up and down the bike course? There were quite a few people out swinging sticks at little balls early in the morning.For those who have energy left at the end, how about a skate park? This intrepid skater was out to beat the heat before 6:00. He must not have read the rules of being a teenager.

The finish is near the top of that hill on the bike course, nowhere near the start and transition. I found it as I was checking out the bike course. I like to know what done looks like before I begin.Really, there is a lake down there somewhere before the land tilts up again. I rode up this hill twice. Once during the race, and again on the way back to my car. It is not as bad as it looks, either that or I have been doing enough hills on my rides around here to be ready for it.

Lunch after the event, even if it was only 10 in the morning. Yum, pizza baked fresh on site.

My favorite shirt of the day. There was a whole team of these ladies from Kitsap County, over by my sister. I promised this lady that I would only take a picture of the words, and not her hips. Of course she finished too.

Preliminary results. There I am in 8th in my age group (of 47). They are out there somewhere on the internet if you know where to look.

After it was all over, I waited long enough for them to draw my name for the second to last raffle prize: a pair of socks, goggles and a box of Hammer Bars. Lunch anyone? I will try one for my snack after swimming tomorrow morning.

Now that I have repaired my back tire, next week, I Race the River!