Fun in the Sun!

So yesterday I was not the one being cheered, but the one doing the cheering... along with Luna girl and Miss Hannah.

Jer and Sam took on their first Olympic distance race and the best thing to make you want to race has to be watching one! The boys were super relaxed before the start - the rumored wetsuitless swim ended up allowing wetsuits and that seemed to calm everyone's nerves.

There was something wonderful about standing on the shore of the water, watching all of these athletes prepare for their race. Standing there in flip flops and jeans, walking my dog and talking with Hannah about everything from babies to MBA's. The gun went off and while I was nervous and excited for Sam and Jer, that usual panic I feel was missing - 1. I was not in charge of all of these people, 2. I wasn't maxing out my heart rate to be first out of the water!

The boys both had great swims, especially considering Jer had never swum that far and Sam doesn't do any tri training (Yea, and there is something great about that too!).

Once out of the water, I could finally relax - those two are machines on their bikes and can run just as well. Sam debuted his beautiful new Slice - in a new paint job that has not been previewed yet. It was FAST!! Just as I was expecting him back in from the bike portion, I heard an ambulance and it immediately turned me into "mother hen". All I could think was that his bars were not tightened and had fallen or something of the sort... and yes, I am officially becoming my Mother.

Thankfully, both Sam and Jer made it in just fine - everyone was entertained by our cheering and antics. Just a blast. There is nothing like seeing people coming out of transition for the run portion (well, maybe coming across the finish), but there is so much energy, exhuberance and excitement, it's impossible not to cheer!

Like a total do-do bird, I missed Sam and Jer coming across the line, but it was a great day all-around. Sam took 16th overall, not a bad day at all!

Being on the sidelines meant a bit of recon work - I always like to see what other race directors are doing and it's something you can't really grasp when you're in the midst of a lactate threshold endeavor. Beyond that, I was able to scope out the short course competition, which still includes Ironman champ, Donna Kay-Ness. She demolished the women's field, but my friend Cassie came in a strong 2nd place. Her boyfriend, Max from Thule I believe smashed the aqua-bike and it was great to see all the HEAT athletes and other tri friends.

In other news, CONGRATULATIONS TO HANNAH AND NOAH - game over. Just kidding!! Congrats on your nuptials, you two make a beautiful couple!!