Sunday, June 10, 2018

Ramblin’ Rose

My cousin, Rebecca, and I did a sprint triathlon today.    She decided at the beginning of the year she wanted to do a triathlon and asked me if I’d be up for doing one with her.   Six months later and today we did just that.  

The particular series of triathlons is called, Ramblin’ Rose and is women only.   Prior to the race start they asked by show of hands how if this was your first triathlon and I would guess at least fifty percent of the attendees put their hands up.  

It was a friendly crowd, a warm pool, well marked course and overall well-run event.  The best part was the company though.   My cousin and I have always been close, but distance makes it hard to spend much time together.   We decided to stick together for the entire race because neither of us was in a particular hurry.   We had no interest in actually, “racing” just completing the event.

We got into the pool one behind the other which meant we got out of the pool within thirty seconds of each other.   The approximate nine miles of biking we stayed within talking distance most of the way, aside from the one hill she and I were looking forward to being beyond, because it was long and relatively steep.  

That’s the one time we got separated for a bit.   She was right behind me and then, when I got past the worst of the hill, I couldn’t see her from around the corner.   I pedaled slowly for a while and she did catch up with me, saying her chain had come off right at the onset of the hill.   Fortunately there was someone there to help her get it back on, but now she had no speed built up and had to pedal up in low gear from the bottom.  

We transitioned from bike to run and after a short bit where our legs didn’t like the change in motion from biking to running, we realized we were fine.  We finished by crossing the finish line together.

It was a lot of fun and a beautiful day.    Thanks for the invite, Rebecca!

The Big Boy Update:  My son told me he wanted me to see something today.   He said he wanted dad to see it too.   We sat on the couch and watched a five minute video he liked a lot on his iPad.   I’m not sure why it was that particular thing he wanted us to see, but I think he liked us watching it with him together.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  In the grocery store parking lot today I returned the cart while my daughter got into her seat.   I came back and she asked me, with complete calm, what would happen if I had gotten hit by a car as I returned the cart, was killed and she was stuck in the car.    She wasn’t alarmed, she was more interested in what would unfold should something bad happen.   I talked about how people would come to help and if I was injured they would call 911 for help.   I explained there were always people who would help.   She said it would be very sad if I died because I was a great mom.   She said then dad would have to be the only parent for her and her brother.   She thought about it and said it would be also sad if dad were to die instead of me.   She said if dad died then maybe we would have to eat sandwiches or pretzels or something since I don’t cook.   I sort of giggled at this one but explained that I can cook and like to cook but when dad and I got married he liked to cook more and really enjoys cooking.    The whole conversation was all very, “what if” kind of thing with no hint of any anxiety.   My favorite part was when she asked me, “so you know how to cook french fries too?!”

Exercise:  Sprint Triathlon with my cousin, Rebecca this morning.   Lots of fun, great day and great company.

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