What the heck do people do on Saturdays?

Because this is a rest week, there was no long ride today. There was also no race today. Not even one to go watch, as can often be the case. My entire training schedule for today consisted of a 1-hour easy bike ride. I was awake at 6:30, on the road at 7, done at 8, showered and clean by 8:30. Now what? I had no idea. It's Labor Day weekend of course, and I am spending it at my parents' lake house. My younger brother is here, my older sister arrived this morning with her husband, my 7-year old niece and 3-year old nephew. So it's nice to have the whole family around and not be the one who is off riding around for hours thinking that everyone is back at the house having lots of fun. I learned a secret today: they aren't really having a whole lot of fun. I mean, sure, lying around and relaxing and not doing much of anything can often seem like a better alternative when you have already ridden, say, 4 hours on your bike and yet still have two more to go plus a transition run. But it sure does get old fast. I'm honestly not even sure how exactly I managed to pass this entire day away.

The weather was too nice to sit inside and watch TV all day, but I also didn't really feel all that much like sitting in the sun all day, either. Actually, what I really wanted to do was take out the old windsurfer I bought of craigslist last summer, but I figured there was too much chance of that leaving me either really sore or with some stupid injury. I can't afford to be sore right now because not only am I about to embark on the first of two really big, important training weeks, but also, I am racing tomorrow. That's right, another little sprint. And I do mean little.

I did this race last year, and it is conveniently located about 3 miles from my parents house. Actually, my father came over by boat last year. I will be riding my bike. It's a quarter-mile swim, 12-mile bike and advertised as a 2.5-mile run, although I'd argue that it's at least a quarter-mile longer than that. So definitely one of the shorter races you're going t find anywhere. It's also incredibly small. Considering the only "advertising" I've seen for this race is a painted sign outside a local visitor's center, I can see why. But then again, the venue probably can't handle a whole lot of people anyway.

I did this race last year a few weeks after the most demoralizing race I've ever done, the Timberman half. I needed something to make me feel better, and a small, local race that specifically catered to first-timers probably at least wouldn't make me feel any worse. I stuffed my blobbly (that's a new word someone recently used and I liked it so I'm adding it here) self into my tri clothes and went and registered on the morning of the race. Incredible that there are still places you can do that. It was a mass swim start, consisting of something like 95 of us. Probably 15 of us were wearing wetsuits and the majority of participants raised their hands when we were all asked if this was our first tri. You know it is a beginner's race when I am 6th overall out of the water.

This bike course, though short, is one close to the hilliest 12-mile stretch I've ever come across. It is tough. I have ridden it about 4 times in the past week to confirm that it wasn't just because I was hauling around 30 extra pounds last year, it's just plain hard. Somehow I managed to keep most of the people in front of me in sight last year, all 3 of them I think it was at the time. Lucky for that, since my run was ridiculous last year. Ridiculously bad, that is. I mean, I was happy at the time doing it because it was the first run that wasn't physically painful, due to my foot injury, since I raced in Lake Placid 6 weeks earlier. My time, however, was atrocious. Luckily, I had built enough of a lead on the bike that I only got passed by one runner and managed to come in 5th overall and first female. There are 2 or 3 pictures of me during that race that I'd like never to surface. "Blobbly" is probably a kind word to describe it, but I sure did have fun anyway.

So tomorrow I am off to see if I can do it again. You never know who might show up to these things. I have picked up my race packet and apparently they are doing wave starts this year, and I believe I am in the third one, which sort of annoys me. But then again, I was also told that the waves are going off 30 seconds apart, which hardly seems to me it would make much of a difference between that and just starting us all at the same time, so it shouldn't take me too long to get back in front of the people who are likely to be breast-stroking in front of me. The other fun thing is that it looks like the whole family is going to come down, so I will do my best to make it worth their efforts!

As for today, well, it was boring. After Kona I'll have a few weeks off and I'll be sure to plan and have more fun on these Saturdays off. Maybe go out to a late, long breakfast. I'm pretty sure there will be some race spectating involved. Maybe I'll re-join Netflix so I have something to watch. I guess I should feel good to know that every Saturday from now through October 10th is pretty solidly booked with training and some race on an island somewhere. Next week when I'm on my bike though somewhere around hour 5 I may be wishing I was doing what I am right now though!