our race filled weekend...

*read from the next post up. not sure what i was thinking when i posted the pictures.

we must have been crazy this weekend to schedule a race for me on saturday morning and a race for chad on sunday morning! it was such an exhausting weekend! sunday morning we got up a little later (5 a.m.) to get ready for chad's first triathlon sprint. last year we did the fawn lake triathlon sprint as a relay team with our friend jeremy. this year, most everyone (except me--i can't swim like a pro) did the whole thing by themselves. the kids and i were there to cheer chad on as he completed his first triathlon!

getting ready for the swim...
chad finished in more time than he had hoped for his swim, but this was his first open water swim since last year's race. he got stuck in the middle of the pack and was kicked a lot heading out.
running to his first transition...
chad and jeremy transitioned together and chad headed out a little before him.
4 laps around for the bike portion and on to the run!
chad did great on his run averaging a 7.22 pace and beating a lot of guys that started the run ahead of him. all of the marathon training is really paying off:o)
chad's strong finish! i couldn't be prouder of him!:o)
here are chad and jeremy after the race feeling tired but ready to head out on the boat!
i forgot to take a picture of the kids cheering for chad, so i made them pose for this one. oops! guess i should've put it in the right order and then no one would've ever known:o)

Saturday morning i got up at 4:30 a.m. in order to have enough time to get the family up and ready and to complete my pre-race rituals:o) we left the house around 5:30 a.m. and headed to ashland for the patrick henry 1/2 marathon! there were 1250 finishers and about 10 port-a-potties!! not a good ratio for runners;o)
here's the line i was standing in before i decided to "jump ship" and head in the woods to pee. it's a good thing i did too, b/c no sooner had i finished then i was at the starting line and taking off!
the kids smiled even though i knew there were still super tired!
the run started and ended in a park with a really cool playground and trails, so while i ran, the kids played.
chad took this after ella totally ate it coming across the field:o(
around mile 5ish i got a terrible cramp down my left hamstring and calf. i tried to shake it and took all the powerades and gels offered, but i guess i was just too dehydrated. i finished 9 min. slower than my goal time and in terrible pain:o( rule #1 of racing: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!! i learned my lesson the hard way...