Because we Run .. and Bike .. and Swim! [Part 1]

When I look back at our summer, it seems to be spotlighted by triathlons and races.  If you're not really into this kind of stuff, too bad!  We spent a substantial amount of time training and traveling to and from races this summer.  Brent spent a substantial number of Saturday mornings on long bike rides.  We competed in 11 races this year, some together and some separately but all of them were awesome. 

Brent started off the summer in St George (where summer always comes first) in preparation for his Half Iron-man.  We left Idaho with its snow and blowing freezing things for Southern Utah who welcomed us with it's open sunshine arms.  And we loved every second of it. I seem to remember trying to leave as late as logistically possible in hopes of sucking every drop of bright, shiny goodness before returning home.

Here is Brent killing it in the swim.  We're talking like 3th one out of the water.

I present- Brent in a wetsuit aka, the fish

Next up, the only race Brent has ever attended and did not competed.  I felt the need to document it since the likelihood of it reoccuring is next to nothing.  We had the bright-eyed bushy-tailed privilege of marking the 10k course the morning of the Freedom Fun Run with little flags.  It was about what you would expect at 5am on a Memorial day morning: a perfect sunrise, that tiny chill in the air of summer mornings, and flags, lots of flags, all virtually identical to this:

That sunrise didn't make getting those flags in the ground any easier

THE BOISE HALF IRON-MAN 70.3! The pinnacle race of the summer! Or so we thought, until the day before the race.  We went to bed hoping and praying that it was a fluke cold, rainy day and that Boise in June really is nice race weather.  We also thought that a race starting at noon was sure to be warmer than usual.  So did the Brent who decided to not pack a sweatshirt or waterproof jacket.  The warmest clothes he brought is shown in that photo, just a tiny jacket and jeans with flip flops!  It was freezing rain (literally, 35 degrees) at the swim start and windy on the bike, so they shortened the bike course from 56 miles to 15.  Kari and I made plastic bag head scarfs to stay dry and make everyone jealous, obviously.  It ended up clearing out and the race finish was perfect! It was a little bit disappointing to prepare for a 70.3 race and have it turn into a 29.3 but anyone who was at the swim start knows that each and every one of those athletes who competed deserve that Half Iron-man title, regardless of the miles.

Optimism: Before and During

Some happy dudes!

Next up: Ragnar, Bone2Back, 4th of July,  Rigby Lake, Rexburg Rush, Viking Man, ...and the Red Rock Relay.
**sung to the tune of the books in the books in the Book of Mormon