{tri-ing in the rain }

I am now 3 for 3 on race mornings that start with thunderstorms and downpours. But Lifetime Tri a few weekends ago takes the award for the best yet.

I awoke at 4:30am that morning to hear heavy, heavy rain and some serious thunder and lightning. I figured it would pass within an hour like it had for the other races and all would be good to go. Boy, was I wrong. It continued and my original plans of heading to the race site to set up in transition at 5:30 were put on hold. I watched online for updates from the race director. They weren't opening transition due to the lightning and no one was sure what kind of delay the race would have.

Though it was still pouring rain, at 6:45 they finally announced that transition was open and race was set to start at 7:30am. We quickly hopped into the car to make our way to Lake Nokomis. But driving along the parkway we encountered this.

The cones are there because it is part of the olympic course bike route. It was then that I realized the race was definitely not starting at 7:30 and the course would most definitely not be bikeable.

Chop dropped me off near the lake and as I made my way to the transition area to get set-up, I had to deal with a little water.

As I got into transition, it was only drizzling. At this point, they made the announcement that the olympic distance course was closed and all participants would be racing on the sprint course. That, along with a two hour delay, threw a lot of people off. Being the second to last wave, this meant I wouldn't be starting until at least 10:30. Less than ideal for many reasons!

I was lucky enough to have a fellow twin mom to keep me company while we waited around to start.

After waiting around for what seemed like an eternity (there were people finishing before my wave even started), my wave was off. The swim was one of the hardest open water swims I've had. Lots of wind created lots of waves. There were a lot of swimmers grabbing onto lifeguards and just trying to stay afloat. I made it out of the water in second place and onto the bike. Bike was fairly uneventful and then began the run. Oh, the run. It used to be my easy/favorite part of the race but for some reason, that has changed. I was off pace, running slow, and wanting to walk. After getting passed by another woman in my wave at mile 1, my confidence was shot. I didn't have much left in me and stopped running 4 times (yikes!!) but managed to get across the finish line.

Overall, good enough to get 3rd place in my age group. But the best part of the race, my cheerleaders on the course!!

In addition to O & S, Chop, and Grandpa and Grandma C being there, my friends Kathi and Patti made it to watch. Kathi has been my personal trainer for the last six months and played a key part in getting me ready for races this season. Blessed to have so many supportive people in my life!

Mother nature definitely provided a morning that I will never forget!

Since Lifetime, mother nature has redeemed herself with better weather for two other races. The first, a fun 5k run with 10 other twin moms (27 kids between all of us!) at the Torchlight 5k. It might have been 93 degrees and humid but at least it wasn't raining! 

Then it was a Solejourner relay team tri at Annadale Heart of the Lakes Tri. A super fun morning spent with a group of women that I thank my lucky stars for!