Destination: Cedar Point

 And we finally arrived in Sandusky, Ohio! No more vomiting. No more drama.
(you can catch up HERE)

For the final hour in the car, all Lola could talk about was getting into the hot tub at the hotel. So as soon as we arrived, the van was unpacked and we jumped into the hot tub and did some swimming. Then it was time to eat and get some rest!

Jumping for Joy in the Hawwt tub!

A little post ride "recovery swim"
(and yes, those are black dots on her eyes, she played with make up in the van)

Last year, I worked the race at Cedar Point and the staff meal one night was as a very cool pub/restaurant called The Thirsty Pony. We are talking obscene burgers, huge salads and wings that are very yummy! I could not wait to hit this place up again with the family so we drove the one mile from our hotel to this joint and got a giant sampler of wings-

Casey opted for a GIANT burger. This picture does not do this thing justice. This burger was MASSIVE. A 1 1/4 lb patty with horseradish, bacon, mushrooms...and delish (yes, of course I took a bite) and I got a GIANT salad (and devoured a gazillion wings).


Friday morning, I slept in with Lola and Casey went out for a run. When he came back, he said he wanted to show us something pretty cool...so we were off on our first adventure in Sandusky!

A couple miles down the road, we round this beautiful little park by the marina and overlooking Cedar Point amusement park in the distance. It was so peaceful and beautiful, a great way to start our first full day in Ohio. Little did I know, on Sunday I would run in this same spot...

watching the sun rise on our family walk

a beautiful black swan-there were TWO!

The Smalls

Daddy and his little girl. Cedar Point is in the background

Lola LOVES chasing down sea gulls

Then it was time to head to the park, see all of my Rev3 peeps and get in the water for a little swim. The weather was absolutely perfection. A sunny sky, a bit of a breeze and the water was smooth!

I had been keeping a close eye on the weather report for Sunday and things were expected to change. Winds and rain and cool temps.

Must get in my beet juice! Loved the pink shadow

Lake Erie on Friday morning

itty bitty lake waves-this would change by Sunday

fun times with my best girl

I am very easily sucked into the hubbub of social activity and being at the race site with my friends and team mates was great. I got to see "Tall Chris" who has spent most of this year in Costa Rica so it was awesome to see him!

I got out for a quick run (2 miles) and a bit of biking (10 miles) and my legs were feeling GOOD. After hanging with friends and getting out to move, I knew I needed to get off my feet and rest! So it was back to the hotel for a break, lunch and a nap!

So lunch was some poolside salad and playing with Lola. We took a bit of a rest and then back to the park to HIT THE ROLLER COASTERS!

I was so excited to hit up these roller coasters-some of the biggest and fastest in the WORLD-since I missed 'em all last year (working these races is serious business, no time for play). There were tons of kids rides too and it was awesome to see Lola have so much fun.

My first big coaster was "GateKeeper"



Literally on the ascent UP the coaster stopped and I could hear some sort of announcement over the PA system. I could not make out what they said but we were not moving. We were suspended here...for an eternity.



Finally, a ride attendant walked up the stairs along side the ride and said that the ride had been stopped for mechanical issues and we should be moving soon. Now, all kinds of panic and thoughts are screaming through my head. I eyeballed the stairs and was glad I was HERE when the ride stopped so I could escape if needed. My palms started to sweat and I got really nervous...then we started moving again. Being suspended almost straight up into the air was fine...it was the thought of WHAT IF that scared me!

Once we started moving, it was a blast! It was over before I knew it but my face hurt from smiling and I convinced Casey to give it a go! And he did!! We hit up some more rides and a couple more coasters and it was time for food and bed.

Saturday morning was swim practice and swim time with Lola

Another beautiful morning on Lake Erie

the cutest Lake Monster I've ever seen!

with team mate, Heather

with Ron or as we call him, The Bearded Dolphin

the swim course

with MattyO

with team mate, Rockstar Ryan

I got in a good half mile swim and made sure to sight out the course well, a two loop swim around triangular buoys and after the second loop, head in at a diagonal to the arch of swim exit. With talk of the weather on race day--expected high winds--there was already whispers of the swim being moved into the cove on the other side of the Cedar Point peninsula. 

I kept my spirits positive and focused on what I could control but prayed that the weather would cooperate. It was time to head back to the hotel, get in my big lunch and rest. 

Later in the day, I returned to the park to check in my bike with Lola to gave Casey some much needed "off" time to just chill out. I was pretty sure Sunday would be a long day for the both of them. 

Lola and I loaded up :PinkiePie: 

Then it was time for the athlete meeting. Considering the weather for tomorrow, I figured it was important to attend and find out the swim plan. The RD, Eric Opdyke, addressed all the athletes concerns and assured us that Rev3 had a plan in place and we would have a definite answer in the morning. My gut already knew the answer and I was prepared for whatever the day would bring. 

The weather had already changed-the winds were picking up, clouds were coming in fast and we had some rain showers. PinkiePie was covered well and tucked in for the night under the watchful eye of the transition team.

Lola catching rain drops during the meeting

 On our way back to the van, we stopped to talk to the dinosaur and chase a few sea gulls.

Time to get back to the hotel and chill. I was still feeling very calm. The race day nerves had not hit me yet. It really freaked me out that I was so calm about the whole thing. Especially my first shot at 140.6, I thought for sure I SHOULD be feeling stressed.

I wasn't.

I was calm.

I was ready.

On the way back to the hotel, I saw one of my fav Rev3 staffers, Len who shouted GOOD LUCK from his van. Thanks Len!!

Back at the hotel it was a hot shower and bed.

I found this SELFIE Lola took and had to share. It cracks me  up!

Tomorrow was the big day. The culmination of months of training. Literally, years of preparation and I was excited.

NEXT UP: Race Day!

Let's Go to Ohio!

In the days leading up to the race I became very calm. Focused. Ready. Calm.

This is very unlike me. Usually leading into a race I get very excited and butterflies start nesting in my tummy. It's a mix of nervous energy, expectation and a dash of anxiety.

Calm is a new feeling for me.
I wasn't scared. I wasn't nervous.
I was just ready.

I knew that the calm would not last. How could it? How could I be toeing the line of my biggest race to date and be this CALM? Relaxed? It made me nervous. I kept sending text messages to Coach telling her that I was scared of this feeling.

Then the vomit hit the fan...so to speak.

We were going to leave on Wednesday to drive to Ohio. We rented a huge minivan (a Toyota Sienna, which I am in love with btw). Wednesday morning, Lola got sick.
Really sick.
Fever.
Projectile vomiting (grapes across the living room, sweeeeet!).

The calm left and the anxiety, worry and panic set in.

My biggest fear is that I would not have my little girl, my inspiration, my heart with ME. All of this change came about because of HER and the finish line would be missing a huge part of ME without HER there. I wanted nothing more than my family with me to celebrate this accomplishment.
It broke my heart.

My other fear was what if I get sick too? 

I started to have a mini-freakout complete with tears, anger and frustration. I felt such a complete loss of control over the situation. This race was the culmination of years of hard work and I was afraid it would slip through my fingers with nothing I could do to stop it...

There were lots of prayers happening.
We delayed our trip by a day in the hopes that Lola would feel better and get to go.
The thought of driving 15 hours to Ohio alone wasn't thrilling but back up plans were made.

Casey would stay home with Lola.
My friend/athlete/training partner Marc was able to come with me if Lola did not improve and he would pack and be ready to roll at 3am if need be! (Thank you, Marc!!)

Thursday morning we woke up super early and finished packing up the van. We woke Lola up shortly before ROLL time and she was fine. She woke excited and ready to GO TO OHIO!

She seemed to be doing great and then BOOM! Sick again...no fever but she was started throwing up again. We debated back and forth what to do. I called my Mom seeking advice.
I wanted Lola and Casey with me but I did not want my daughter to suffer through a very long car ride sick. I did not want us to be 8 hours in and have one of us get sick. I did not want to get to Ohio and spend the weekend throwing up myself...My Mom said to roll the dice, bring a bucket and go.
Casey was not too on board with this idea and was very concerned about Lola being stuck in a minivan, sick. But we rolled the dice...

Two hours of driving brought some vomiting, crying and she was afraid of the dark. It broke my heart to see her like this and I wondered if me made the right decision. She started to get warm again and when the sun came up, she finally fell asleep.

She woke up a NEW GIRL.

No fever. No sickness. The spunky, high energy girl we know and love was BAAACK!
It was all going to be OK

Lola re-enacting the action with the puke bucket

Let's get GOOFY! 

Yup, she was feeling better for sure! Shaka

The drive to Ohio was pretty cool! I wish we had more time to make some stops along the way, like Niagra Falls, the Football Hall of Fame to name a few.

We took Route 90 all along Lake Erie and it was a beautiful drive!

NEXT STOP: Sandusky, Ohio

By The Numbers

In 2013 so far-

-3,878 miles on the bike

-782 miles of running

-199,760 yards of swimming

222 hours and 25 mins of biking
116 hours and 10 mins of running
72 hours and 34 mins of swimming
130 hours and 46 mins of strength training

1 (giant, recurring) HRM strap scar 

9 months of preparation and training. It is amazing what goes into training for a full distance event like Cedar Point.

Trip delayed by 1 day.

4: Number of times Lola projectile vomited grapes across the living room

9,846: Number of tears cried when I realized that Lola was sick, may not be with me for this race and facing the fact that I, too, might get sick.

13 Hours driving to get HERE

while here~

1 run
1 bike
1 swim 
while waiting on race day

3 giant salads consumed
2 cases of bottled water
1 nap

Now, less than 12 hours until I head to transition for my biggest finish line to date.

See you after 140.6 miles...

Rev3 Maine

I wish I had an assistant who could run or bike with me so I can dictate all the marvelous blog ideas that percolate in my head while training but never find the time to sit down and put on "paper" and hit publish for...

As I have mentioned, trying to balance everything this summer has left me neglecting my poor little blog which totally bums me out. So since I am on taper, I have tons of time (ok, not really) to do some posts!

Race Morning with Angela!

REV 3 MAINE
Aug 25th

What a difference a year makes. Last year my husband begrudgingly made an appearance at the race and we spent the entire weekend with a great amount of stress and animosity between us. This was literally the beginning of the end for us.

Luckily, things have changed.

This year? Dude was along for the ride AND the other half of my relay team, A Small Team.

The idea of a relay started what chatting with Coach Sharpie about how the race season would play out. With Cedar Point just two weeks after Maine, we were considering the Oly or an aquabike option. There was NO WAY I was sitting out my favorite race on my home turf and I had to be honest with Coach, there was no way I could "take it easy" on the bike at a home game either.  That's when the idea hit me...we could race TOGETHER> I'd swim and bike, Casey could run.

Coach gave me the greenlight on this idea, said I could chick as many fella's as I wanted so it was GO!
I checked out the previous years results for relay teams and they had some pretty fast times.
Sub-5 and the podium was the goal! 

I gotta hand it to the folks at Rev3 (Ashley, Jonathan, Charlie, Carole ??) ... not sure who is responsible for the perfect mornings on race day for Maine, but it was another amazing race start with a beautiful sunrise.

Beautiful Photo Courtesy of Chris Dodd

kayaks heading out to the swim course
Photo Courtesy of Angela Campos

Seriously--Ahhhmazing!
Photo Courtesy of Angela Campos

The Swim
Photo Courtesy of Hannah Heisler 

I was standing in the water with a new tri-friend, Leslie (Maine was her first half and she finished in 5:53) and I just stopped, stood there and took in the moment--and asked her to do the same. It was just breathtaking...

The ocean water was chilly (barely 60*) and there was a lot of grumbling and BRR's going on. With a wind change, the temps had dropped quite a bit over the last several weeks leading into race day but the water was actually a few degrees warmer than it had been all week.

...and the purple caps are ready!
Photo Courtesy of Angela Campos

There was nothing remarkable about the swim except I got up front, I swam and I rarely had anyone near me--very strange for a race! After the initial scrum of the start, I had clear water. Head down and swim. By the time I got to the final turn buoy, I could see no purple caps around me and I was passing the two waves ahead. My effort was steady but more paced for Cedar Point vs. a half. Upon exit of the water, Garmin flashed a 37:xx and I was like "crap" SLOW but apparently, the swim was longish (most report 1.4 miles and I was told that this was due to water level changes with the tide). I looked at some local "fasties" swim times and this longer distance rings true. Regardless, I was happy with my effort and my time.

SWIM 38:35
5th of 108 in my wave (F40+, Relays & Athena)
(1:32/100 based on my Garmin distance of 1.45)

It's a bit of a haul from the water to transition, but I don't understand why so many make a big deal out of it really...this year they offered a "special needs" shoe bag for those who wanted to put something on. Honestly, I don't remember thinking it was that bad in 2012 and again this year, it was not bad. Just a short jog to the best leg of the day....THE BIKE!

Ahhhh, the bike. My happy place. 
Onto my chariot and I was spinning easy until I was able to get away from the crowds. After I got thru town, across Route 1 and out into the "country roads", I settle into pace. Sucked down some Perform and popped a Powerbr Apple Gel. Up ahead quite a bit, I spotted a QT2 systems kit and let him be my "rabbit". I caught him rather quickly and we played a game of back and forth.

About 20 miles in, I dropped my chain (uuuggghhhh--c'mon Kid! rookie mistake here!) changing into my small ring and lost about a minute hopping off and getting it back on. Back on and GO!

The miles were ticking by quickly and I was on top of my hydration and nutrition (priority of the day) and there was not a female in sight. I was riding with a small group of men and there were two others that I'd play the back and forth game with through most of the ride. I finally saw a female (Veronica, Newton Kit) and we took turns passing the boys and eachother. We would all get clustered up on the hills but there was  no drafting going on. It was simply a testosterone festival with two chicks in the mix.

The bike route had a change this year, taking out Simpson Road which is under construction, and what a great change! You hit up some small rollers instead and I really liked the flow of the new bike route.

With about 10 miles left to go, this is when I put some power into it and tried to break away from this pack of fellas I'd been riding with for 40 miles. I broke away from them and spotted my superfast team mate, Alyssa, up ahead. My first thought was HOLYSH*T!! I can catch Alyssa!! (she was 2nd or 3rd OA)...and catch her I did. And then I passed her...
Highlight of my freaking race!! 
When Alyssa caught back up to me, she yelled "Girl, You are pulling 30 guys!" and I rolled my eyes and told her I was trying to lose 'em all! ha ha I chased Alyssa "home" and she entered T2 just seconds ahead of me and it was time for Casey to run!

BIKE 2:31 
2nd of 108 in my wave
I had one of the fastest female bike splits of the day! wooo hooo
My Garmin shows that I did the ride in 2:29 and I hope I did not lose an entire 2 mins messing with my chain!

Happy Happy Girl!!

**

Dawn, Me & Lola

Team Pace Booty! 

I said hi to my parents, got to see Angela come in and head out on the run and see my BFF for a bit while Casey did his thing. I got to hang out with Team Pace Booty and pick up Sara!


Before I knew it, Casey was coming in from his run (1:46) and it was time to FINISH!!

It is all very symbolic of how things have changed in the last year. We are finally a solid family unit, doing things TOGETHER. As a TEAM.

Hand in hand, we crossed the finish line!
5:02

Our Finish
Photo Courtesy of Michael Brillant, Brillant Images

I think my expression says it all

So our goal going into this day was to have fun and celebrate a year of change, for the better.
We also wanted sub-5 and the podium.

Well, we did have fun.
We ALMOST went sub-5 (and had soooo many discussions about those 2 minutes!! ugh).
We made podium, 3rd place Relay team. Taking 3rd place to two VERY fast teams with times of 4:20 and 4:40!!



Best of all, we celebrated being a family that now plays TOGETHER.

Next Stop: Cedar Point 140.6