Early Summer Races

     Summer is and always will be my favorite season - unless I move out of the Chicago area and migrate to a warmer climate.  I love summer for many reasons, the warm weather, the BBQ's, hanging out at the lake, ice cream, fireflies, fireworks, etc. but my #1 reason for loving the summer is for summer races.  Yes, I know that makes me a runner/triathlete nerd but it's true.  So far this summer I've participated in 2 races, with a few more coming up!

Race #1: Mudderella

Before

      The first race was the Mudderella with my two sisters.   This race was seriously the most fun I have ever had running a 10k.  The mudderella is a 6.1 mile race, with approximately 13 obstacles of MUD!  There was mud everyone, teamwork, incredible bonding and joking around with the various participants and lots and lots of laughs!  I have never been covered in so much mud in my life and I now understand why they say Mud is a great exfoliant - I had such soft skin for days afterwards!  Thankfully my brother in law came to spectate this insanity and we got some great pictures and video, which still make us laugh as we trudged through the mud.

After - Woohoo!!

 

Race #2: Esprit de She Triathlon



Before - Getting ready for the swim with our goofy swim caps!

     The second race I participated in just a week after the mudderella and while it wasn't filled with any mud or nearly as many laughs, it was still an excellent race!  My sister also participated in this race with me.  I originally thought that we would be in the same age wave and get to kill the course together but since she is older :) and our age group was so big they split us up.  Which meant we were each on our own to dominate the course.  This race was my very first triathlon a few years ago and so I love to do it now every year to see if I can get faster, etc.  It was just a sprint distance and since I've been training for my 1/2 IM, it should have been a good race.  I think knowing that my sister was out there somewhere on the course helped push me to go faster and faster. The swim was a little rough, just because of the number of people, it was hard to find my perfect rhythmn, but once I did, I just kept on swimming.  The bike was kind of windy but a beautiful day, I tried to push my speed a little which was a little tricky since they switched the course around from previous years.  The first mile of the run is always the worst after coming off the bike, but my legs quickly responded and I realized that I had more to give.  I'm sure my 3rd mile was the fastest, partly because my legs felt so good and partly because I was buoyed on by the crowds that gather for that last mile, to cheer all the women in to the finish line.  I ended the day with a PR and I took 18th place out of my age group of 140 - which I am pretty dang proud of!  My sister killed this race too - her 3rd triathlon and her 1st one not being pregnant!

After - We don't look too exhausted!