Wild Colorado and Anne's First Triathlon

The last 4 days it has been raining non-stop. Loveland pass had snow on Friday and we had no need for the first time to run our sprinklers for 3 straight days. On Saturday the weekend started with the Olympic distance of the Rattlesnake Triathlon and I went to support some friends. I was freezing and did not wear the proper gear. The weather was kind of raining when they started the swim start and by the time all the swimmers were out of the water it was a full on down pour. Of course the race continued and they would have kept going but a lightning storm caused the race officials to cancel the race and everyone was told to turn around and head back. I tell you this because we looked at the weather report every 30 minutes to see what the next day would hold. 5pm came and they decided to hold the Sprint race the next day and so Anne made the decision that she was racing. Saturday night we packed her Transition bag and we packed all types of clothes for her to race and keep warm in. We put the bike stuff in a bag and sealed it and the put her run stuff in another bag and sealed it and we headed to bed.
Race Morning:
We woke to the same dark sky and rain. We loaded up the kids and headed to Aurora Res for Anne's first race. We were a little late and they closed transition just as we arrived. Anne set-up her gear and we ran down to the race start. Rattlesnake is fun because they do a time trial start which means that a racer starts every 3 seconds not a group start. Anne found Michelle, Chelsea and said hello and a few minutes later she was off.


Anne said "I would have not done the swim but felt warm in my wetsuit. It took me 100 yards to get comfortable and then I was rolling at a good pace. I felt good all the way and was not scared at all." She dashed out of the water and I missed the exit pic. Trying to watch 3 kids and run the course as a cheerleader was tougher than I thought. (Props to all that do support and yell loud)

We were able to make it to T1 as Anne was putting on her 3rd shirt, paints, shoes and socks. She said that the slow transition time was worth it because she was warm on the bike.
Anne says: "I felt good on the bike, I was glad that we did the course this week so I knew when to push and when to hold back. I worked on my pedal stroke and felt really good with my bike. I even was passing people". For the 5th time on a road bike she did great, the ground was slick and hard to ride in. Anne did great.
Just as she passed us on her bike we ran to where she would run out of T2. When she came out of transition we yelled and she was off to the run. She looked great and was really truckin. She was back in no time and finished the race with a 8:12 5K pace. BOOO YAAAA. She finished in 1:30:38 and rocked her first race.


Anne said: "The run was hard the first 1/2 mile and then it felt good. I was able to get into a good pace and felt really good all the way to the finish. I felt I had more to give and will on my next race. I really enjoyed the race and can see why people really like tri's, I am excited to do more".
Anne and the kids were great, We had fun cheering on the PC athletes that raced. Michelle B finished her first race and did really well. Anthony and I had fun watching our wives rock the course. Good job to all that raced this weekend. As I am writing the weather looks to be breaking a little. The rain has stopped and we might get back to normal August weather. What a great day, I am very proud of Anne and really excited that she had fun.
Great surprise: Anne gave me a special surprise on Thursday night. I came home to a new Wetsuit and I am very excited to give it a try, I think that I will be able to go a lot faster. Thanks for the surprise Anne. I love you!!!!!
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