Making Memories and the Chicago Triathlon
Usually I spend my whole blog going through what happened during the race and blah, blah, blah. But I thought I would go in a slightly different direction today. Some of you may have seen the picture I posted on Facebook with the words "Making Memories" written on my arm. Some of you, except for my close family, probably wonder what that meant. That will be my focus today.
Making the transition from amateur racing to professional racing is difficult and made even more difficult by the illness and injuries I have been plagued with this season. It is hard to go from racing locally with family and friends to traveling more, racing in a smaller field, and being the "little fish." I have been very blessed to have my husband traveling with me, my family supporting me, my good friend Abby and her husband Ross at my side and so many local triathletes cheering me on, the transition has been easier. Still, struggling with injuries and not racing as well as I did last year has been frustrating. I have to admit, I started to get down. I spoke with my dad before Chicago and he encouraged me to have a good time, because we both knew with my hip hurt it would be a struggle. He told me to "go out there and make some memories."
So there is that phrase again! Let me explain where it comes from. I was blessed again to have the most amazing woman in my life: my grandma Sharon. She taught me faith and showed a love for God that I can only hope to learn a fraction of. When I was in middle school, my grandma was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer. But she trusted in God and knew what she should do next. My grandma started to visit her children and grandkids, scattered across the midwest, as much as possible. She went on vacations with us, even flying down to Florida to watch my marching band perform in Disney World. She rented a limo for all the grandkids to ride in and took us through the drive through at McDonalds. She had a real-life Santa Claus at every Christmas, even after all the grandkids knew there was no Santa Claus, but it was much more fun that way! And when the cancer treatment made all her hair fall out, she bought a blonde wig because blondes have more fun.
My dad once asked her why she was doing all these things and she said "I'm making memories." She knew the importance of cherishing every moment because she didn't know when she would leave us, but she wanted to make sure we had numerous memories to remember her for a lifetime. My grandma said she wanted to see me graduate. She passed away one week after I graduated. To remind myself to cherish how amazing it is that I have been blessed with the opportunity to race as a professional, I wrote "Making Memories" on my arm where I could see it during the race.
On the left are my Grandpa Ben and my sister, then on the right is my adorably pudgy face and my Grandma Sharon.
Alright, quick summary of the race, which started at the ridiculously early hour of 6:00 am. Yup, no lie. That meant a 3:00 am alarm clock, yikes! Walking to the swim start, Todd and I couldn't help but notice how wavy the water was. There were boats trying to pull out huge mats of seaweed and they were getting thrown around. Oh boy. I tried to find a good spot to line up, but the buoys were all out of line because of the chop. The horn went off and I struggled to get on some feet, but quickly lost them. Even though I have been around water my entire life, I panicked a bit. I threw technique out the window as I struggled to get my head out of the water and breathe. I quickly fell behind the main pack and found myself struggling through the waves on my own. When I reached the swim exit I was relieved, but disheartened to see the time on my watch reading almost 25 minutes. That was one of my slowest swims. I gathered my wits and my strength on the quarter mile run to transition and reminded myself what the goal was today: Making Memories.
I was looking forward to the bike because the course was absolutely nuts! The course went along Lake Shore Drive first, then turned and dove into tunnels. I had to shove my sunglasses into my jersey so I could see! Then we wound even further down onto bus routes that have never been closed for a race before. Too cool. I held a steady pace through the bike, but didn't move any closer to the girls with a lead on me from the swim. Out onto the run I tried to focus on form, tucking my rib cage and using my arms to power my stride. The run course was beautiful, an out and back along the water. My hip held up pretty good until mile 4 when it started to ache. I focused on breathing, trying to set the pain aside and keep running. The pain made itself more known around mile 5, but I wanted to finish so badly, I kept chugging along. I was pretty relieved to turn the corner and see the finish line! I crossed and my hip locked up. Once again, before I knew it, I was surrounded by medics. I told them all I needed was some ice, my hip hurt, that was all. Well they complied and lifted me into a full body ice back, brrrr!! But it did make my hip feel better!
Overall, not the time I was hoping for, but I finished my first Professional Olympic this season! And, of course, made some great memories :) I ended up finishing 9th in a very competitive field and that actually does put me on the board with Life Time Series points! Boo-yah! But enough about me, my amazing Tri4Him teammate Abby Geurink finished an incredible 3rd overall and on the podium! How cool! I am so proud to call her a friend and teammate. My other amazing support, my hubby Todd Kennedy, finished a very impressive 9th overall in the Elite Amateur division. And I know the Oak Park YMCA Triathlon Team represented in a major way at the Ludington Triathlon and other races this past weekend. The Lansing Triathlon Team also had an amazing weekend at the Playmakers Classic Triathlon this weekend, with Kim Albin winning the masters title! Well done to everyone who raced!
Up next, my husband and I are heading up north to race the Boyne Triathlon by TritoFinish, an amazing company who will be putting on this first class race for the second year. Hope to see some of you up there! Happy training!
Todd and I cheesing it up in front of the Buckingham Fountain.
