Weekend Warrior lives on

Last weekend I did my last Tri of the season, the Devil’s Lake Challenge in Baraboo WI. This was a remarkable event for various different reasons;
a) Mr. K & I camped in the Devil’s Lake State Park the night before the race (it got to a snuggly 30 degrees overnight!)
b) Ma & Pa K trekked over to watch the event- that started at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
c) More Paquette’s came that I could shake a stick at—these guys are my Dad’s cousins, and an all round good time!

The race was small. I am learning that small races mean that my finish time won’t be as impressive because I’m outnumbered by super thin and fast gym rats and hard bodies. The swim was a warm quick quarter of a mile (the water was 72 degrees, the air closer to 50). The bike was a grueling 15 mi ride, with some of the hardest inclines I’ve tackled in a long time. I was wishing I spent more time working on cycling outside of flat Chicago. The run was a simple and easy 5k, where I accomplished a personal best of the summer with a ten-minute mile!

After the race I met up with my personal cheerleaders! Mr. K and I took down our camp, and then headed over to the Paquette’s cabin, for quality family time, laughs, stories, food, and one of the best showers I have ever taken! We also were treated to a duet of my Great Aunt Janey and her dog Lady singing (seriously! The dog sang. ) “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” It was awesome!

All and all the race was nice, but the camping and the family time were top notch. Would I do it again? Only after some more time working on riding up hill, and if it meant more time at the Paquette cabin.

So I’m done swimming, cycling, and running for now. I’m training for the NYC marathon (Thanks Toyota!). I didn’t think that I would attempt another marathon so soon, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. In preparing for the race I’m hoping to shave about an hour off of my finish time from last year’s Chicago marathon. After a summer of running with speedy Mr. K and ‘Sweetie’ I’ve had to get faster, or eat their dust (no thanks). This may also mean returning to that diet I was working on in the spring. Why diet now? To avoid knee pain- last year my knees really hurt going up stairs after all the running, and one of the best ways to lower the impact of running on joints is to take off the extra pounds. I want to reduce the impact on my knees. So I should be returning to ‘Fatties No More’ soon, once I swallow my pride- reports to follow.