Damico Family: Ludington Triathlon

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Ludington Triathlon

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been training for a triathlon for months. Michelle and I chose the Ludington Triathlon (on 6/23) to be our Olympic race for the season. We drove there the day before, hung out with our families in town, and got up the next morning for the race.

Picking up our packets on Saturday

Nolan, Charlotte, Ella, Henry, and Ethan

Ella, Charlotte, and Lydia enjoying their cupcakes

Ethan, Henry, and Nolan

Nolan was the only one that wanted to pet this massive dog. The lady with the bag was taking towels out of her bag and wiping the dog's drool every couple of minutes. Nolan had a bunch of cupcake and frosting on his face when he went to pet the dog. The lady took the towel that she had just wiped the dog's face with and wiped Nolan's with it! We were laughing so hard when they walked away!

The kids loved these bikes around town

The olympic distance was hard, but I did it! It didn't start off great, but I made it through. The swim was in Lake Michigan and, if you live in Michigan you know, it was a cold spring. The temperature of the lake that morning was 57 degrees! Of course we had wetsuits, but when that temperature water hits your face it's a shock! I was determined to get through the .9 mile swim and had done a lot of practicing in Gull Lake, but as soon as I got in the water I was having trouble keeping my face in again. We had to do two loops for the Olympic distance. For about 3/4 of the way through the first loop, I had my head out of the water. I got so frustrated with myself and forced myself to put my face in the water and swim. I finally did, but I had lost a lot of time! Let's just say that there weren't a lot of people that got out of the water after me.

James and Erik brought the kids to the race, so we got to see them at every transition. It was fun having people that you know cheering you on!

On to the 22.37 mile bike ride. Most of it wasn't too bad, but the last leg was right along Lake Michigan and it was a very windy day. I felt like I was pedaling and pedaling and barely going anywhere. That's not fun at any point in the ride, but it's really not fun at the end! My legs were so wobbly when I got off the bike, I wasn't sure how I was going to run! I managed to run the 6.2 miles and I managed to get a personal record! The accomplishment I felt when I was done was so great! I couldn't believe that I finished the race that I had been training so long for! I'm not sure I'll do another olympic race mostly because of the time spent training, but I will definitely do more sprints!