This is the first year that Dianne and I have done triathlons.  We did our first one in July, and LOVED it, but had so much going on the rest of the summer that we were starting to think that we would have to wait for next year to do our second.  Fortunately, we were able to find and sign up for the 1st annual East Canyon Triathlon in Morgan, Utah on August 31st!!  We were so excited because the tri description said that it was a fairly easy course and that a lot of the bike ride was downhill (can't complain about that!!)

We decided to take the kids and husbands and make it an adventure for everyone!!  We drove down on Friday afternoon, threw our belongings in the hotel room and headed up the canyon to pick up gear bags, drop off our bikes and assess the course.  We decided to come into Morgan from the Park City area and ended up on a narrow, steep, winding road with a terrifying dropoff on one side...all the while listening to 7 kids who had already spent 4 hours in the car and were pretty anxious to be free of their seatbelts!!  Fun ride (please sense my sarcasm)! 

We made it to the lake where we dropped our gear and attended the pre-race briefing.  We also discovered that the lake was REALLY low and the transition from water to bike was a little daunting.  There would be a quarter mile sprint straight UP the boat ramp to the bikes on cement with loose gravel - YIKES!!  From there, we drove the race course and realized that there was also a pretty steep climb OUT of the reservoir in order to get to the downhill portion - again YIKES!!

It was pretty late by the time we finished driving the course, so we headed back to Salt Lake for a good night's sleep.  Bright and EARLY the next morning, we headed back up to Morgan with the troops.  They dropped us off at the T2 area and we took a shuttle up to the lake.  Our amazing hubbies spent the next 4 hours chasing kids while they all waited for us to make it down the canyon. 

The race began and we had a great swim...followed by the AWESOME climb previously mentioned up the boat ramp to the bikes.  We dragged our bikes up out of the reservoir and headed down two sweet downhill sections of the course (I underestimated my braking abilities on one corner and almost missed the turn - that got my heart racing for sure!!)  The promise of a "mostly downhill" course was somewhat exaggerated.  I felt like it was a lot of up and down that eventually brought us down to the valley where we transitioned to the 3 mile run.  The transition area was GREAT!  There was a fabulous park with a fenced play place where the kids were able to play and make posters for us while they waited.  I think the guys were pretty grateful for that!

We made it to the 2nd transition within a few minutes of each other, and Dianne KILLED it on the run!  She passed me about half way and continued strong to the finish.  I, on the other hand, felt like I was running through deep mud and finished..but not as strong.  I was a little disappointed in my run at first, but you know what, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose...the important thing was - I FINISHED!!!  I ran the race despite having a sore throat and ear ache the night before.  I kept swimming after my goggles fogged over in the first 30 meters of the swim, and I had to depend on the people around me to guide me in the right direction.  I didn't walk when I wanted to REALLY bad after being passed and feeling incredibly defeated...This was NOT my best race and it certainly wasn't as fun as my first triathlon, but I can't wait to do it again next year! 

The great things about this race:

1.  One more opportunity to dress alike!! (haha!)

2.  We had our own little cheering section.  It was really fun to have our families there and have my kids run across the finish line with me!   

3.  Dianne and I took 2nd and 3rd place respectively in our age division (we later found out there were only 3 people in our division, but hey, you gotta take the victories wherever and whenever you can!!)

4.  We met some awesome new friends, AnnaMarie and Sheri, whom we hope to see at some of our races next year!!

5.  We had one last fun vacation with our families before school started!!

This race was great!  I hope to be able to compete here again next year, and this time, I'll be better prepared for the run!! 

Do any of you do triathlons?  Which one is your favorite?  And why?