MusselMan Triathlon!

I should warn you now that this is going to be a longish post since it was a long and wonderful weekend. The Musselman Tri takes place in Geneva on the Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. I grew up just east of Geneva in Homer NY and spent most summers playing in Skaneateles Lake, one of the smaller Finger Lakes. I honestly can’t remember how we decided to make this such an adventurous weekend…if I wanted to do the ½ or if Nicole wanted to do the Mini first. I am sure she can tell you the order of things since this was her first Tri. Back in Feb she told me she wanted to do a tri and she had signed up for a triathlon class at the local JCC up the street from her house. I was shocked and thrilled for her. As a frame of reference…when I met Nicole back in the early 90’s she said she would only run if she were being chased by a wild animal. Since then she has run the Boilermaker 15K countless times, tons of local races and even a ½ marathon. So you see we can all change our minds! Nicole trained her heart out for the last 15 weeks. She went to class, followed the program she was given and eliminated all distractions from her world….including a man. I never met him but I think it was a sound decision. At one point she had been training for 6 weeks straight and she told me she was tired. We chatted and I learned that she had not taken a day off because it wasn’t in her schedule….yeah baby! She is definitely Triathlete material! However she did need to rest a bit and let her body recover to prepare for more training! We even had the luxury of swimming twice together as I was passing through town on business. It was a blast seeing her work hard and learn! She met a bunch of nice people to train with too. Shortly before the race I reconnected with Christine McKnight as she lives north of Nicole and is very involved in the local Tri Club. Once again I was fortunate enough to be in town so we could all reconnect and I got to see and swim with Chris for the first time in years! She looks so incredible and I am so proud of her efforts! Plus I am perpetually grateful to her since it is all her fault I have become a triathlete! If you want to know more about that story look back in my archives at Worlds 2009.

The other fun thing that was happening while Nicole was training her heart out was that my sister Margaret was training and had wrangled 2 friends to train with her to do the same Mini-Musselman. So we put together a little team of 4 newbies. Linda and Lizzy are a mother-daughter team that would inspire anyone to do more than they think they can! Linda is a school teacher who didn’t really train for the swim or ride…she runs every day and is very fit but we all know how long a race can be with the swim at the beginning! Lizzy was really excited to do her best and see if her riding workouts had paid off. They rented wetsuits which was a crack up because no one I know LIKES to get into a wetsuit and if you have never been in one before. Needless to say it was hysterical to watch the ladies go through the entire process…from body marking to wetsuits to getting into the water for the swim start. No doubt the very best natured ladies I have ever ever met.

Nicole’s preparation was very meticulous and fun to watch. She trained hard, did all the requisite open water swims and runs, bought a new bike and wetsuit and discovered the joy of bricks and traveling with ALL your gear! She certainly has the personality and intensity for the sport if she should decide to keep it up. I even got to NY a couple times to train with her and I was so impressed by her dedication and energy for training and her prep. She, like most women I know, completely undersells her abilities and has SO MUCH MORE in her than she knows it!

Race day Nicole was so cute and it was great to have Christine and Jim McKnight with us to laugh and soak in the experience. I was SOOO HAPPY to be there with my dearest old friends, my sister and new friends! I knew that morning that I had chosen the right path and that I was right where I was supposed to be! Nicole set up her Transition area perfectly; bucket and all and then she went out for a warm up. She looked nervous and so focused. It was so awesome.

Walt and Betsy came out to see the race as well so the 3 of us cheered as the waves started the race. Nicole was first because I wouldn’t let her race with the beginners and thank goodness! She was much stronger than any of the novices! The swim was through a canal and the current helped everyone get to the dock sooner rather than later! Nicole had a great swim! Christine also got out of the water fast and strong. Margaret, Linda and Lizzy had quite a tour of the canal! Lizzy came out strong and confused so I tried to help by screamin at her that it was time to RUN! Margaret came floating into the dock with her feet popped up behind her and chatting with the volunteer! I was crying I was laughing so hard! I never saw Linda get out of the water and I was worried she might not ever get out….

Nicole’s transition was the highlight of the day! She sprinted into T1, whipped off her wetsuit, flipped her bucket over and sat down! WHAT??? Yes, she sat down, put on her sox and shoes and started to run toward me! I was hysterical kidding her about having a snack and lounging around on her bucket! It was classic! Her ride was a6 MPH and AWESOME! She had a huge smile on her face when she cruised into T2! Better yet, she had a HUGE smile on her face as she ran out of T2! She looked so relaxed and happy! I could have cried I was so proud of her! I also knew she had found something she can do…and do faster next time! When she came back in on the run she was thumbs up and smiling! JUST AMAZING!

Margaret, Linda and Lizzy struggled with the run and Lizzy had a flat on the ride and they all finished strong and happy! Linda had a really long ride and her run was simply amazing! I was so inspired when she came across that finish line sweaty, smiling and relieved! Mom and daughter had proved to themselves that they can both do so much more than they ever thought possible!

Christine finished 2^nd AG and looked so HOT! She had great winter training and her new coach must really have the right formula because she is FREAKIN HOT and FAST!

After the finish we hung out and the girls ate their well deserved ice cream and lounging around in the lawn! Pop and Betsy were great fans and really proud of the girls! I was so proud of Margaret. Her training had been detoured by a man and she was not as prepared as I hoped she would be but she still put it all out there! I think when she asked me if she could do the swim backstroke I got really worried. She is so stubborn though and she did it and did it well!

I was so happy to watch each of the girls feel so good about themselves! I JUST LOVE THAT!

The next day I did the half ironman. The day started quietly and perfectly. Good sleep, good tummy and great company! Nicole drove me to T and hung out while I got warmed up. Walt, Margaret and the gang were all there when I came out of T1. I LOVED this course. The ride was really hilly and beautiful and the run was just brutal. UP and down and UP UP. It was such a fun race and I never got bored with the course.

The only bummer of the day was the 4 minute penalty the USAT referee assessed on me at mile 8 of the ride…really? Mile 8? I was the very first penalty of the day and I was stunned. A few of us were trying to get past a woman who had no idea how to ride with her new disc wheel and she was just plan in the way. The referee dinged me when she had just passed me again and slowed down…I wanted scream! Seriously, do you really think I would chat at mile 8 of a 56 mile race? Heck no, trust me! Mile 45 maybe! J Ugh! I protested and the head official pleasantly told me to go pound sand. When I still won my AG by 10 minutes I felt a little better but not great! Winning is great but I hate to get penalties! Grrrr!

This entire weekend was by far the highlight of my summer!

Congrats to Nicole, Christine, Margaret, Linda and Lizzy!

I can't forget to mention the fact that I ran into an old friend from Fredonia! Mike Beegan and Cary Peebles were the best of friends and the last time I saw Mike was at Cary and Alice's wedding and since Alice's daughter is a sophmore in college...well you get it. Mike and his family were at the race and Mile was racing his first 1/2 and he NAILED IT! I was so happy to see how excited he was about hi 7 hour finish time! So cool! His wife Jane, friend Nancy and kids were great company for our post race dinner! Great to see you Mike!