A big day for my brother-in-law, Richard.  He completed his FIRST Triathlon, Sprint.  He struggled with the swim, powered up two AWESOME hills on the bike, and went at his own pace to finish with the run.

Rich Running

HERE COMES RICHARD!

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Ted and I got a late start and didn’t arrive at the beautiful Greenlakes State Park in Syracuse until 8:45, 15 minutes after the start of the Triathlon.  We hit a line of cars going into the park because some athletes were already heading out on their bikes.  We turned and tried to enter through the Golf Course.  That didn’t work. We were re-routed back around and finally entered the part at 9:10.  We caught Rich cycling out of the park en-route on the 11 mile bike course.

We figured at least 40 – 45 minutes until we saw him heading out on the run so we walked around and enjoyed the crowd with Shane in hand.  *Shane was such a good boy. He was a bit nervous with all the kids running around but was very sweet when, on two separate occasions, people came up to give him a pat on the head. 

We were beginning to worry.  It was a good hour before we finally caught sight of our runner.  Smiling, happy, Rich called out “ARE THEY TIMING THIS THING?!!”  We cheered him on and watched him disappear along the running path.

Ted decided to take a practice swim while we waited but got kicked out of the water by a life guard.  The swimming park wasn’t open yet. Oh well.  – He’s BAD!

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A quick change in between the car doors with me holding a towel so Ted didn’t get into any more trouble like “public exposure”, and we were off to see Rich cross the finish line.

HERE HE COMES!

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Still smiling, still puffing and chugging along… Richard completed his FIRST TRIATHLON SPRINT!

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WAY TO GO RICH!  We are SO proud of you! 

He said the swim really took it out of him.  He had to break every three or four strokes, do back strokes, tread water, it was tough.  The cycling wasn’t bad.  He took it slow to save his legs for the run.  The run course is nice and rolling through the path in the park. 

That was one great race and he well deserved his chocolate milk, veggy burger, and hot dog. 

As for the rest of our day… the best laid plans, right?!

We drove through NH Shopping Center to check out the car show. It was still over cast and cool.  There weren’t many cars showing and also very scant on the people.  We decided to skip it and get on with chores.   Ted vacuumed. I grocery shopped. 

Later in the day, Ted enjoyed the Boxing Hall of Fame meet and greet with his friends while Shane and I took a walk to check out the Relay for Life at MVCC.

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Every year I get so confused about the Relay.  I have always watched for the teams walking around the track.  This year, I decided to do a bit more investigative  research. 

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Since there was no one walking around the track

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I concluded by “track” they REALLY meant INNER QUAD.  So the teams set up tents and then walk for 24 hours around the inner quad of the college in support of friends, family, love ones who have lost their lives to cancer. It’s a good cause and raises awareness every year.

Now it’s Sunday.  I was going to skip my run and let my body heal of all it’s aches and pains. Ted took Shane for a walk.  I decided to put running shoes on and go around the block to “test the water”.  With no plans on going long, I ran until I felt like stopping.  My trek took me up a challenging hilly course (Hills Drive), around the Proctor Parks, through some wooded trails and then the same route back.  I ended up running my own 15 K and then some.   9 1/2 miles.  Some tightness in both legs which didn’t loosen up but not too bad.  Think I’ll settle for some cross training, weights and a short 3 to 4 miles with Shane on Monday.  It doesn’t look good for a bike ride today but we’ll see what the afternoon holds.

HAPPY SUNDAY!

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