St George Triathlon

A few weekends ago Dan and I went down to St. George for the St. George Triathlon. We stayed with our good friends Robyn & Bob and their cute family (thanks, guys!) and we loved being able to spend time with Amber & Matt Sim and the boys, who came from California. Unfortunately I wasn't great at taking pictures with (or of) our friends, so Caden and Gwen will have to represent for the whole fam. ;) We had a rough 5 weeks or so prior to the race, so we definitely didn't get to train like we had hoped. The last time I did a triathlon (a few years ago) I was 20 pounds lighter, with no children, so training this time was a whole different ball game for me. I honestly felt like the forces were against me in training. Between me and Sienna being sick, bad weather, insane work weeks, flat tires...it was a rough month or so before the race. My friend Amber and I were both sick during the race, congested and coughing up our lungs. Anyway, we knew that we weren't going to break records, but we knew we would finish and it was a good challenge. The morning of the race was a tad cold and was pretty windy, so they actually ended up canceling the swim. I'll admit that at first I was secretly (actually, it wasn't such a secret!) kind of happy to not have to swim, since that is definitely my weakest sport. I really didn't train much for the swim, but I figured that I would just bust out the breast stroke (or doggy paddle!) and though it wouldn't be pretty, I'd at least finish it. But then there was another part of me that was disappointed not to be able to do the entire triathlon. So, instead of doing the swim, they made us run twice the distance. A 10K might not sound too hard, but it was a tough, hilly trail run on that super fine red sand that sometimes felt like quicksand. What was crazy is that they made us (the Sprint event) do the same distance run as the Olympic athletes (only they trained for a 10K and got to do 2 5K's, which wasn't so bad for them). So, although we didn't do the full triathlon, at least it was still a tri-event. The whole event was pretty disorganized, and though we still had a good time I don't think we'd do that particular race again. I've heard the swim has been canceled for several years. Needless to say, it was definitely a challenge, but we had a good time. It was a fun weekend--hanging with friends, eating good food, enjoying good weather, crashing a couple of pool parties (which Sienna LOVED, by the way!) On our way home, we were able to stop and celebrate Mother's Day with my family, which is always a good time. We gave my mom a Blendtec blender, which I can't wait to try out.

Amber & I trying to stay warm before the race

How amazing is this pool? It was a friend of a friends. This slide was incredible.

My little swimmer. She seriously LOVED the water. She screamed at first, then got used to it and didn't want to get out. We even dunked her a few times and she'd come up smiling!
I love this picture.
Sienna loves to wave these days. Here's an action shot!
Just chillin' on her papa's lap
Little Gwen just lovin' on Sienna. She couldn't get enough of her! Thanks Robyn, Bob and fam for watching Sienna during the race and letting us crash at your place. You're the best!
Happy Mother's Day, Mama Hanson!
(By the way, I have the most amazing mom in the world!)
And yes, that is my brother Rob pounding fists with my 91-year-old grandma Tink. She's pretty hip.