I can't believe it's Labor Day and I'm sitting here writing about the summer that was....seriously, where is the time going?!!! My goal for the summer was to have fun, enjoy the outdoors and race the heck out of triathlons since I will likely have to take most of next year off for my surgery(ies). Was I successful? Well, here is a recap of the top moments of summer 2013....
- Home sweet home: The 4th of July weekend took us back to Port Sanilac, Michigan, to spend the weekend at my family cottage. On the way over we stayed a night with the "Lansing Schmits" and enjoyed my sister-in-law's fantastic cooking and even better gluten free baking (seriously, Em, I don't know how you do it!!). The rest of the weekend was spent taking walks on the beach, playing with my nieces, visiting with my 97-year-old grandma and getting some open water swimming in Lake Huron. It was the perfect trip and good for the soul.
- Lake Geneva for Bigfoot Triathlon: While the race itself left a lot to be desired (due to my poor performance...the race itself was well run at a great venue!), we had a ton of fun hanging out in the super cute resort town of Lake Geneva. We had dinner right on the lake and walked around some of the cute shops downtown. The biggest regret of this weekend was that we didn't tack an extra day on AFTER the race so we could really enjoy it.
- We're going to Disneyland!: After more than 20 trips to Disney World (Florida), we finally took our first trip to Disneyland (California)!! Jonathan and our friend John attended the D23 Expo (basically, ComiCon for Disney geeks), while I made the most of the parks and the pool. Although I never really had a burning desire to get out to Disneyland, I totally fell in love with the intimacy and quaintness of the parks. Everything is within walking distance and is just so beautiful! It was a too-short, but "magical" get-away and I can't wait to go back again.
- Naperville Esprit de She Triathlon: I've done this race four or five times now, but had a breakthrough race here in 2013. It was the first time I actually RACED instead of just participated and my new found confidence carried me to a top 10 finish in my age group (out of 200+)! I also got to spend the weekend hanging out with my new friend Colinda, introduced to me by my sister-in-law Amie, and saw lots of other friends at the race which is why I keep going back year-after-year-after-year. Nothing like a weekend with your girlfriends!
- Legends of Summer Tour: I dragged Jonathan with me to Soldier Field in late July and for one night we pretended we were still in our early 20's as we (or I...ahem) danced for three hours straight to Jay Z and JT. It was the best concert I've ever been to and it was an absolutely gorgeous night under the stars at Soldier Field. Request for JT in the future: Please don't schedule your concerts on a Monday night!! It makes for a long work week for the old folks. :)
- Steelhead Half Ironman: With a business trip to Arizona the week of the race I wasn't sure what to expect, but walked away with an 8-minute PR including a 12 minute PR on the bike portion! This is the first race ever where we have had a cheering section, as Jonathan's brother and his family (even my sister-in-law's parents!) came out to follow us around the course. It was SO much fun! The celebration with gluten free pizza at Silver Beach Pizza made this the perfect weekend and the NUMBER ONE moment of summer 2013!
So now the carefree days of summer are behind us, but we still have a lot to accomplish in 2013! This fall will bring a trip to Madison (oh I've missed that place this summer!) to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin, a trip to Frankenmuth to run a half marathon with the Schmit family, and another vacation to Disney WORLD this time. My tri training now turns to run training as I start prepping for the Disney Marathon in January. That will be my last hurrah before surgery in early 2014. I've got big goals so I better get serious!
What were the highlights of your summer?
Any big plans for the fall?
Happy Labor Day!
-- HER
- Home sweet home: The 4th of July weekend took us back to Port Sanilac, Michigan, to spend the weekend at my family cottage. On the way over we stayed a night with the "Lansing Schmits" and enjoyed my sister-in-law's fantastic cooking and even better gluten free baking (seriously, Em, I don't know how you do it!!). The rest of the weekend was spent taking walks on the beach, playing with my nieces, visiting with my 97-year-old grandma and getting some open water swimming in Lake Huron. It was the perfect trip and good for the soul.
- Lake Geneva for Bigfoot Triathlon: While the race itself left a lot to be desired (due to my poor performance...the race itself was well run at a great venue!), we had a ton of fun hanging out in the super cute resort town of Lake Geneva. We had dinner right on the lake and walked around some of the cute shops downtown. The biggest regret of this weekend was that we didn't tack an extra day on AFTER the race so we could really enjoy it.
 |
| My bike - Betsy - ready for her 2013 Olympic tri debut! She had a really good season. |
 |
| Jonathan hanging out with his buddy Mater. |
 |
| At the entrance to Cars Land which makes you feel like you just stepped into the movie! |
- Naperville Esprit de She Triathlon: I've done this race four or five times now, but had a breakthrough race here in 2013. It was the first time I actually RACED instead of just participated and my new found confidence carried me to a top 10 finish in my age group (out of 200+)! I also got to spend the weekend hanging out with my new friend Colinda, introduced to me by my sister-in-law Amie, and saw lots of other friends at the race which is why I keep going back year-after-year-after-year. Nothing like a weekend with your girlfriends!
- Legends of Summer Tour: I dragged Jonathan with me to Soldier Field in late July and for one night we pretended we were still in our early 20's as we (or I...ahem) danced for three hours straight to Jay Z and JT. It was the best concert I've ever been to and it was an absolutely gorgeous night under the stars at Soldier Field. Request for JT in the future: Please don't schedule your concerts on a Monday night!! It makes for a long work week for the old folks. :)
 |
| Who knew that a concert scheduled for 8 doesn't actually start until 9:30?!! |
- Steelhead Half Ironman: With a business trip to Arizona the week of the race I wasn't sure what to expect, but walked away with an 8-minute PR including a 12 minute PR on the bike portion! This is the first race ever where we have had a cheering section, as Jonathan's brother and his family (even my sister-in-law's parents!) came out to follow us around the course. It was SO much fun! The celebration with gluten free pizza at Silver Beach Pizza made this the perfect weekend and the NUMBER ONE moment of summer 2013!
So now the carefree days of summer are behind us, but we still have a lot to accomplish in 2013! This fall will bring a trip to Madison (oh I've missed that place this summer!) to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin, a trip to Frankenmuth to run a half marathon with the Schmit family, and another vacation to Disney WORLD this time. My tri training now turns to run training as I start prepping for the Disney Marathon in January. That will be my last hurrah before surgery in early 2014. I've got big goals so I better get serious!
What were the highlights of your summer?
Any big plans for the fall?
Happy Labor Day!
-- HER
Comments