Pacific Grove Triathlon

We went to California for the Pacific Grove Tri a couple of weeks ago. I did the Olympic Tri and my dad was participating with a relay team (all three of the team did the full Olympic Tri last year). A couple of other friends were doing it as well. I was ready to do an olympic-distance triathlon after feeling sort of "blah" after my last few sprint triathlons. I had done well on my times in recent races, and then did poorly in the last one I did (with a whole bunch of other family). I needed to switch it up and the Pacific Grove Triathlon is a really pretty and fun race. I was not nervous about the race, but I was nervous about the long drive from Utah with Hazel since we have only ever flown with her.

Hazel stocked up on 57 cases of Diet Caffeine Free Mountain Dew for her grandpa. He loves his "sparkling orange juice" and can't get it in the bay unless he has it shipped for $2 per can. We hit up all of our local Macey's grocery stores and asked for all the cases they had in the back.

Partying at a gas station on our drive. It went surprisingly well, with much planning and effort. We left at 4 a.m. so Hazel would sleep some and were ready with meals in the car and new toys and coloring.

Obviously the most important type of race prep.

Hazel loves her grandma and grandpa's house and enjoyed playing with Presley there.

Granny and Hazel taking each other for a walk. Hazel recognized Granny and was happy to see her.

Wishing me good luck. I did really poorly on the swim. I decided that regardless of how I did on each leg, I was going to work hard to not let it affect the other legs, including that I did not want to stress out trying to make up the time. I think it helped. Even though I didn't do well on the Kelp Crawl, I was able to regain focus on the bike and run.

Post-race. The Pacific Grove Triathlon is fun for families and spectators because there are lots of laps, meaning we see each other many times throughout the race.

I barely missed my goal time for the run by one minute because of sore knees, but it was still fun. I always feel a little frustrated when my knees crap out before my muscles even feel sore.

Granny sent Hazel home with a crib and new baby. She loves the wheels and also getting inside.