Last week we made our usual summer trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit family, water-ski and get out of TEXAS! Every year I seem to grow more weary of the oppressive heat and humidity we have here in the Houston area, so a trip up north is a welcome reprieve. Unfortunately, this trip was shorter than in years past due to my girls’ activities, but nonetheless, still enjoyable. I even managed to fit in a race while visiting…the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon.

My last OLY was nearly 3 years ago. I do not race OLYs often because it is brutal distance for me, but I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to have a ‘legitimate’ reason to take my bike with me on this brief trip. The race is well-run, on a beautiful course (the fact that I could tell you more about the homes along the bike route would indicate a lack of race day focus on my part), with awesome volunteers and spectator support. I was quite impressed. The race experience itself was a reminder to me as to why I do not race this distance often and why I prefer the longer distances.

The best part of the trip was heading to the theme park inside the MOA the day after the race. Hanna and I hung out all afternoon and it was nice Mommy-Daughter time. I think riding on some of those theme-park rides is more ‘painful’ than training! The fearless wonder-child I used to be has turned into a fearFUL-I-think-I-am-going-to-puke-37-year-old. Every ride I went on I kept thinking “I sure hope the engineers knew what they were doing when they designed this ride” and after awhile I just couldn’t ride any more because my head was spinning and my stomach was churning and I felt like I had drank a little too much red wine! However, the priceless memory of having my 7 year-old tell me, “Mommy, let go of me you are squeezing my hand too tight” is now something I will never be able to live down.

Enjoy your summer.