The BIG Day - Greater Cleveland Triathlon and Duathlon - Part One

 On Saturday night, I was able to drive up to Willowick to stay at Cassie's moms' house with Cassie and Fred. I am so grateful that I was able to do this, because I wasn't alone the night before the race and I was closer to the event in the morning.  After meeting Kristy, a friend of Cassie's and volunteer at the race, I got to meet Linda, Cassie's mom. And she is something else! Sarcastic funny, but also has a genuinely nice side.

Fred and I with Cassie, our fearless triathlon coach.

 I'm not so sure how often Cassie gets to see that side, but she does have one!

Kristy then drove us down the road to the Lake Erie beach. They had left Fred there so that he get meditate and get centered. So, we walked down the steep hill to the beach. It was still muggy, but somewhat cooler than the day had been. I could hear the sound of the calm water, and could feel the rough sand under my feet. It was wonderful to be on a beach even if it was Lake Erie beach. There was drift wood, stones, and rocks. The picture to left is of Fred, Cassie and I who have been training together on Wednesday nights at Munroe Falls Lake to get ready for this triathlon. Fred is a Marine veteran who also won a sweet road bike from Bike Authority in conjunction with the race. Fred had the most awesome attitude gearing up and going into the race. It was very fun to be able to do it with another newbie!

I learned I am terrible at skipping rocks, and Fred is awesome at it! We shared some good laughs, Cassie took some video, and got to know Kristy a little bit. If Cassie figures out how to upload her video, I will eventually post them. She did our pre-race videos the night before and also did post-race videos too.

It was getting late, so we headed back to Linda's house. I was grateful to actually feel tired. I was slightly worried that my nervousness would keep me from sleeping. Thankfully, it didn't. Cassie suggested setting everything out the night before that I would need. So, I set out all my clothes and packed my bag with everything else that I would need for the transition. An important thing to note is that I had started hydrating on Friday. Making sure that I drank  probably anywhere from 8-16 ounces of water every hour to hour and a half. On Saturday, I continued to hydrate and added electrolyte powder to my water 2 -3 times. Emergen-C makes a great zero calorie Electro-mix. It comes in packets and you just add it to a liter of water. I did not want hydration to be a problem, especially if I could prevent it.

After some chatting and last minute prep, we actually started to get ready for bed. Linda told us that there were towels we could use for tomorrow. I asked Kristy and Cassie, if it was stupid to shower before a triathlon. It felt a little ridiculous, but a shower always helps me wake up and feel refreshed. They of course said, "No, not at all, if it helps you feel refreshed." Linda sure didn't miss her chance. All of a sudden, a voice from another room says, "Yes, it's stupid." I had no idea where the voice came from. I thought it was Fred from the basement. Here it was Linda from the living room. She had me laughing so hard, I thought I was going to cry. Finally, we settled into our room arrangements, set our alarms, and said our goodnights at about 11/11:30 p.m.