Great weekend here in Bozeman! I took it easy on Friday/Saturday in preparation for the Bozeman Triathlon. I actually went out to eat quite a few times this weekend. On Friday night, Heather and I had dinner at Vera Fare which was lovely. I highly recommend the waffles. On Saturday morning, Elizabeth and I had a wonderful brunch at the Cateye Cafe then we popped into Meridian to check out some dresses for a wedding I will be attending in July. They have some beautiful dresses but I am still on the hunt for the perfect dress. Scott and I went to MacKenzie River on Saturday night. So basically I spent all of Friday and Saturday carb loading for my race on Sunday which was completely unnecessary. I was actually getting really restless on Saturday since my weekends are usually spent climbing, hiking, biking, camping.

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to get everything together for the Bozeman Tri. Heather and Elizabeth came with me to cheer me on 🙂 They were seriously like professional race spectators. I saw them as soon as I got out of the water, heading out on the bike, getting into transition from the bike, out on the run, at another point during the run at at the finish line. A big thanks to these ladies for their support!!!!!!

Pre-race with Elizabeth and Heather

It was quite cold on Sunday morning. I think it was 40ish degrees when we got down there and the water temp was 65. I was going back and forth about whether or not to use my wet suit. I just got it a few weeks ago and haven’t tested it out yet so I wasn’t really sure about wearing it. I’d say about 70-80% of the racers ended up wearing a wet suit but I made the executive decision to go without. The chances of me falling and/or hurting myself in some way trying to take it off seemed too high to risk it. Yes I am serious. I am extremely clumsy. No regrets but the water was COLD. Like take your breath away cold. Once I got around the first buoy I started warming up and getting into my groove though. I literally came out of the water in the exact time I did last year – 15:10. Weird.

Anyway, I was happy to be out of the freezing water. I threw on my long sleeve shirt, helmet and bike shoes and I was off. The bike was pretty uneventful, although the dude in front of me at the dismount fell off his bike. He looked a little shaken up but he was ok.

Coming into transition after the bike

My legs were a little heavy when I started the run but they were warmed up after the first mile or so. I saw Heather and Elizabeth right before the last mile and I was all smiles.

last mile

I ended up finishing 7 minutes faster than last year so I was pleased!

2013 Bozeman Tri

After the race, I went home and got changed because Scott and I were planning on climbing. We went to practice rock in Hyalite so I could work on leading trad. If you aren’t familiar with trad climbing, here is a pretty good explanation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_climbing

I didn’t fall at all and according to Scott I am doing well so it was definitely a successful day.

Scott and I at practice rock

Fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain today so we can do some climbing after work.

Happy Monday!

PS – The Philly countdown is on. I will be there exactly one month from today!