Xterra

Brian and I set our alarms this morning to 4:45 a.m., and were out of the house by 5:30 to drive to Sheboygan (the boys were at my parent's house). In fact, it was pitch black out when we left, but we did get to see the most amazing sunrise, which almost made it worth it. The reason for our early morning? Brian was competing in an Xterra -- something he has always wanted to do -- and I was there to watch and cheer him on. The Xterra is a triathlon, but it's off-road, meaning you use a mountain bike and trail run.



There were just a little over 100 signed up for the event. It actually made it really nice and laid back compared to other races. There were three waves total. Brian was in one wave, while Chris, Chris's friend Ed, and Brian's co-worker Dave, were all in the other. And then there was a small wave of women. The top woman finished 14th overall, by the way.



The swim looked long to me, but from what everyone said, it was actually really nice. Next came the mountain biking. Brian technically is a very strong rider. Unfortunately, he just hasn't been training like in the past, so I could tell he was hurting. Still, I think it was really fun for him.



And then there was a 4-mile (steep) trail run before the finish. All the guys did great. Chris came in second in his age group! Next came Ed, who hasn't been on a mountain bike for years (in fact, he used one of Brian's). And there was Dave, who this was his second triathlon ever. And Brian finished strong, and gets to say he did something he's always wanted to do. I think he came in 44th overall, which really is pretty great. Congratulations! Too bad we are throwing a party tonight, because all this spectating really makes me want to take a nap.